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Sand Creek Massacre NHS News Release
December 13, 2006 For Immediate Release Craig Moore 719-383-5051 Sand Creek Massacre NHS Year In Review The Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site participated in many important events and accomplishments in 2006. Foremost, a public ceremony to dedicate the new national historic site is being planned for Saturday, April 28, 2007. Thereafter, the site will be open on a very limited basis for ranger-led programs and other activities. Additional details about limited hours of operation will be forthcoming early next spring. On September 9, the Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes of Oklahoma conveyed 1465 acres (the former Dawson ranch) to the United States to be held in trust for the tribes as part of the Sand Creek Massacre NHS. This conveyance was unanimously approved by tribal legislators and signed by the tribal governor. With the addition of this acreage, the National Park Service now manages over 2400 acres within the site’s authorized boundaries. The Secretary of the Interior’s formal announcement of the site’s establishment is expected in January, 2007. Throughout 2006 the Sand Creek Massacre NHS continued it’s partnership with Kiowa County, the State of Colorado, the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes and others. The park also enhanced its relationship with the Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystems Study Unit, resulting in scientific research at the site by the University of Montana, Colorado State University and the University of Colorado. Additionally, the site continues to manage a broad range of natural resource initiatives. Extensive fuel reduction projects and various plant and animal species inventories have been completed with the assistance of other national park units, Cheyenne and Arapaho tribal fire crews, and the Youth Conservation Corps. The Sand Creek Massacre staff continued it’s tradition of supporting both the Kiowa County Fair and the Colorado State Fair. The park manned an information booth at both events as well as at the Colorado Preservation Inc. annual “Saving Places” Conference in Denver. The park also provided over a dozen off-site programs about the Sand Creek Massacre to schools and students throughout the state, including the Colorado College and the United States Air Force Academy. With the assistance of a cadre of volunteers, the site worked with the Colorado State Archives, the Colorado and Oklahoma Historical Societies, the National Archives and other repositories in efforts to broaden and improve the park’s baseline historic knowledge. This information will help initiate new archival and library collections for the site. In conjunction with the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes, the site continued to host the annual Cheyenne and Arapaho Spiritual Healing Runs. These events bring hundreds of tribal members from Wyoming, Montana, and Oklahoma to Eads and Kiowa County each year. The Sand Creek staff continues to work with NPS planners and partners in an effort to implement an interim management plan for the site. Preliminary design plans have been considered which will result in temporary facilities at the site until a General Management Plan can be initiated in 2007. The General Management Plan solicits public comment and involvement and will lay the foundation for the future of the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site. In anticipation of the national historic site’s establishment and to show it’s appreciation for Kiowa County’s continuing support, the park will be offering all Kiowa County residents special tour days at the Sand Creek Massacre NHS on March 21-22. Park staff will be at the site each day from 10:00 am – 3:00 p.m. to provide information and help answer questions about the history and status of the site. For additional information about the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, please contact the NPS at 719.438.5916 or 719.383.5051 or visit the park’s website at www.nps.gov/sand. NPS
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