Black Kettle

• Born: 1803?
• Birthplace: Present day South Dakota
• Died: November 27, 1868
• Place of death: Village on the Washita River, Indian Territory (now in Oklahoma)

Tribal affiliation: Southern Cheyenne

Significance: Cheyenne leader Black Kettle, who struggled to maintain peace with white settlers and soldiers, was one of the few survivors of the Sand Creek Massacre

Black Kettle was one of the most noted of the traditional chiefs of the Cheyenne Nation, who were known as “peace chiefs.” The Cheyenne were originally part of the larger complex of Algonquian-speaking peoples of the Canada/Minnesota region surrounding the Great Lakes. They were encountered in this region as late as 1667 by French explorers but were soon driven southward by British distribution of guns to more northern peoples.

Cheyenne oral tradition holds that the first such peace chief was appointed by Sweet Medicine, who left a code of conduct for the peace chiefs. A peace chief was to abandon all violence, even in the face of imminent danger to himself or his family. Yet he was also to stand firm, even if nonaggressively, against opponents of his people, even when the soldier societies among the Cheyenne had retreated. He was to persist in peacemaking efforts despite total opposition by the soldier societies of the younger Cheyenne warriors—seeking peace with native and settler alike in all circumstances. Finally, he was to show generosity in dealing with his own people, particularly toward the poor.

From U.S. military sources, Black Kettle appears to have been recognized as the main leader of the Cheyenne people of the western Plains by 1860. Therefore, he was the main authority in the crisis years of 1860 until his death in 1868. Reports of his age at death vary from fifty-six to sixty-one. Little is known about his early life except that he was an able warrior in the traditional Cheyenne manner.

Black Kettle was distinguished in his dealings with white settlers by his courage in the face of superior firepower and his willingness to negotiate release of captives, often by purchasing them at his own expense (even the chief was subject to Cheyenne economic law) in order to present them to white authorities.

In the midst of serious hostilities and severe food shortages, Black Kettle traveled to Fort Lyon, where he was refused food rations by Major Scott Anthony and Colonel John Chivington. He was instructed to take his people to Sand Creek village, where he had assurances that they would be allowed to hunt and would not be endangered by American military operations. On November 28, 1864, American soldiers attacked the Sand Creek village. Severely injured, Black Kettle was among the few survivors. During the attack, Black Kettle tried to hoist an American flag presented to him by American authorities, believing that these were soldiers who did not know about the agreement at Fort Lyon. He was to discover, however, that it was Anthony and Chivington themselves who led the unprovoked massacre of the Cheyenne people at Sand Creek. There followed a period of serious warfare, and for the next eight years, Black Kettle was frequently involved in attempting to mediate disputes between the Cheyenne and the American military. The constant movements imposed upon the Cheyenne made it increasingly difficult for Black Kettle to control the younger soldiers, as was also often the case with the lack of central control of the American military raiding parties. On November 27, 1868, George Armstrong Custer led a surprise attack at dawn on the encampment at Washita River, where Black Kettle’s band was located. Black Kettle and his wife were killed.

Bibliography

Hoig, Stan. The Peace Chiefs of the Cheyennes. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1980.

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. The Sand Creek Massacre. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1961.