Fort Lyon Reservation

Created in 1861 by the Treaty of Fort Wise, the Upper Arkansas Agency Reservation, later known as the Fort Lyon Reservation, was established for Cheyenne and Arapaho living below the South Platte River, with Sand Creek as its northern boundary. The reservation was never fully developed, and the agency headquarters at Point of Rocks was never completed, forcing the Indian Agent to work at Fort Lyon. For months, confusion persisted over whether Albert Boone, who oversaw the treaty and set up the agency, or Samuel Colley, a presidential appointee unknown in Colorado until he arrived, was in charge. Even after Colley took control, conditions continued to decline. Although the Treaty of Fort Wise promised government assistance in teaching the Cheyenne and Arapaho to farm, instructors were never sent. Those who moved to the reservation depended on government annuities delivered once a year to survive. Buffalo rarely came close, leaving tribal members with little to eat, and diseases including cholera, pneumonia, and influenza spread through reservation villages. Most Cheyenne and Arapaho who resettled there eventually abandoned it and joined bands that refused to have anything to do with the reservation.

Brandon, Colorado · United States