Black Kettle (1803?-1868) was a Cheyenne chief. He became known for his attempts to live in peace with white settlers. But his people were the victims in two brutal massacres by white troops.
In the autumn of 1864, Black Kettle and his people settled, with the permission of United States Army officials, along Sand Creek in what is now southeastern Colorado. Although the Cheyenne had made an agreement with the governor, a force led by Colonel John M. Chivington attacked them on Nov. 29, 1864. Black Kettle escaped, but the soldiers killed more than 150 Cheyenne men, women, and children. In 1868, Black Kettle and his band established a camp along the Washita River near the site of present-day Cheyenne, Oklahoma. On Nov. 27, 1868, Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer led a surprise attack on the Cheyenne camp. The soldiers killed Black Kettle and killed or wounded more than 100 men and an unrecorded number of women and children.
Black Kettle was born in the North Platte River Valley in what is now southern Wyoming. His Cheyenne name was Moke-ta-ra-to.
See also Indian wars (Sand Creek) (Washita River) ; Sand Creek Massacre .
