08/07/2026
Indigenous peoples still lived in Colorado Territory in 1864 as laws allowed railroads and settlement on their lands. Newspapers portrayed Native people as inhuman and violent, leading to further expulsion of Tribes from their homelands.
Territorial Governor John Evans, Colonel John Chivington, and other men in power viewed the continued existence of Native people in Colorado as an obstacle to development and statehood. While campaigning for statehood in the summer of 1864, Evans issued two proclamations. One promised Indigenous people would be safe if they camped near military forts, and one authorized citizens to pursue and kill Native people.
Many Cheyenne leaders and Arapaho leaders wanted peace for their people and for future generations. Cheyenne leaders had signed a friendship treaty with the US government in 1825, and many Chiefs remained committed to peace even as the US government violated treaty agreements. In August 1864, Cheyenne Chief Black Kettle sent a letter to a US official requesting peace negotiations. On September 28, 1864, Evans and Chivington reluctantly met at Camp Weld near Denver with Cheyenne leaders and Arapaho leaders, promising safety if the Tribes camped near Fort Lyon in southeastern Colorado. Evans and Chivington quickly broke that promise.
Learn more in "38th Star: Colorado Becomes the Centennial State," an exhibition now on view at the History Colorado Center. Delve into the Centennial State’s origins through the authentic photographs, documents, artifacts, and voices that formed our state.
This exhibition is sponsored by Rio Grande Co., CBS Colorado, Colorado Public Radio and Westword Magazine.
In recognition of America's 250 - Colorado's 150 Anniversary
America 250 - Colorado 150 Commemoration
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Image: Cheyenne and Arapaho delegation at Camp Weld September 28, 1864. History Colorado H.858.4. This photograph shows the participants of the Camp Weld meeting. Identities are believed to be, from left, kneeling in front: Major Edward W. Wynkoop and Captain Silas Soule. Seated, first row, from left: Sub-Chief Neva (Arapaho), Chief Bull Bear (Cheyenne), Chief Black Kettle (Cheyenne), Chief White Antelope (Cheyenne), and Chief Na-ta-nee (Arapaho). Back row: unidentified; unidentified but possibly Dexter Colley, son of Indian agent Samuel Colley; US interpreter John Smith; Chief Heap of Buffalo (Cheyenne); Chief Bosse (Arapaho); unidentified but possibly Samuel Elbert, secretary of Colorado Territory; unidentified.