Black Kettle
Encyclopedia
Chief Black Kettle (born ca. 1803, killed November 27, 1868) was a leader of the Southern Cheyenne
after 1854, who led efforts to resist American
settle
ment from Kansas
and Colorado
territories. He was a peacemaker who accepted treaties to protect his people. He survived the Third Colorado Cavalry
's Sand Creek Massacre
on the Cheyenne reservation in 1864. He and his wife were among those killed in 1868 at the Battle of Washita River
, in a US Army attack on their camp by George Armstrong Custer
.
, the central government of the Cheyenne
tribe. The Council met regularly at the Sun Dance
gatherings, where they affirmed unity.
After 1851, Cheyenne-US relations were conducted under the Treaty of Fort Laramie
. But, the US government was unwilling to control white expansion into the Great Plains
, especially after the Pike's Peak Gold Rush began in 1859. European American
s displaced the Cheyenne from their lands in violation of the treaty, and consumed important resources of water and game. Increasing competition led to armed conflict between the groups.
Black Kettle was a pragmatist
who believed that US military power and the number of immigrants were overwhelming. In 1861 he and the Arapaho
surrendered to the commander of Fort Lyon
under the Treaty of Fort Wise
, believing he could gain protection for his people. The treaty was highly unfavorable to the Southern Cheyenne.
They led their bands to the Sand Creek Reservation, a small corner of southeastern Colorado about 40 miles from Fort Lyon
. The land was not arable and was located far away from buffalo
, their major source of meat. Many Cheyenne warriors, including the Dog Soldiers
would not accept this treaty. They began to attack white settlers. Whether Black Kettle opposed these actions, tolerated them, or encouraged them is a controversy among historians.
By the summer of 1864, the situation was at boiling point. Southern Cheyenne hardliners, along with allied Kiowa
and Arapaho
bands, raided American settlements for livestock and supplies. Sometimes they took captives, generally only women and children, to adopt into their tribes to replace lost members. On 11 July 1864, Indians killed a family of settlers, an attack which the whites called the Hungate massacre after the family. Pro-war whites displayed the scalped bodies in Denver
. Colorado governor John Evans
believed tribal chiefs had ordered the attack and were intent on a full-scale war.
Evans issued a proclamation ordering all "Friendly Indians of the Plains" to report to military posts or be considered "hostile." He sought and gained from the War Department
authorization to establish the Third Colorado Cavalry
. John Chivington
led the unit, composed of "100-daysers," whose limited term was specifically for fighting against the Cheyenne and Arapaho.
Black Kettle decided to accept Evans' offer, and entered negotiations. On September 28, he concluded a peace settlement at Fort Weld outside Denver. The agreement assigned the Southern Cheyenne to the Sand Creek reservation and required them to report to Fort Lyon
, formerly Fort Wise. Black Kettle believed the agreement would ensure the safety of his people. After he went to the reservation, the commanding officer at the fort was replaced by one who was an ally of Chivington.
At dawn on November 29, Chivington attacked the Sand Creek reservation. Most of the warriors were out hunting. Following Indian agent instructions, Black Kettle flew an American flag and a white flag
from his tipi
, but the signal was ignored. The Colorado forces killed 163 Cheyenne by shooting or stabbing. They burned down the village encampment. Most of the victims were women and children. For months afterward, members of the militia displayed trophies in Denver of their battle, including body parts they had taken for souvenirs.
and Kiowa
, they went to war against US settler and forces.
Black Kettle said of that time:
Black Kettle moved south and continued to negotiate with US officials. He achieved the Treaty of Little Arkansas River on October 14, 1864. By this document, the US promised "perpetual peace" and lands in reparation for the Sand Creek massacre. However, its practical effect was to dispossess the Cheyenne yet again and require them to move to Indian Territory
(present-day Oklahoma
). Black Kettle's influence continued to wane. Roman Nose
and his Dog Soldiers
took a prevailing hard line and continued warfare.
on October 28, 1867. But, the Dog Soldiers continued their raids and ambushes across Kansas, Texas, and Colorado.
