View source for A Misplaced Massacre

{{Infobox book
| name           = A Misplaced Massacre: Struggling over the Memory of Sand Creek
| image          = [[File: A MISPLACED MASSACRE.jpg|200px|alt=Cover]]
| image_caption  = 
| author         = Ari Kelman
| translator     = 
| country        = 
| language       = 
| series         = 
| publisher      = Harvard University Press
| pub_date       = 2013
| pages          = 
| isbn           = 9780674503786
| oclc           = 
| congress       = 
}}

On April 23, 2007, after years of debate and controversy, representatives of the federal government signed the paperwork which formally established the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site.  ''In A Misplaced Massacre: Struggling over the Memory of Sand Creek'', Ari Kelman examines the long and arduous process which culminated in the establishment of this historic site. Kelman utilizes an interesting writing technique of transitioning between the original events and current debates to show how historical memory and the creation of historical site creation can divide as well as unite communities. The creation of historical sites is central to the design of Kelman’s book. This work does not have a clear argument but, instead, compares the potential trials, debates, and issues that can arise when attempting to establish a new historic site. In this, the establishment of the Sand Creek Massacre site serves as a case study to examine the methodological, bureaucratic, and individual situations and issues that can arise when working on a project that attempts to establish how to respect and to open for public discussion the traumatic events of our past. 

In ''A Misplaced Massacre'', readers are initially introduced to the events of November 29th, 1864, in which members of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes were brutally murdered by Colonel Chivington and his troops. Kelman brings these events back to the 20th century, by showing how the creation of historical memories by the National Parks Service (NPS), descendants of the Native American tribes, and locals living in Eads, Colorado, were at times at odds with each other and contentious. One way he did this was by thoroughly examining some of the debates surrounding the process of establishing this site. A couple of the debates that he highlights include (a) whether the events of November 29th, 1864 should be classified as a battle or a massacre, (b) the actual location of the massacre, and (c) whether this conflict should or should not be connected to the Civil War. Kelman focuses his discussion from the late 1990’s, until the opening of the newest NPS site in 2007, although he does pull in limited examples from the early and mid-1900’s to show continuality and/or departures depending on the situation. Through this examination he shows the exacting steps that it took gain a limited amount of consensus between the participates, and the cross-disciplinary techniques utilized to locate the locations of Black Kettle’s village, the location of the massacre, and the supposed Sand Creek pits that Chivington claimed were premade defenses. Kelman utilizes primary sources, newspaper articles, governmental documents, and oral histories to tell the progression of these events. 

As previously stated, Ari Kelman doesn’t have an ‘argument’ per say, instead he is documenting the long process of wrestling with historical memory, and attempts to highlight how the creation of a historical site can be a uniting and dividing process at the same moment. He also does an excellent job of showing how important these closely held beliefs can be for individuals affected, even generations later, by a traumatic event. For example, at one point in the process of attempting to locate to location of the Sand Creek Massacre, a team of archeologists, historians, NPS employees, and members of the Cheyenne tribe, descended on the Dawson and Bowen ranches to look for artifacts. This stage in the project was intended to end the long running debate as to where exactly the location of the massacre, in addition to establishing the exact historical location of Black Kettle’s village. The researchers located a swath of land which contained a large numbers of artifacts, from ammunition dating to the mid-nineteenth century to items common to a native village. It was with this information, along with extensive research, that led the NPS researchers to feel they had located Black Kettle’s village, placing said village in a different area then the Cheyenne people believed it to be.  Unfortunately, the non-Native American participants did not realize the importance that the location of Black Kettle’s village played in the historical memory of the Sand Creek Massacre descendants. The area that the descendants believed to be Black Kettle’s village had not only been notated in the words of George Bent, a survivor of the massacre, but had also been consecrated by the Sacred Arrow Keeper, the highest spiritual leader of the Cheyenne.  By indicating the village was located in a different location, the NPS team was not only ignoring the words and beliefs of the descendants, but was participating in “cultural genocide.”  This was one of the many situational examples that Kelman laid out in detail to show the difficulties that were prevalent in establishing the Sand Creek Massacre Historical Site, and supports the basis of his work, which was to show the importance of historical memory and the multitude of meanings it can hold for diverse individuals. 

Not only did Kelman lay out in extreme detail, debates and conflicts that occurred during the process of trying to have the Sand Creek Massacre site declared a historic landmark, Kelman also does an excellent job of showing how changes in technology and modern events affected the process. The first example I would highlight that Kelman shows, is the development of the internet. For years, the discussions and debates that were held were showcased on a more local level. Debates were held in person, or at most in newspaper articles or responses, but with the development of the internet, these debates became more anonymous and wide spread. The Kiowa County website became a hotspot of these discussions, and for a short time negatively affected the process of establishing a historic site.  
In addition, Kelman shows how the changing events in the modern world can dramatically affect how historical events are interpreted. Prior to the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001, majority of the views expressed by actors in ''A Misplaced Massacre'', had come to recognize that Chivington’s men had perpetrated a massacre, and that the United States had a responsibility to apologize and address these wrongs. Following the events of 9/11, Kelman shows how some of the support for the Sand Creek Massacre Historical Site shifted. Some individuals became concerned that portraying the soldiers in Chivington’s unit as villains was unpatriotic and could, potentially, be dangerous in the light of the United States’ new foreign engagements. There was a renewed discussion of whether these troops had been under orders and performing their duties, and although they had perhaps gotten carried away they were still at war.  This caused the debate as to whether this event should be categorized as a massacre or battle to return to the forefront on discussion. This was an excellent way to show how modern beliefs and events affect how not only historians, but the public, interprets events. 

Through the course of examining a multitude of situations, in addition to the ones discussed above, Kelman traces the development of the historic events that’s occurred in 1864 at Sand Creek, as well as how events transpired to have it become the 391st unit of the National Parks Service. Kelman’s writing style of transitioning back and forth from the past to the present, works well in this situation, and overall ''A Misplaced Massacre'' is extremely well written. Because of the transition between the past and present, however, some of the historical events during and after then Sand Creek Massacre, reappear on multiple occasions through Kelman’s research and become repetitive at time. In addition, there were times where it was difficult to place the current events in a chronological order, and having a clear sense of the timeline may have been helpful to trace the development of this historic site. Still, through ''A Misplaced Massacre'', readers are able to trace the debates and discussions about the historic memory of the Sand Creek Massacre, and how they should be represented. Individuals also have the opportunity to use the Sand Creek Massacre Historic Site as a case study to understand how historic sites are created. Kelman has presented an excellent resource in understanding the importance of historic memory and respecting those that feel they have an ancestral right these events and how they are represented. As researchers and historians, it is important to recognize that seemingly small things, such as the location of a village on a map, may have deep and emotional meaning to others. When the United States perpetrates a traumatic event, finding the appropriate way to display these events can be a minefield for those involved, and Kelman has laid out the winding path that the NPS, researchers, and descendants embarked on to ensure that those killed on November 29th, 1864 will always be remembered.

[[Category: Nineteeth Century United States]]"