#blackkettle

Yellow Hair: George Armstrong Custer

Yellow Hair: George Armstrong Custer is the Cheyenne and Arapaho account of Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer (l. 1839-1876), his interaction with the Southern Cheyenne Chief Black Kettle (l. c. 1803-1868), the Washita Massacre (27 November 1868), and the Battle of the Little Bighorn (24-26 June 1876). The piece is significant in presenting the Native American view of events.

A Cheyenne Artist's Depiction of the Battle of the Little Bighorn

Unknown Cheyenne Artist (Public Domain)

The account was related to scholars Alice Marriott and Carol K. Rachlin by Mary Little Bear Inkanish, John Stands-in-the-Timber, and John Fletcher of the Cheyenne and by Richard Pratt of the Arapaho. Although the account conforms in many aspects to the narrative accepted by scholars of American history, there are significant departures in detail. The phrase "history is written by the winners" is not quite accurate. Histories are also written by the losers in wars and conquests; they just never become as widely read as the dominant narrative of the victors.

Yellow Hair: George Armstrong Custer is a prime example of this. Here, the depiction of Custer is quite different from his heroic image as a defender of freedom, and this view has increasingly gained ground in the last 100 years. Today, Custer is a controversial figure as the Native American interpretation of the man has become more widely accepted by mainstream scholarship.

Cheyenne & Arapaho and US Accounts

Custer was a relative newcomer to the home of the Plains Indians, only arriving in the region in 1867 toward the end of Red Cloud's War (1866-1868). He served under Major General Winfield Scott Hancock (l. 1824-1886) in the wars against the Cheyenne and Arapaho and became known as an "Indian fighter." After his death at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in June 1876, his wife, Elizabeth Bacon "Libbie" Custer (l. 1842-1933), and his supporters elevated Custer to the role of martyr for the cause of civilization and defender of the United States against the 'savagery' of the Native peoples of North America. The Native American version of Custer and the major conflicts he was involved with contradicts this narrative.

Objective review of the so-called "Indian Wars" also challenges the accepted narrative of Custer as a hero and martyr, as his actions and those of others were in breach of the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, which promised the Sioux their lands in perpetuity and the same for the Cheyenne and Arapaho. The Medicine Lodge Treaty of 1867 had made the same promises, and before that, the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 had, essentially, done the same, but none of these were honored by the US government.

In the following account, there are several details that differ from the better-known narratives. Here, it is said that Custer sent men to find Major Joel Eliot (l. 1840-1868) at the Washita Massacre when he broke from the main body of cavalry to attack the Arapaho camp, while the official report claims Custer never tried to find out where Eliot was. The failure to support Eliot is here given as the reason Custer was recalled to Washington while, in the more widely accepted narrative, it was to testify at a hearing involving monopolies and price-gouging at Western trading posts.

There are other details, some minor, in the account, but among the most interesting is the depiction of the death of the peace chief Black Kettle and his wife. According to the standard narrative, they were both killed while fleeing across the Washita River, shot in the back. Here, they are shown dying at their home, Black Kettle clutching the American flag, in a final defense of his village and way of life. The differing details of the Euro-American and Native American accounts are not only interesting in their own right, but reflect a truth regarding historical writing which, actually, can be traced back to ancient Mesopotamia: what actually happened never matters as much as how what happened is remembered. Every narrative of the past - personal, communal, or national - serves a purpose in the present in defining oneself.

Custer's Account of the Battle of Washita River

My Life on the Plains or Personal Experiences with Indians (1874) is a full-length narrative by George Armstrong Custer (l. 1839-1876) of his time out west from 1867-1874. The work includes his observations on Native Americans and accounts of the military campaigns he participated in, including the Battle of the Washita/Washita Massacre of 27 November 1868.

Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer by Mora

José María Mora (CC BY-NC-SA)

Custer was under orders from General Philip Sheridan (l. 1831-1888) to wage 'total war' against the 'hostiles' of the Plains Indians who refused to surrender their land and move onto reservations, and this entailed killing warriors in battle, hanging males, capturing women and children to hold as hostages, and destroying villages, horses, ponies, and food supplies. The Southern Cheyenne chief Black Kettle (l. c. 1803-1868) had made it clear he sought peace – and was in no way aligned with any 'hostiles' – since 1851 and had signed every peace treaty presented to the Cheyenne by the US government between that year and 1867.

In November 1868, Black Kettle appealed to US authorities to allow him and his people to move to a position of safety near Fort Cobb where they would not be mistaken for 'hostiles', but his request was denied, and he returned to his village on the Washita River in modern-day Oklahoma near the winter encampments of many other Native American nations. Custer was tracking Native American raiding parties when he found Black Kettle's camp – which was further west and somewhat removed from the other villages.