The relationship between the two groups is a subject of historical dispute. According to Little Rock
, second-in-command of Black Kettle's village, most of the warriors came back to Black Kettle's camp after their attacks. White prisoners, including children, were held within his encampment. By this time Black Kettle's influence was waning, and it is unclear whether he could have stopped the younger warriors' actions.
devised a plan of punitive reprisals. He planned to attack Cheyenne winter encampments, destroying both supplies and livestock, and killing any people who resisted. At dawn on the morning of November 27, 1868, George Armstrong Custer
led troops to attack Chief Black Kettle and his village. They were camped along the Washita River
. Custer's troops killed more than 100 Native Americans, mostly Southern Cheyenne. While trying to cross the Washita River, Black Kettle and his wife were shot in the back and killed.
In popular media, Black Kettle, a Cheyenne chief, was a recurring character in the CBS family drama Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
for its first three seasons. Black Kettle plays a key role for the series in the pilot episode. Dr. Quinn saves Black Kettle's life by performing a tracheotomy
and removing a bullet lodged in his neck. She later receives a Cheyenne name from Black Kettle meaning "Medicine Woman." He was played by Nick Ramus
.
band Five Iron Frenzy
's Our Newest Album Ever, the song "Banner Year" is about Black Kettle, how he was betrayed, and his eventual murder at the hands of Custer.
Cheyenne
Cheyenne are a Native American people of the Great Plains, who are of the Algonquian language family. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taeo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese .The Cheyenne are thought to have branched off other tribes of Algonquian stock inhabiting lands...
after 1854, who led efforts to resist American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
settle
Settle
Settle is a small market town and civil parish within the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. It is served by the Settle railway station, which is located near the town centre, and Giggleswick railway station which is a mile away. It is from Leeds Bradford Airport...
ment from Kansas
Kansas Territory
The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Kansas....
and Colorado
Colorado Territory
The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Colorado....
territories. He was a peacemaker who accepted treaties to protect his people. He survived the Third Colorado Cavalry
Third Colorado Cavalry
In the mid-1860s, increased traffic on the emigrant trails and settler encroachment resulted in numerous attacks against them by the Cheyenne and Arapaho. The Hungate massacre and the display in Denver of mutilated victims raised political pressure for the government to protect its people...
's Sand Creek Massacre
Sand Creek Massacre
As conflict between Indians and white settlers and soldiers in Colorado continued, many of the Cheyenne and Arapaho, including bands under Cheyenne chiefs Black Kettle and White Antelope, were resigned to negotiate peace. The chiefs had sought to maintain peace in spite of pressures from whites...
on the Cheyenne reservation in 1864. He and his wife were among those killed in 1868 at the Battle of Washita River
Battle of Washita River
The Battle of Washita River occurred on November 27, 1868 when Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer’s 7th U.S...
, in a US Army attack on their camp by George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...
.
Early life
Little is known of chief Black Kettle's life prior to 1854, when he was made a chief of the Council of Forty-fourCouncil of Forty-four
The Council of Forty-four was one of the two central institutions of traditional Cheyenne Indian tribal governance, the other being the military societies such as the Dog Soldiers...
, the central government of the Cheyenne
Cheyenne
Cheyenne are a Native American people of the Great Plains, who are of the Algonquian language family. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taeo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese .The Cheyenne are thought to have branched off other tribes of Algonquian stock inhabiting lands...
tribe. The Council met regularly at the Sun Dance
Sun Dance
The Sun Dance is a religious ceremony practiced by a number of Native American and First Nations peoples, primarily those of the Plains Nations. Each tribe has its own distinct practices and ceremonial protocols...
gatherings, where they affirmed unity.
After 1851, Cheyenne-US relations were conducted under the Treaty of Fort Laramie
Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851)
Although many European and European-American migrants to western North America had previously passed through the Great Plains on the Oregon and Santa Fe Trails, the California gold rush greatly increased traffic...
