Content deleted Content added
A purchase in 2022 expanded the site Tags: Visual edit Mobile edit Mobile web edit Advanced mobile edit |
Expanded article Tags: Visual edit Mobile edit Mobile web edit Advanced mobile edit |
||
Line 20:
}}
'''Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site''' is a [[National Historic Sites (United States)|National Historic Site]] in [[Kiowa County, Colorado]], commemorating the [[Sand Creek Massacre]] that occurred here on November 29, 1864. The site is considered sacred after the unprovoked assault on an encampment of approximately 750 [[Native Americans in the United States|Native people]] resulted in the murder of hundreds of men, women and children. Near [[Eads, Colorado|Eads]] and [[Chivington, Colorado|Chivington]], the site is about {{convert|170|mi|km|-1}} southeast of [[Denver]] and about {{convert|125|mi|km|-1}} east of [[Pueblo, Colorado|Pueblo]]. A few basic park facilities have been opened at this site.
{{stack|[[File:Sand Creek MNHS Entrance Sign P5310694.JPG|thumb|Entrance sign for Sand Creek Massacre NHS]]}}
In 1999, archaeological teams from the National Park Service, Dept. of the Interior BLM, Colorado Historical Society and accompanied by Native American observers, made a major archaeological discovery of remains of the massacre site. Large numbers of period bullets, camp equipment, and other items convinced the NPS that they had found the correct site.
Line 26:
The Historical Site was authorized by Public Law 106-465 on November 7, 2000, in order to "recognize the national significance of the massacre in American history, and its ongoing significance to the [[Cheyenne]] and [[Arapaho]] people and the descendants of the massacre victims." The law authorized establishment of the site once the [[National Park Service]] acquired sufficient land from willing sellers to preserve, commemorate, and interpret the massacre. The site near the junction of County Road 54 and County Road "W" was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] on September 28, 2001. The site contains a small visitor center, interpretive plaques and signage, monuments located on a hilltop overlooking the massacre site, and two walking trails.<ref name="NPS Interpretive Pamphlet">{{cite book |title=Sand Creek Massacre Site Pamphlet |date=2017 |publisher=Government Printing Office |location=Washington, D.C.}}</ref> The massacre site itself is off-limits to visitors.
On August 2, 2005, President [[George W. Bush]] gave final approval for the site. On April 23, 2007 it was announced that site would become America's 391st [[List of the United States National Park System official units|official park unit]]<ref>{{cite web| url=http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/printheadline.cfm?type=PressReleases&id=735| title=Secretary Kempthorne Creates Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site| author=U.S. Dept. of Interior| access-date=May 2, 2007| author-link=United States Department of the Interior}}</ref> with an effective date of April 27, 2007.<ref name="Dirk Kempthorne Federal Register Volume 72, Number 81, pp. 21048-21049 2007">{{cite web| url=http://frwebgate2.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate.cgi?WAISdocID=120918443288+6+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve| archive-url=https://archive.today/20120509185157/http://frwebgate2.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate.cgi?WAISdocID=120918443288+6+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve| url-status=dead| archive-date=May 9, 2012| title=Notice of Establishment of the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site| author=[[Dirk Kempthorne]] (Federal Register Volume 72, Number 81, pp. 21048-21049)| access-date=May 2, 2007}}</ref> The dedication ceremony was held on April 28, 2007.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.nps.gov/sand/planyourvisit/upload/towngenda.pdf| title=Sand Creek Massacre NHS Dedication, Schedule of Events| author=[[National Park Service]]| access-date=May 2, 2007}}</ref> A purchase in 2022 expanded the site by {{convert|3,478| acres}}. The area included lands listed on the National Register of Historic Places for their significance. Archaeological remains include evidence of the village where Cheyenne and Arapaho families were camped, along with an intact viewshed that is key to the integrity of the site.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Langmaid |first=Virginia |date=October 9, 2022 |title=The Sand Creek Massacre site will be expanded to preserve Native American tribes' sacred land |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/09/us/sand-creek-massacre-site-expansion-reaj/index.html |access-date=2022-10-09 |work=CNN |language=en}}</ref> The expansion of the site contributed to one of the most intact [[shortgrass prairie]] ecosystems within the National Park system, providing habitat for a wide range of plants, wildlife and species of special concern.<ref>{{Cite press release |date=2022-10-05 |title=Secretary Haaland Commits to Telling America’s Story at Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site |url=https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/secretary-haaland-commits-telling-americas-story-sand-creek-massacre-national-historic |access-date=2022-10-09 |language=en}}</ref>
Currently the site encompasses {{convert|12,583|acre|km2}} of which {{convert|2,385|acre|km2}} are federally owned.<ref name="area"/>{{Update inline|date=October 2022|reason=2022 expansion}} By 2004 the federal government acquired {{convert|920|acre|km2|1}} from private land owners. On September 9, 2006 the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma conveyed to the United States title to {{convert|1465|acre|km2|0}} to be held in trust for the National Historic Site.<ref name="Dirk Kempthorne Federal Register Volume 72, Number 81, pp. 21048-21049 2007"/> The site includes {{convert|640 |acres}} acquired and preserved by the [[American Battlefield Trust]] and its partners.<ref>[https://www.battlefields.org/preserve/saved-land] Land Saved by the [[American Battlefield Trust]], accessed May 18, 2018.</ref>
== References ==
{{NPS}}
{{reflist|35em}}
| |||