Assuming this camp to be the home of the raiders he was looking for, Custer attacked at dawn on 27 November 1868, killing between 60 and 150 Cheyenne and Arapaho, mainly women, children, the elderly, and infirm or injured. Custer then took 53 women and children prisoner and returned to his base of operations at Camp Supply. His account established the event as a 'battle' but, by January 1869, after other versions of the event had come to light, it was being referred to as a massacre.

Custer's Account

Custer's initial report to Sheridan claimed he had killed 103 warriors, but, when he and Sheridan returned to the site in December 1868, the body count was considerably higher, and the dead were clearly not all warriors. Most of the Cheyenne men were not in camp that morning as they were out hunting or visiting friends and family in the camps downriver. The men who were in camp defended their homes and families from Custer's attack, most likely in the way he describes below, but, contrary to his claims in his initial report and later, there was no large band of 'hostiles' in the camp, and the raiders he had been tracking probably belonged to one of the villages downstream.

Still, his 1868 report, on which the following account is based, established the event as the Battle of the Washita, and even after that interpretation was challenged in 1869, Custer and his supporters continued to insist he had followed the tracks of raiders to Black Kettle's camp and was obeying orders in attacking a hostile stronghold. Native American survivors of the Washita event described it as a massacre, and a letter written by Captain Frederick Benteen (l. 1834-1898), who commanded troops under Custer at the event, strongly suggests the same.

The version of events that appears in Custer's book presents the engagement as a battle between evenly matched forces, and, as Custer attained legendary status after his death at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876, this version of the event gained greater acceptance, and the 1869 challenges to it were forgotten. These objections to the 'battle' interpretation were revived in the mid-20th century, however, and the debate over whether the Washita River event was a battle or a massacre continues today.

The Attack on Black Kettle's Cheyenne Camp

Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper (Public Domain)

Washita Massacre

The Washita Massacre (Battle of Washita River) was the slaughter of the village of the Southern Cheyenne Chief Black Kettle (l. c. 1803-1868) and the peace chiefs aligned with him on 27 November 1868 at the hands of the 7th Cavalry led by Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer (l. 1839-1876), even though they had been promised protection.

Black Kettle had been seeking peace with the Euro-American invaders since 1851 and had signed every treaty presented to him and the other peace chiefs – those who sought to live amicably with the settlers – from then up through 1868. On 29 November 1864, while living under what he understood as the protection of the United States government, Black Kettle's village was attacked and destroyed in the Sand Creek Massacre orchestrated by Colonel John Chivington (l. 1821-1894), leading the Third Colorado Cavalry. Black Kettle survived that onslaught but was killed, along with his wife and between 60-150 other Cheyenne and Arapaho, at the Washita Massacre in present-day western Oklahoma.

The conflict was initially reported as a glorious victory for Custer, already a famous war hero from his service in the Union army during the Civil War, over hostile Indians who had been preying on innocent settlers. Shortly after the event, however, eyewitness accounts challenged that narrative, and Custer was, rightly, accused of murdering peaceful Native Americans, mostly women, children, the elderly, and the injured, who had nothing to do with the raids on Euro-American settlements.

Background

Conflicts between Euro-American settlers and the Plains Indians were already an issue by 1823, but tensions increased in the following years as more people moved west. In 1845, journalist John L. O'Sullivan (l. 1813-1895) coined the term "Manifest Destiny" in arguing for the annexation of Texas and Oregon territories to the United States, claiming that the US was "divinely appointed" to establish itself across North America. Although this concept had appeared earlier with different phrasing, it became especially popular in the mid-19th century. The only obstacle to making the destiny of the United States manifest were the people who had lived on the land for thousands of years.

In an effort to control the nomadic and semi-nomadic Native peoples of North America and prevent further conflict, the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 was signed between US officials and the Arapaho, Cheyenne, Crow, Sioux, and other nations, recognizing the legitimacy of Native American occupancy of 'Indian Territory' as distinct from lands available for US settlement, among other terms.

Black Kettle signed the treaty, along with other peace chiefs, as he understood that continued conflict was no good for either side. However, there was no way the representatives of the nations that signed that treaty could force other chiefs, who had not signed, to comply with it. The US officials repeatedly made the mistake of assuming the chief of one band was the leader of the entire nation, and so conflict continued, as in the case of the Grattan Fight (Grattan Massacre) of 1854 in which 2nd Lt. John Grattan's command attacked a Sioux village and was wiped out.

