Some 200 miles and 147 years removed from one of the most famous massacres in American history, a group of about 100 American Indians and others trod through the streets of Denver on Saturday morning in remembrance of two words — Sand Creek.
Highly visible were representatives from all three wings of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes now dispersed in Montana, Wyoming and Oklahoma. But some less likely participants were also sprinkled in the crowd that gathered for the 13th annual Sand Creek Massacre Spiritual Healing Run.
The run concluded at noon on the west steps of the state Capitol, where the group was met by dignitaries including Denver Mayor Michael Hancock.
Bishop Elaine Stanovsky, who heads the Rocky Mountain Conference of the United Methodist Church, marched while she talked with many of the American Indians. She wasn’t shy about her denomination’s unfortunate link to the Nov. 29, 1864, mass murder.
Col. John Chivington of the Colorado militia, who led the dawn attack that claimed the lives of some 200 Cheyenne and Arapaho men, women and children, was an ordained Methodist minister.
“We have to internalize the capacity of individuals in any institution to go way wrong,” she said. “It’s just part of the terrible expansionist history of America that we have to own.”
Stanovsky’s presence wasn’t Methodists’ first attempt to make amends for Chivington. In 1996, the United Methodist General Conference issued an official apology and earlier this year $50,000 was donated as seed money for a learning center to be constructed near Eads, 16 miles from the massacre site.
Bearing an eagle-feather-adorned staff, Nick Diaz, 50, helped lead the way through downtown Denver.
Diaz, who identified himself as a Chicano, has participated in the run for the past three years. He said the event is bigger than any one tribe or incident.
“This day means something to all indigenous people of this hemisphere. From the tip of South America to the top of Alaska, we have a shared history of oppression,” he said. “It’s not about rehashing the past because we can’t change it. It’s about finding balance for today and tomorrow.”
Saturday’s march was the culmination of a three-day event that began Thursday at the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site in southeast Colorado. Event organizers said that more that 130 people ran different legs of the run.
Weston Gentry: 303-954-1054, wgentry@denverpost.com or
