Sacred Memory

Sand Creek is a place where culture and history lie at the center of controversy, trauma, anger, and forgiveness, and where the Sand Creek Massacre offers powerful lessons about the sacrifices and hardships endured by ancestors. The site is honored in private and public ceremonies, with spiritual remembrance deeply embedded in prayer, offerings, and song. For many, the massacre’s horror is intensified by the knowledge that most people in the village were women, children, and elderly people, and that as many as 375 females may have been present. The image of women and children in panic, flight, and suffering is overwhelming. Today, Sand Creek is also a place of healing, where the spirits of those killed remain part of the living landscape, and where people can gather to learn about the past, reflect on the present, and work together to prevent such tragedies in the future. On the morning of November 29, 1864, Cheyenne Chief Black Kettle held aloft both a 33-Star U.S. Flag and a White Flag of Truce, and white sage is used in healing ceremonies.

Brandon, Colorado · United States