Sand Creek Memories by Don Crowley.

 

In one of Don Crowley's most distinct and important portraits to date, a formidable Cheyenne warrior stands tribute to the memory of his fellow tribesman who fell at Sandy Creek.

"The painting is a plea for peace, and a symbol of the hope that we do not make the same mistakes again." - D. Crowley

 

The site of the Sand Creek Massacre, where 150 Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians were killed, has finally been pinpointed after a century of dispute over its location. Before dawn on November 29, 1864, more than 700 soldiers, mostly volunteer Colorado state militia, attacked an Indian encampment on Sand Creek in southeastern Colorado, killing old men, women, children, and babies, while most of the men of the village were away hunting. Leading the attack was Colonel John M. Chivington, a former Methodist preacher known as the "Fighting Parson." Chivington was already on record as saying his mission in life was "to kill Indians."

excerpted from:  Brenda Smiley,  Archaeological Institute of America

 

Canvas released 2007.