Post by Okwes on Dec 21, 2006 12:36:00 GMT -5
Healing from Sand Creek
By Katharine Bernuth,
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated:11/26/2006 09:42:42 AM MST
www.denverpost.com/news/ci_4722765
<http://www.denverpost.com/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=1381352>
Martha Wolfname, left, listens at a ceremony Saturday in Denver to
remember the 200 Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians slain Nov. 29, 1864. (Post
/ RJ Sangosti)
"It was a horrible scene and I would not let my Company fire. It looked
too hard for me to see little children begging for their lives, have
their brains beat out like dogs." - /Capt. Silas Soule, from letters he
wrote to his mother weeks after the massacre at Sand Creek on Nov. 29,
1864. /
As she sat on a folding chair amid the old graves with the cold air on
her face and the morning light in her eyes, Mae Whistling Elk imagined
her ancestors frantically trying to flee the deadly onslaught of bullets
and blows.
Whistling Elk, 62, came from her home in Montana with other Northern
Cheyenne elders to attend the three days of ceremonies in honor of the
nearly 200 Cheyenne and Arapaho men, women and children who were killed
in 1864 at their camp along Sand Creek in southeastern Colorado.
The Sand Creek Massacre is considered one of the bloodiest days in
Colorado history.
"We never forget about it, and it's very emotional," Whistling Elk said.
"Some people have a lot of anger."
Whistling Elk joined a group of about 100 people Saturday at Riverside
Cemetery in Denver around the grave of Capt. Silas Soule, who, along
with Lt. Joseph Cramer, refused to attack the peaceful Indians at Sand
Creek and later testified against Col. John Chivington, who led the dawn
attack.
Soule was murdered in Denver near his home on Curtis Street in April
1865 after recounting the murder of scores of helpless people, many of
whom were mutilated by their attackers. Chivington was later condemned
by the government for the massacre, but criminal charges were never
brought against him.
Byron Strom's great-grandfather was Soule's brother, and Strom came from
Des Moines, Iowa, to attend the ceremony in honor of Soule, who died at 26.
"I'm quite amazed," said Strom, 60. "It's a tremendous honor for our
family to be recognized by the Cheyenne and Arapaho people."
From Riverside Cemetery,
<http://www.denverpost.com/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=1381353>
Jay Alive of Denver holds an eagle staff before a run/walk Saturday in
Denver to the site of Capt. Silas Soule s murder in 1865 after Soule
recounted the deaths of scores of helpless people. (Post / RJ Sangosti)
about 40 participants of the eighth annual Sand Creek Spiritual Healing
Run went to the spot in downtown Denver where Soule died. From there,
participants, including the elders, marched to the steps of the Capitol.
This is the second year that Rena West, 17, came from Oklahoma to
participate in the Sand Creek healing run. West ran in memory of her
ancestors who died at Sand Creek, but also for Native American culture,
which she fears is being lost.
"We went through a lot of hard times, and now we're becoming extinct
basically," West said. "Our culture is dying out, and we're trying to
preserve it."
On Thursday, people gathered at the Sand Creek site near Eads for a
sunrise ceremony. Friday, they held a candlelight vigil in front of the
art museum.
Before West and the other runners set off from the cemetery Saturday,
they watched as a 33-star American flag and a white surrender flag were
raised. Onlookers wiped their eyes as they observed the same symbols
meant to proclaim peace that flew above Chief Black Kettle's camp along
Sand Creek.
"It's a community therapy session," said Darius Smith of Denver's Agency
for Human Rights and Community Relations.
Even though Whistling Elk's heart aches every time she recalls the
events at Sand Creek, she says the way forward is through forgiveness.
So, when she prayed during the ceremony, she made sure to say a blessing
for the Union officers, Soule and
<http://www.denverpost.com/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=1381349>
Healing Run participants hold up a 33-star American flag the number of
stars on the flag at Chief Black Kettle s camp at Sand Creek. (Post / RJ
Sangosti)
Cramer.
"That's pretty good what they did," she said. "It takes a lot of courage."
/Staff writer Katharine Bernuth can be reached at 303-954-1752 or
kbernuth@denverpost.com <mailto:kbernuth@denverpost.com>.
