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A Misplaced Massacre: Struggling over the Memory of Sand Creek by Ari Kelman tells the history of the Massacre that occurred at Sand Creek and the eventual and controversial declaration and installation of a memorial site that honors the Sand Creek Massacre. The central issue in the book, the difference between memorialization and historical records really intrigued me. Having studied Public History during my graduate tenure, I found this book absolutely fascinating. The use of primary sources included various oral histories and interviews the author conducted himself really brought the conflicting beliefs to light. The book, for me also served a dual purpose. While telling the history of the installation and conflict involved with instituting the Sand Creek Massacre Memorial Site, the book also provides an in depth historiography of works that have previously been written regarding the Sand Creek Massacre and the various arguments and changes that have occurred in historical authorship through the years.
Intriguing was the look at whether the site was to use the word “Massacre” or “Battle.” The historical development and cultural changes that occurred to allow the government itself to recognize that the site was one of a massacre and not a battle showed how such minute words can change the impact a historical site can engender on, not just visitors, but the surrounding community as well. I found Jonathan Higbee’s argument that ethno history and the importance of using multiple sources to be insightful.
The books detail regarding the conflict between two very different historical cultures was insightful. All semester we have looked at agency and how minorities can be given agency in a historical work. This book does something completely different. Kelman writes of how the Cheyenne and Arapaho worked both within and around the political system in order to force their will on the project. In essence, the book details how the Native American’s involved in the Sand Creek Massacre site literally created a way to push their agency forward.
The creation of a community memory was a great argument in the book. The fact that history had always been told with the Sand Creek Massacre in one area, only to be discovered (maybe) that the site is located miles away and the resulting conflict due to a cultural remembrance shows how public historians have to always take absolute care when working with a varied community such as the one in Colorado. With a goal to work as a Public Historian, the book acted as a warning for me. While Public Historians need to tell an accurate history, they have to make sure that the community that will be most impacted is heard and their stories told. The distrust the government provoked by not being completely open with the Native American Communities shows how a small mistake can derail an entire project.
In the end, the project is able to move forward, not because of the historical work, and not because of the power of the Native American community to ensure their community memory stays intact. They are able to come together because an outside source was able to tell both sides that they were right. It is sad that the government was not able to create a better relationship with the Native American communities and that the communities continued to distrust the government. If they could have worked together and allowed trust to build, maybe the Native American perspective could be told in more Federal Historic Sites.