The Sand Creek Massacre was a sad and unfortunate event in the history of the United States that occurred on November 29, 1864. There was much contention between the white settlers and the native Indians as the settlers began to branch out and settle throughout the unformed territories of what much later became known as the United States of America. During this contention there were many treaties forced upon different tribes of Indians, one of those tribes were the Cheyenne who were led by chief Black Kettle. One treaty after another led the Black Kettle and his people from one sad piece of land to another until they found themselves on the Sand Creek Reservation more by force than choice.

This was not enough for many settlers, especially one in particular name John Chivington. Chivington led his troops to the Sand Creek Reservation on the morning of November 29, 1864 with the intent of slaughtering as many Cheyenne as possible. That morning Chivington ordered his troops to attack, and they did.

They massacred anything in their way including men, women, and children. There was no mercy shown on chief Black Kettle's people that tragic morning, it has been estimated that between 200 and 400 men, women, and children were slaughtered that day. As if killing wasn't enough for Chivington's troops, they proceeded to sexually mutilate the bodies of the dead and took them back as trophies of their horrific accomplishment. Not only was the Sand Creek Massacre a huge loss of life for the Cheyenne, it also shattered the spirits of those who survived.