A Misplaced Massacre: Struggling over the Memory of Sand Creek

So this book was a complicated read for me. Normally I post my reviews of books I read for school before class, because I want to get my thoughts out there before we talk about it, but I genuinely couldn't tell how I felt about this book until after we talked about it, and even then, sorting out my feelings was complicated. At first, I couldn't tell if my reservations about the book had to do with the content of the book, or the way it was written, and ultimately it was a little bit of both, though I think really it was more of the former. I will admit that my feelings were clarified mostly because we got to speak with Ari Kelman in class (over Skype) and he explained some of the ways he went about trying to craft the narrative arc of the book, which hit on some of the roots of my problems with it. Kelman explained that he did his best to give every actor in the book the benefit of the doubt, and to portray them in as fair a light as he possible could, which is very reasonable! Except that at least I as a reader, and many, many others, exist in a culture of white supremacy that tells us that certain kinds of knowledges, epistemologies, ontologies etc. are more valid than others, which means that when it came to the debate about the "actual" site of the Sand Creek massacre, it really felt like the knowledges of white history and archeology carried more weight than those of the descendants. I absolutely know that that was not Kelman's intention, but it leads me to thinking about our role as historians and storytellers in keeping "balance" in our work when dominant narratives are present in and around the stories we tell. In short: I think Kelman needed to use a little more multipartiality in telling this story, and that is my biggest problem with it.That being said: it's a very carefully (and quite well done) intervention into questions of public memory and the crafting of that memory based on certain types of epistemologies, and I would recommend it to people thinking about those types of questions.

This book was both gripping and easy to read. I don't think it would be a good introduction to the subject, but to someone already a bit familiar with Sand Creek it provides good information on both the massacre and the exceedingly complex efforts to memorialize what happened. My only criticism is that the author jumps around a bit from topic to topic. Maybe sub-headings within the chapter format would help. All in all, this is the best book I have read about an event in the American west that was a tragedy in all respects.

Dr. Kelman has used an objective eye to tell part of the Sand Creek Massacre memorialisation that you won't get anywhere else. It is obvious that he took painstaking efforts to get it right. There is little doubt that the U. S. Congress got it right when they authorised almost 18 square miles of a thirty-five to fifty square mile site, to be included within the potential boundaries of the first massacre site commemorated by the National Park Service. The approximately 675 United States Volunteer Cavalry from Colorado Territory, in detachments of units pursued fleeing men, women and children for nine hours on the 29th of Nov. 1865 and stayed on site for two more days, leaving about 200 Cheyennes and Arapahos dead and another 200 wounded to find their way across the prairie to the Smoky Hill River country. This is the 150th year since the massacre. Combine this with a trip to the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site operated by the National Park Service in cooperation with the Northern and Southern branches of both tribes in consultation. This sacred site holds stories of honor, betrayal, courage and cowardice. You will not forget it. JCC

I was assigned to read “A Misplaced Massacre” for class and I must say it is one of the best books I have read. I found myself so involved in the story that I did not know what was going on around me. Mr. Kelman did a wonderful job with his descriptions of characters and details of locations. I found myself on a roller coaster ride with the Cheyanne and Arapaho as they fought for their ancestors memory. If you are interested in Native American History then this is a must read.

Kelman has written a masterful account of the workings of historians and others in related fields attempting to uncover the facts and physical placement of the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864. In many ways it is a reflection of our times as conflicting and competing interests manage to muddle whatever truths there are to be found oftentimes to the detriment of the ultimate goal. Hats off to the author for an extremely enlightening and engaging work of historical investigation.

I appreciated the depth of storytelling that accompanied solid research. The author painted a clear picture of just how complicated memorializing deeply nuanced and contested national events can become. I felt the narrative was very evenly balanced in representing the perspectives of each of the parties involved. It is a compliment to the author that I never had a sense of who he empathized with more among the competing interests. Objectively examining “what happened” is the primary role of the historian and in this, I feel he succeeded.

Add another book to my collection!