User:Triceratops88/sandbox

Summary
The Sand Creek Battle Ground marker marks the site of the Sand Creek Massacre in Eads, Colorado and is made out of Colorado Red Granite. After the monuments dedication in 1950, It became Kiowa County’s first historical marker. The monument reads “Sand Creek Battle Ground Nov. 29 & 30, 1864” and is engraved with a native figure. One writer describes this as "a Native figure—a caricature really, adorned in a feathered headdress...” Furthermore, this first marker referred to the event as a “battle”, despite being recognized as a massacre in 1865 . The monument was made by Paul Steward, whom "the local press conferred legitimacy on the artist's rendering by describing Steward as a ‘lifetime student of Indian lore’”. Both the figure and the use of "battle ground" have become increasingly regarded as problematic.

Dedication
On August 6th, 1950, the Eads and Lamar chambers of commerce, the Colorado Historical Society, and Colorado Arkansas Valley Inc. held a dedication ceremony for the Sand Creek Battle Ground marker. Robert J. McGrath, district historian and chairman of the Lamar chamber historical committee, presided over the ceremony. Dr. LeRoy Hafen, state historian, was principal speaker and unveiled the marker. Paul Steward, the markers' artist, “spoke briefly on past history of the site and pointed out the attack plan figured out some years ago by himself from old writings about the battle.”. The landowner at the time, Levi, or L.C., Rutledge “extended a standing invitation to the public to visit the site at any time of their choosing”.

Placement Challenges
There has been controversy surrounding the actual location of the Sand Creek Massacre. It is not known how Paul Steward determined the original placement of the marker in 1950. “A 1908 Denver Post article described four veterans of the Chivington campaign who'd gathered at the Big Sandy for a reunion--and spent most of their time squabbling over the location. ‘Before night, every man had picked a site that pleased him,’ the reporter wrote. ‘Before the visit of the veterans, every man between Kit Carson and Chivington knew exactly where the fight took place. Now, nobody is sure.’” In 1963, the local paper reported an individual's speculation about the markers placement. “Actually, Root says, the battlefield is located some two miles north of where the stone marker would indicate.”

In the 1990s and early 2000s, when motions began to establish a national historic site, more concerted efforts began to determine the true location of the massacre. A piece of land which is likely the site of the massacre was designated as The Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site by the National Park Service on April 28, 2007.