On Sunday, December 6, 2015 at 2:00 p.m, Washita Battlefield National Historic Site will show the film, The Sand Creek Massacre to the Civil War in the park's visitor center theater. A film produced by the National Park Service, it premiered as one of several commmorative events of the 150th year after the Sand Creek Massacre. The film shares the life of prominent figure involved in the Sand Creek story, "an extraordinary man of the Americn West - George Bent."
"It is a story told in bronze and concrete, in wind and earth and in the wrinkles of an old cottonwood tree...it is a story about a man, half white and half Cheyenne fighting as a Confederate soldier and a Cheyenne warrior...," so begins the 52 minute film. Offereing glimpses into the life of George Bent who lived, fought, and made his mark in both th Indian and white worlds, the film is being shown to draw attention to the on-going observances of the Sand Creek Massacre 151 years ago on Nov. 29, 1864, and to the 147th commemoration of the Battle of the Washita on Nov. 27, 1868.
Accompanying the showing, Washita Battlefield National Historic Site staff invites community members to light a candle in the visitor center to remember and honor the soldiers and tribal members that lost their lives at the Battle of the Washita and the Sand Creek Massacre, We look forward to sharing these important stories wih all or park visitors.
WHAT: The Sand Creek Massacre and the Civil War, National Park Service film, 52 minutes
WHEN: Sunday, December 6, 2:00 p.m.
WHERE: Washita Battlefield National Historic Site Visitor Center
WHAT: Find Your Park lecture series, Mesa Verde National Park presentation
WHEN: Sunday, Dec. 13, 2:00 p.m.
WHERE: Washita Battlefield National Historic Site Visitor Center
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