The treaty of 1851 was never actually honored by the United States and was abandoned in 1858 when gold was discovered in the region, prompting the Pike's Peak Gold Rush and an influx of even more settlers. Further conflicts led to the Treaty of Fort Wise in 1861, also signed by Black Kettle, which was also ignored by US settlers and authorities. Although Black Kettle continued to advocate for peace, other Cheyenne chiefs, including Chief Tall Bull and Roman Nose (Cheyenne Warrior) continued to defend their land through military actions and raids on settlements and wagon trains.

The Colorado War (1864-1865) was a response to the failure of the US government to honor their treaties, and tensions only escalated after the Sand Creek Massacre on 29 November 1864 when Black Kettle's camp, flying the American flag and the white flag of truce, was attacked by Colonel John Chivington, resulting in over 150 Arapaho and Cheyenne casualties, mostly women, children, and the elderly, as most of the young men were away hunting.

Black Kettle at Sand Creek

Stone Rabbit (CC BY-SA)

Red Cloud's War (1866-1868) was launched by the Lakota Sioux chief Red Cloud (l. 1822-1909) in another attempt to stop westward expansion and force the United States to honor its treaties. This conflict was allegedly resolved by the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, which established the Great Sioux Reservation while, at the same time, the Cheyenne, Arapaho – and any others who wanted to – were promised protection by the United States if they would move to designated locations where they would be recognized as "friendly Indians" and receive regular provisions and supplies.

Early Media Coverage of the Sand Creek Massacre and Continuing Controversy

The earliest reports on the Sand Creek Massacre (29 November 1864) characterized it as a great battle in which the Third Colorado Cavalry under Colonel John Chivington defeated a large force of armed Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors. By the end of December 1864, that version of the event had been challenged.

Sand Creek Battle Ground Marker

Carptrash (CC BY-SA)

Colonel John Chivington (l. 1821-1894) had actually led his men against a village of Cheyenne and Arapaho in full compliance with the policies of Governor John Evans (l. 1814-1897) who had offered safety to peaceful tribes, friendly toward the US government, who might, therefore, fall prey to the hostile bands that were raiding wagon trains and settlements in the Colorado region. Black Kettle (l. c. 1803-1868), chief of the Southern Cheyenne, and Chief Niwot (also known as Left Hand, l. c. 1825-1864) of the Southern Arapaho led their people to Sand Creek as directed by Evans. Most had surrendered their weapons at Fort Lyon and the village was primarily occupied by women, children, and the elderly.

The event described as a "battle" was therefore a massacre of mostly unarmed Natives who, further, were flying both the American flag and the white flag of truce, as they had been told to do by Evans to identify themselves as "friendlies" and ensure their safety from the very troops that wound up slaughtering most of them.

Shortly after the massacre, Chivington sent his superior, General Samuel Curtis, a report claiming to have defeated a force of heavily armed Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors "from 900 to 1,000 strong" who had fortified the village and were deeply dug in (Kelman, 9). He then sent a similar account to the local papers in Denver – including the Rocky Mountain News – establishing the conflict as a "battle" and his opponents as hostiles.

This version of the event was then reported by other newspapers at the time and continued to be accepted as truth even after eyewitness accounts of the events of 29 November 1864 completely contradicted it. Even today, the Sand Creek Massacre is sometimes referenced as a "battle" when, in fact, it was a surprise attack and slaughter of mostly unarmed people who had every reason to believe the government forces approaching their camp would protect them.

Media Coverage of Sand Creek

The first reports were taken from Chivington's account, which was supported by Major Scott Anthony, commander of the garrison at Fort Lyon. The report of the Rocky Mountain News on 17 December 1864 (given in full below) gives an account of the event which by the end of the month and into January 1865 would prove to be largely fiction. The testimony of eyewitnesses – notably Captain Silas Soule (l. 1838-1865) who was present but did not participate in the massacre – challenged Chivington's version of events, resulting in a formal investigation of the incident by Congress and the War Department, but, still, many preferred to believe the initial report of a "battle", and, as noted, some still do today.

Colonel John Chivington

Unknown Photographer (Public Domain)

Eyewitness testimony presents a completely different picture, however, and some of these accounts are given by men who participated in the massacre. Major Anthony, for example, relates this incident:

There was one little child, probably three years old, just big enough to walk through the sand. The Indians had gone ahead, and this little child was behind, following after them. The little fellow was perfectly naked, traveling in the sand. I saw one man get off his horse at a distance of about seventy-five yards and draw up his rifle and fire. He missed the child. Another man came up and said "let me try the son of a b-. I can hit him." He got down off his horse, kneeled down, and fired at the little child but he missed him. A third man came up and made a similar remark, and fired, and the little fellow dropped.