. But, the US government was unwilling to control white expansion into the Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
, especially after the Pike's Peak Gold Rush began in 1859. European American
European American
A European American is a citizen or resident of the United States who has origins in any of the original peoples of Europe...
s displaced the Cheyenne from their lands in violation of the treaty, and consumed important resources of water and game. Increasing competition led to armed conflict between the groups.
Black Kettle was a pragmatist
Pragmatist
Pragmatist may refer to:*A person who subscribes to pragmatism, a field of philosophy*A person who subscribes to pragmaticism, Charles Sanders Peirce's post-1905 branch of philosophy...
who believed that US military power and the number of immigrants were overwhelming. In 1861 he and the Arapaho
Arapaho
The Arapaho are a tribe of Native Americans historically living on the eastern plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Sioux. Arapaho is an Algonquian language closely related to Gros Ventre, whose people are seen as an early...
surrendered to the commander of Fort Lyon
Fort Lyon
Fort Lyon, first named Fort Wise, was operated on the Colorado eastern plains until 1867. That year a new fort called Fort Lyon, and later Las Animas, Colorado, U.S. Naval Hospital and 5BN117, was built near the present-day town of Las Animas, Colorado. First named after Virginia governor Henry...
under the Treaty of Fort Wise
Treaty of Fort Wise
The Treaty of Fort Wise of 1861 was a treaty entered into between the United States and six chiefs of the Southern Cheyenne and four of the Southern Arapaho Indian tribes. A significant proportion of Cheyennes opposed this treaty on the grounds that only a minority of Cheyenne chiefs had signed,...
, believing he could gain protection for his people. The treaty was highly unfavorable to the Southern Cheyenne.
They led their bands to the Sand Creek Reservation, a small corner of southeastern Colorado about 40 miles from Fort Lyon
Fort Lyon
Fort Lyon, first named Fort Wise, was operated on the Colorado eastern plains until 1867. That year a new fort called Fort Lyon, and later Las Animas, Colorado, U.S. Naval Hospital and 5BN117, was built near the present-day town of Las Animas, Colorado. First named after Virginia governor Henry...
. The land was not arable and was located far away from buffalo
American Bison
The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
, their major source of meat. Many Cheyenne warriors, including the Dog Soldiers
Dog Soldiers
Dog Soldiers is a 2002 British horror film written and directed by Neil Marshall, and starring Kevin McKidd, Sean Pertwee and Liam Cunningham. It was a British production, set in the highlands of Scotland, and filmed almost entirely in Luxembourg....
would not accept this treaty. They began to attack white settlers. Whether Black Kettle opposed these actions, tolerated them, or encouraged them is a controversy among historians.
The Colorado War
Kiowa
The Kiowa are a nation of American Indians and indigenous people of the Great Plains. They migrated from the northern plains to the southern plains in the late 17th century. In 1867, the Kiowa moved to a reservation in southwestern Oklahoma...
and Arapaho
Arapaho
The Arapaho are a tribe of Native Americans historically living on the eastern plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Sioux. Arapaho is an Algonquian language closely related to Gros Ventre, whose people are seen as an early...
bands, raided American settlements for livestock and supplies. Sometimes they took captives, generally only women and children, to adopt into their tribes to replace lost members. On 11 July 1864, Indians killed a family of settlers, an attack which the whites called the Hungate massacre after the family. Pro-war whites displayed the scalped bodies in Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
. Colorado governor John Evans
John Evans (governor)
John Evans was a U.S. politician, physician, railroad promoter, Governor of the Territory of Colorado, and namesake of Evanston, Illinois; Evans, Colorado; and Mount Evans, Colorado...
believed tribal chiefs had ordered the attack and were intent on a full-scale war.
