Sand Creek Massacre is one of the most horrific and devastating atrocities ever to befall the Cheyenne and Arapaho nations. With tensions running high between Native Americans and white settlers due to an increased influx into the Colorado territory by whites that were drawn to Colorado because of its hunting and gold prospecting opportunities, and in the aftermath of the U.S. Civil War, it was becoming increasingly dangerous to live on the plains. On November 29, 1864, Colonel John Chivington, without provocation, viciously attacked Cheyenne Chief Black Kettle's encampment at Sand Creek. One of the main causes for the massacre was "rooted in the long conflict for control of the Great Plains of eastern Colorado," which had been gradually ceded to the United States via a series of treaties ("Nov 29, 1864: Native Americans are massacred at Sand Creek, Colorado"). With tensions steadily increasing between white settlers and Native Americans, John Evans,...

During this time, Colonel John Chivington, was called by Governor Evans to "quell the mounting violence" that was caused by the tension between Native Americans and white settlers ("The Sand Creek Massacre"). The final treaty entered into by Governor Evans and Black Kettle took place three months prior to the massacre at Sandy Creek. "In August 1864, Evans met with Black Kettle and several other chiefs to forge a new peace, and all parties [were] left satisfied" ("Nov 29, 1864: Native Americans are massacred at Sand Creek, Colorado").
However, peace would be short lived. In November, Colonel Chivington, after hearing about the impending Native American threat "sweeping the…