Associated Tribes of Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site

The National Park Service consults with park-associated Tribes and groups in activities that may impact Tribes having longstanding cultural, historical, religious, or spiritual connections to parklands. Park-associated Tribes and groups maintain deep connections, family, and historical ties to what are now parklands and these connections existed prior to establishment of Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site.

The park currently consults with Tribally designated representatives from:

• Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma
• Northern Arapaho Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming
• Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, Montana

For questions about our Tribal consultation program, please contact us.

Commitment to Respecting Tribal Sovereignty and Meaningful Consultation

We respect Tribal sovereignty and are committed to meaningful consultations seeking common agreement, appropriate treatment, and respect for Tribal interests in all undertakings that may affect traditional, cultural, and spiritual resources of park-associated Tribes.

Access and Traditional Use of Ancestral Lands

We are committed to supporting access to cultural sites, ethnographic resources, and traditionally harvested resources for traditional and religious purposes by park-associated Tribes and Tribal members. We are committed to creating formal agreements, partnerships, and programming with mutual benefit to Tribes and the public that foster education, ethnographic study, and Traditional Use of Ancestral Lands by park-associated Tribes and Tribal members.

Special Mandates

In the act authorizing Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site (Public Law 106-465), Congress included several special mandates regarding management of the site. It directed the Secretary of the Interior to:

• grant to any descendant or other member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes reasonable access to federally acquired land within the site for the purpose of carrying out traditional, cultural, or historical observances (section 9).
• consult with and solicit advice and recommendations from the tribes and the State of Colorado in preparing educational programs for the public about the site (section 5(c)).
• consider any reasonable needs of a descendant in park planning and operations, especially with and respect to commemorative activities in designated areas within the site (section 8(b)).
• close to the general public specific portions of the site when a descendant or other member of a tribe is carrying out a traditional, cultural or historical observance; the closure shall be made in a manner that affects the smallest practicable area for the minimum period necessary (section 9(b)).
• dedicate a portion of the federally acquired land within the site to the establishment and operation of a site for certain items (e.g., Native American human remains, associated funerary objects, unassociated funerary objects, sacred objects, objects of cultural patrimony) that are repatriated under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act or any other provision of law may be interred, reinterred, preserved, or otherwise protected (section 9(c)).

The Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Trust Act of 2005 (PL 109-45) included thefollowing special mandate:

• Dedicate approximately 1,465 acres to the site as lands to be held in trust for the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma. These lands are to be administered only for historical, traditional, cultural, and other uses in accordance with the park’s enabling legislation. Facilities on the trust property may only be built after consulting with, soliciting advice from, and obtaining the agreement of the tribes (sections 4(b) and 6(a)).

Cultural Activities in the Park

As a unit in the national park system, all are welcome to learn and explore respectfully within Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site. We are committed, through consultation with representatives of park-associated Tribes, that Indigenous communities are provided an opportunity to participate in organized group events involving resources of significance in Ancestral Lands. Depending on the nature of the activity and location, expressed support from a park-associated Tribal Nation may be required.We are committed to ensuring Tribal Nations are provided an opportunity to have an active role in ownership and distribution of cultural knowledge to the public at large. Tribal sacred ceremonies and gatherings involving religious, private, or family knowledge, or activities protected under the American Indian Religious Freedom Act or other federal laws shall be respected.

Government-to-Government Tribal Consultation

Our Park Tribal Liaison Program supports Government-to-Government consultation with Tribes and Indigenous groups traditionally associated with Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site. As a federal agency trustee under the Department of the Interior, the National Park Service adheres to United States Treaty obligations with federally recognized tribes whose ancestral usual and accustomed territories fall within present-day park lands. Our program engages Tribal partners in regulatory compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, and other United States federal statutes, Executive Orders, and policies related to historic properties of religious and cultural significance.

How to contact us:

Tribal Liaison Program
High Plains Group of Parks
Amache National Historic Site | Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site | Capulin Volcano National Monument | Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site
35110 State Highway 194
La Junta, CO 81050
Phone: 719 383-5025