Remembering the Sand Creek Massacre, 150 years later

This past August I spent time with other Wyoming church leaders at Wind River Reservation, home to the Northern Arapahoe and Eastern Shoshone peoples. It was then I began to absorb the story and appreciate the significance of the Sand Creek Massacre that took place in eastern Colorado on November 29, 1864.  

On that day a peaceful encampment of Cheyenne and Arapaho tribe members in southeast Colorado Territory was attacked by armed Colorado Cavalry volunteers under the command of Colonel John Chivington, a Methodist minister who became an army major at the outset of the Civil War. Under Chivington’s command, nearly 200 Arapaho and Cheyenne people were killed in the attack, most of them women and children. The massacre was especially troubling because U.S. government negotiators had assured the Cheyenne and Arapaho that they would be safe in the encampment. 

This tragic event had many consequences including ultimate removal of the two tribes from their native lands in eastern Colorado and the migration of some Arapahoe survivors to Wind River. That journey is marked today by the Sand Creek Massacre Trail and commemorated by the Sand Creek Spiritual Healing Run.

Saturday, November 29, 2014, will mark the 150th anniversary of the Sand Creek Massacre. As people of faith, it is a moment for us to stop and reflect not only on the implications of this particular event for the witness of the Christian church but also on the broader story of the displacement of the Native peoples of this continent by white settlers. While Col. Chivington’s particular actions were condemned as early as 1865 by the United States federal government, the psychological and spiritual wounds of the massacre persist to this day, especially for Native peoples.

In light of Chivington’s clergy credentials, the United Methodist Church has taken the lead in calling for reflection, repentance, and reconciliation in light of the Sand Creek Massacre and the history of violence that it represents. I invite us as members of the ELCA Rocky Mountain Synod to join in that call. What does that mean?

• It means listening: it is critically important to listen to Native voices, particularly descendants of those who survived the Sand Creek Massacre, in order to move toward a reconciled future. Sharing stories of pain and separation, but also of healing and renewal, is a task that honors the storytellers and their ancestors. These stories are never shared lightly, and listeners should receive them with honor and respect. 

• It also means learning about our shared history anew, paying particular attention to the often-overlooked perspective of our Native brothers and sisters. As Christians, we in particular are called to recognize the role played by churches and church leaders in the subjugation of Native peoples in America. The story of our present cannot exist without the story of our past, and the Sand Creek Massacre is one such story that shapes our present reality. 

• Finally it means pursuing justice and reconciliation with Native communities. Building relationships that affirm the pain of the past, committing to this goal in the present, and seeking reconciliation and healing for the future are critical ways to honor this tragic anniversary.

In the church we talk about kairos moments, Spirit-led moments when circumstances come together in such a way that we can hear God speak anew and live with fresh commitment to the way of Jesus in the world.  It is my hope and prayer that our holy attention to the Sand Creek Massacre may become for us such a kairos moment, leading us to renewed relationship with all our Native sisters and brothers.

Yours in Faith,

Bishop Jim Gonia