Evans issued a proclamation ordering all "Friendly Indians of the Plains" to report to military posts or be considered "hostile." He sought and gained from the War Department
United States Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
authorization to establish the Third Colorado Cavalry
Third Colorado Cavalry
In the mid-1860s, increased traffic on the emigrant trails and settler encroachment resulted in numerous attacks against them by the Cheyenne and Arapaho. The Hungate massacre and the display in Denver of mutilated victims raised political pressure for the government to protect its people...
. John Chivington
John Chivington
John Milton Chivington was a colonel in the United States Army who served in the American Indian Wars during the Colorado War and the New Mexico Campaigns of the American Civil War...
led the unit, composed of "100-daysers," whose limited term was specifically for fighting against the Cheyenne and Arapaho.
Black Kettle decided to accept Evans' offer, and entered negotiations. On September 28, he concluded a peace settlement at Fort Weld outside Denver. The agreement assigned the Southern Cheyenne to the Sand Creek reservation and required them to report to Fort Lyon
Fort Lyon
Fort Lyon, first named Fort Wise, was operated on the Colorado eastern plains until 1867. That year a new fort called Fort Lyon, and later Las Animas, Colorado, U.S. Naval Hospital and 5BN117, was built near the present-day town of Las Animas, Colorado. First named after Virginia governor Henry...
, formerly Fort Wise. Black Kettle believed the agreement would ensure the safety of his people. After he went to the reservation, the commanding officer at the fort was replaced by one who was an ally of Chivington.
Betrayal at Sand Creek
Ambitious, Chivington felt pressure from Governor Evans to use the Third Colorado Cavalry before their terms expired at the end of 1864. On November 28, Chivington arrived with 700 men at Fort Lyon. According to an eyewitness, John S. Smith:"[H]e stopped all persons from going on ahead of him. He stopped the mail, and would not allow any person to go on ahead of him at the time he was on his way from Denver city to Fort Lyon. He placed a guard around old Colonel Bent, the former agent there; he stopped a Mr. Hagues and many men who were on their way to Fort Lyon. He took the fort by surprise, and as soon as he got there he posted pickets all around the fort, and then left at 8 o'clock that night for this Indian camp."
At dawn on November 29, Chivington attacked the Sand Creek reservation. Most of the warriors were out hunting. Following Indian agent instructions, Black Kettle flew an American flag and a white flag
White flag
White flags have had different meanings throughout history and depending on the locale.-Flag of temporary truce in order to parley :...
from his tipi
Tipi
A tipi is a Lakota name for a conical tent traditionally made of animal skins and wooden poles used by the nomadic tribes and sedentary tribal dwellers of the Great Plains...
, but the signal was ignored. The Colorado forces killed 163 Cheyenne by shooting or stabbing. They burned down the village encampment. Most of the victims were women and children. For months afterward, members of the militia displayed trophies in Denver of their battle, including body parts they had taken for souvenirs.
Aftermath
Black Kettle escaped the massacre, and returned to rescue his severely injured wife. He continued to counsel pacifism, believing that military resistance was doomed to fail. The majority of the Southern Cheyenne chiefs disagreed. Allied with the ComancheComanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
and Kiowa
Kiowa
The Kiowa are a nation of American Indians and indigenous people of the Great Plains. They migrated from the northern plains to the southern plains in the late 17th century. In 1867, the Kiowa moved to a reservation in southwestern Oklahoma...
, they went to war against US settler and forces.
Black Kettle said of that time:
Black Kettle moved south and continued to negotiate with US officials. He achieved the Treaty of Little Arkansas River on October 14, 1864. By this document, the US promised "perpetual peace" and lands in reparation for the Sand Creek massacre. However, its practical effect was to dispossess the Cheyenne yet again and require them to move to Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
(present-day Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
). Black Kettle's influence continued to wane. Roman Nose
Roman Nose
Roman Nose, a.k.a. Hook Nose , was a Native American of the Northern Cheyenne, and possibly the greatest and most influential warrior during the Plains Indian War of the 1860s...
and his Dog Soldiers
Dog Soldiers
Dog Soldiers is a 2002 British horror film written and directed by Neil Marshall, and starring Kevin McKidd, Sean Pertwee and Liam Cunningham. It was a British production, set in the highlands of Scotland, and filmed almost entirely in Luxembourg....
took a prevailing hard line and continued warfare.