/
By Katharine Bernuth,
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated:11/26/2006 09:42:42 AM MST
www.denverpost.com/news/ci_4722765
<http://www.denverpost.com/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=1381352>
Martha Wolfname, left, listens at a ceremony Saturday in Denver to
remember the 200 Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians slain Nov. 29, 1864. (Post
/ RJ Sangosti)
"It was a horrible scene and I would not let my Company fire. It looked
too hard for me to see little children begging for their lives, have
their brains beat out like dogs." - /Capt. Silas Soule, from letters he
wrote to his mother weeks after the massacre at Sand Creek on Nov. 29,
1864. /
As she sat on a folding chair amid the old graves with the cold air on
her face and the morning light in her eyes, Mae Whistling Elk imagined
her ancestors frantically trying to flee the deadly onslaught of bullets
and blows.
Whistling Elk, 62, came from her home in Montana with other Northern
Cheyenne elders to attend the three days of ceremonies in honor of the
nearly 200 Cheyenne and Arapaho men, women and children who were killed
in 1864 at their camp along Sand Creek in southeastern Colorado.
The Sand Creek Massacre is considered one of the bloodiest days in
Colorado history.
"We never forget about it, and it's very emotional," Whistling Elk said.
"Some people have a lot of anger."
Whistling Elk joined a group of about 100 people Saturday at Riverside
Cemetery in Denver around the grave of Capt. Silas Soule, who, along
with Lt. Joseph Cramer, refused to attack the peaceful Indians at Sand
Creek and later testified against Col. John Chivington, who led the dawn
attack.
Soule was murdered in Denver near his home on Curtis Street in April
1865 after recounting the murder of scores of helpless people, many of
whom were mutilated by their attackers. Chivington was later condemned
by the government for the massacre, but criminal charges were never
brought against him.
Byron Strom's great-grandfather was Soule's brother, and Strom came from
Des Moines, Iowa, to attend the ceremony in honor of Soule, who died at 26.
"I'm quite amazed," said Strom, 60. "It's a tremendous honor for our
family to be recognized by the Cheyenne and Arapaho people."
From Riverside Cemetery,
<http://www.denverpost.com/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=1381353>
Jay Alive of Denver holds an eagle staff before a run/walk Saturday in
Denver to the site of Capt. Silas Soule s murder in 1865 after Soule
recounted the deaths of scores of helpless people. (Post / RJ Sangosti)
about 40 participants of the eighth annual Sand Creek Spiritual Healing
Run went to the spot in downtown Denver where Soule died. From there,
participants, including the elders, marched to the steps of the Capitol.
This is the second year that Rena West, 17, came from Oklahoma to
participate in the Sand Creek healing run. West ran in memory of her
ancestors who died at Sand Creek, but also for Native American culture,
which she fears is being lost.
"We went through a lot of hard times, and now we're becoming extinct
basically," West said. "Our culture is dying out, and we're trying to
preserve it."
On Thursday, people gathered at the Sand Creek site near Eads for a
sunrise ceremony. Friday, they held a candlelight vigil in front of the
art museum.
Before West and the other runners set off from the cemetery Saturday,
they watched as a 33-star American flag and a white surrender flag were
raised. Onlookers wiped their eyes as they observed the same symbols
meant to proclaim peace that flew above Chief Black Kettle's camp along
Sand Creek.
"It's a community therapy session," said Darius Smith of Denver's Agency
for Human Rights and Community Relations.
Even though Whistling Elk's heart aches every time she recalls the
events at Sand Creek, she says the way forward is through forgiveness.
So, when she prayed during the ceremony, she made sure to say a blessing
for the Union officers, Soule and
<http://www.denverpost.com/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=1381349>
Healing Run participants hold up a 33-star American flag the number of
stars on the flag at Chief Black Kettle s camp at Sand Creek. (Post / RJ
Sangosti)
Cramer.
"That's pretty good what they did," she said. "It takes a lot of courage."
/Staff writer Katharine Bernuth can be reached at 303-954-1752 or
kbernuth@denverpost.com <mailto:kbernuth@denverpost.com>.
/