Colorado Territory Governor, John Evans issues a proclamation on June 27, 1864 commanding all “Friendly” Native Americans of the Cheyenne and Arapaho to go to Fort Lyon to receive supplies and to find safety. However, this was in direct conflict with the standing order at all Forts within the Territory of Colorado that all members of the Military should shoot and kill any Native American that approached a Fort.
Frustrated with a lack of compliance, Evans issued a second proclamation in August 1864 that authorized all citizens to "kill and destroy, as enemies of the country" any "hostile Indians". These duplicitous political maneuverings led to the November 29, 1864 Sand Creek Massacre, when over the course of eight hours the American troops killed around 230 Cheyenne and Arapaho people composed mostly of women, children, and the elderly who had been directed by the American Military to camp there. More
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