Medicine Lodge Treaty
Black Kettle's dwindling band proclaimed their desire to live peacefully alongside European Americans. Black Kettle signed yet another treaty, the Medicine Lodge TreatyMedicine Lodge Treaty
The Medicine Lodge Treaty is the overall name for three treaties signed between the United States government and southern Plains Indian tribes in October 1867, intended to bring peace to the area by relocating the Native Americans to reservations in Indian Territory and away from European-American...
on October 28, 1867. But, the Dog Soldiers continued their raids and ambushes across Kansas, Texas, and Colorado.
The relationship between the two groups is a subject of historical dispute. According to Little Rock
Little Rock (Cheyenne chief)
Little Rock was a council chief of the Wutapiu band of Southern Cheyennes. He was the only council chief who remained with Black Kettle following the Sand Creek massacre of 1864....
, second-in-command of Black Kettle's village, most of the warriors came back to Black Kettle's camp after their attacks. White prisoners, including children, were held within his encampment. By this time Black Kettle's influence was waning, and it is unclear whether he could have stopped the younger warriors' actions.
Washita Battle
In response to the continued raids and massacres, General Philip SheridanPhilip Sheridan
Philip Henry Sheridan was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close association with Lt. Gen. Ulysses S...
devised a plan of punitive reprisals. He planned to attack Cheyenne winter encampments, destroying both supplies and livestock, and killing any people who resisted. At dawn on the morning of November 27, 1868, George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...
led troops to attack Chief Black Kettle and his village. They were camped along the Washita River
Washita River
The Washita River is a river in Texas and Oklahoma, United States. The river is long and terminates into Lake Texoma in Johnston County , Oklahoma and the Red River.-Geography:...
. Custer's troops killed more than 100 Native Americans, mostly Southern Cheyenne. While trying to cross the Washita River, Black Kettle and his wife were shot in the back and killed.
Legacy
The Cheyenne have recognized Black Kettle as a great peacemaker. Some historians have criticized him for failing to stop raids and for massacres committed by warriors from his camp. Near the site of his death, the Black Kettle Museum commemorates the peacemaker in present Cheyenne, Oklahoma.In popular media, Black Kettle, a Cheyenne chief, was a recurring character in the CBS family drama Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman is an American post-Civil War western/drama series created by Beth Sullivan. Dr. Michaela "Mike" Quinn, played by Jane Seymour, left Boston in search of adventure. She goes to Colorado Springs, Colorado where she establishes herself as doctor/adviser.The show ran on CBS...
for its first three seasons. Black Kettle plays a key role for the series in the pilot episode. Dr. Quinn saves Black Kettle's life by performing a tracheotomy
Tracheotomy
Among the oldest described surgical procedures, tracheotomy consists of making an incision on the anterior aspect of the neck and opening a direct airway through an incision in the trachea...
and removing a bullet lodged in his neck. She later receives a Cheyenne name from Black Kettle meaning "Medicine Woman." He was played by Nick Ramus
Nick Ramus
Nickolas G. Ramus was a Native American actor, best known for his appearances on television. He was a Blackfoot.He appeared as Chief Lost Eagle of the Arapaho in the miniseries "Centennial" He also appeared in the 1993 TNT TV film Geronimo about the historical Apache warrior with the same name.He...
.
In popular culture
On skaSka
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
band Five Iron Frenzy
Five Iron Frenzy
Five Iron Frenzy is a Christian ska band formed in Denver, Colorado in 1995 and disbanded in 2003. The band announced they were recording new material on November 22, 2011....
's Our Newest Album Ever, the song "Banner Year" is about Black Kettle, how he was betrayed, and his eventual murder at the hands of Custer.