Lee Lone Bear’s grandfather taught him at the age of 6 the words that his great-great-grandfather, Chief White Antelope, was said to have sung the day he was killed.
Never forget these words, the grandfather admonished: “My relatives remember. Only the rocks stay on earth forever.”
Lone Bear, now 64, sang those words Thursday night during the annual candlelight vigil in front of the Denver Art Museum commemorating the Sand Creek Massacre.
Chief White Antelope was one of the nearly 200 Cheyenne and Arapaho men, women and children who were killed at their camp along Sand Creek in southeastern Colorado on Nov. 29, 1864.
Lone Bear comes from Lame Deer, Mont., annually to remember the tragedy.
The candlelight vigil is part of three days of ceremonies honoring the dead. Another commemoration is scheduled Saturday morning at the grave of Capt. Silas Soule, who refused to move against the Indians camped at Sand Creek and later testified against Col. John Chivington, who led the dawn attack.
Soule was murdered at the age of 26 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.
In honor of Soule, a group will participate Saturday in a “healing run” from Riverside Cemetery to a spot in downtown Denver near the site where Soule was killed.
Bill Tall Bull’s grandparents never talked of the massacre when he was growing up. They shielded him from the dark story of how his ancestors had been killed.
He learned what had happened when he moved from Montana and began to study the history of his people. Tall Bull, now 44, said it’s important that the memory stay alive.
“We’re still healing from what happened,” he said, as darkness fell and sleet began to fall moments before the candlelight vigil.
“I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to heal totally. I’ll only be able to heal if I get my land back.”
Christopher N. Osher: 303-954-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com
