We deem a space to be sacred by how worthy it is of respect; and for the descendants of the few hundred Northern Arapahoes and Cheyenne who managed to save themselves from a barbaric attack on peaceful Indians, we have enormous respect and gratitude for the courage they displayed at Sand Creek in southern Colorado on November 29, 1864.  All of them warriors in their own right.

Sand Creek is now a National Park established to preserve this sacred ground. What could be a more appropriate memorial than this expanse of pristine prairie which was the final resting place for many of our ancestors.  The park ranger present on the day we visited remarked on something he noticed about the Native American culture.  He felt that wherever they lived they offered the perfect balance within nature.  They neither depleted nor destroyed their environment, but, in instead, left it flourishing.

One cannot notice there is one part of nature missing, the bison.  Sand Creek was the last concession of land the federal government offered to those tribes of people who, like the bison, roamed without fences, took no more than what was needed to survive, and left behind only their footprints.  Those footprints have long since disappeared, but what remains is the feeling we hold in our hearts for a way of life Indians have never let go of.  Bison and Native Americans are resilient and are still here honoring our ancestors’ way of life.  That is why Sand Creek is so worthy of our respect to honor it as sacred–those warriors passed the torch on to future generations.  We are still here.

Featured photo by: Manuel Delaunay