(Vasicek, 2)

Silas Soule, in his account, gives Anthony's own conduct during the massacre:

Hundreds of women and children were coming towards us, getting on their knees for mercy. Major Anthony responded by shouting "Kill the sons of bitches."

(Kelman, 23)

A witness whose name was not recorded supports the accounts of many others that those killed were mostly women, children, and the elderly. White Antelope (l. c. 1789-1864), another Cheyenne peace chief like Black Kettle, was in his seventies when he was murdered at Sand Creek, as were many other elder chieftains of both the Cheyenne and Arapaho. Most of those massacred, however, were women and children.

I saw five squaws under a bank for shelter. When the troops came up to them, they ran out and showed their persons to let the soldiers know they were squaws and begged for mercy, but the soldiers shot them all…There were some thirty or forty squaws collected in a hole for protection; they sent out a little girl about six years old with a white flag on a stick. She had not proceeded but a few steps when she was shot and killed. Everyone I saw dead was scalped…I saw the body of White Antelope with the privates cut off and I heard a soldier say he was going to make a tobacco pouch out of them…I saw quite a number of infants in arms killed with their mothers.

(Vasicek, 2)

These accounts were already known by the end of December 1864 but were rejected as "tales" conjured up by "folks back east" who were sympathetic to the Native American cause. No one wanted to believe that US troops had murdered unarmed men, women, and children, and so, if anything, the eyewitness reports only made Chivington's version of the event more popular and firmly established because these accounts were too horrible to be accepted. The second piece from the Rocky Mountain News, published 30 December 1864 (given below in part), rejects any claims of a massacre and supports Chivington's version of the event as a battle.

Arapaho Dress

Wolfgang Sauber (CC BY-SA)

Black Kettle

Black Kettle (Mo-ta-vato/Mo'ohtavetoo'o, l. c. 1803-1868) was a chief of the Southern Cheyenne who became famous as a "peace chief" – seeking peaceful relations with the US government – as opposed to war chiefs such as Roman Nose (Cheyenne warrior). Even so, all Black Kettle's efforts were betrayed, and he was killed in the Washita Massacre in 1868.

He was born a member of the Northern Cheyenne, but, in 1854, married his third wife, Medicine-Woman-Hereafter of the Wotapio band of the Southern Cheyenne, and became one of their chiefs when her father died. He would marry four times and father seventeen children. In his youth, he served in the military society of the Elk Horn Scrapers, fighting the Utes, Pawnee, and other Plains Indians, and was recognized as one who "carried the war pipe" – a great military leader. He was eventually granted the honor of carrying the Cheyenne's Four Sacred Arrows into battle.

Black Kettle survived the Sand Creek Massacre of 29 November 1864 but lost face to the Dog Soldiers, the military society led, at that time, by Chief Tall Bull (l. 1830-1869) who, like Roman Nose (l. c. 1830-1868), rejected diplomatic efforts with the US government and advocated war. Black Kettle continued to pursue peace with the United States, however, over the next four years until he was killed, along with Medicine-Woman and about 60-150 others at the Washita Massacre/Battle of Washita River of 27 November 1868. He is remembered as a great peacemaker and idealist who believed the best about others.

Early Life & Warrior Status

Little is known of Black Kettle's life before the 1850s. His birth date is usually given as 1803 but sometimes appears as 1807. He was a member of the Suhtai band of the Northern Cheyenne and his father's name was Swift Hawk Lying Down. His mother's name was Sparrow Hawk Woman and he had three siblings. His father was a warrior who taught him to ride and shoot. He was already known as an expert horseman before he was ten years old, took part in his first buffalo hunt at the age of twelve, and fought in his first battle when he was 14.

Before he was 20, Black Kettle was known as a great warrior, regularly leading war parties against other Plains Indian nations, including the Utes and Pawnee. By this time, he was already a member of the Elk Horn Scrapers military society whose chiefs reported to the Cheyenne governing body of the Council of Forty-Four and listened to their advice but, like the other military societies (including the famous Dog Soldiers), were free to disagree with the Council's decisions and often chose their own path.

At some point, he married Little Sage Woman who, in 1854, accompanied him on a raid into Mexico to avenge the deaths of two Cheyenne. On their way back, they were attacked by a large band of Utes and Little Sage Woman fell from her horse. She was taken by the Utes and was never seen again. That same year, Black Kettle married Medicine-Woman-Hereafter, whose father was a chief of the Southern Cheyenne. Black Kettle became a member of her family, leaving the Northern Cheyenne and settling with her people in the region of modern-day Colorado.