--- title: "Sand Creek Massacre — APUSH Definition & Exam Guide" description: "The Sand Creek Massacre (1864) was a U.S. cavalry attack on peaceful Cheyenne and Arapaho. Learn how APUSH ties it to the Indian Wars and Wounded Knee." canonical: "https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms/sand-creek-massacre" type: "key-term" subject: "AP US History" unit: "Unit 6" --- # Sand Creek Massacre — APUSH Definition & Exam Guide ## Definition The Sand Creek Massacre (November 29, 1864) was an attack by Colorado volunteer cavalry under Colonel John Chivington that killed roughly 150-200 Cheyenne and Arapaho, mostly women and children, at a peaceful camp, exemplifying violent U.S. displacement of Native Americans during westward expansion. ## What It Is On November 29, 1864, a regiment of Colorado U.S. Volunteer Cavalry led by Colonel John Chivington attacked a Cheyenne and Arapaho encampment at Sand Creek in Colorado Territory. The camp was at peace. Chief Black Kettle had even raised an American flag and a white flag to signal it. The soldiers killed an estimated 150 to 200 people, most of them women, children, and the elderly. For [APUSH](/apush "fv-autolink"), Sand Creek isn't just a tragic event to memorize. It's evidence for a pattern the CED spells out directly: as white migrants poured west for [mining](/apush/unit-6/westward-expansion-social-cultural-development-1865-1898/study-guide/tjZEnBbepPcpcbtaF5eA "fv-autolink"), ranching, farming, and railroad jobs, competition for land and resources turned violent (KC-6.2.II.C), and the U.S. government broke treaties and answered Native resistance with military force (KC-6.2.II.D). Sand Creek shows that this violence wasn't always 'resistance vs. army.' Sometimes it was the military attacking people who had already sought peace. ## Why It Matters Sand Creek lives in **[Unit 6](/apush/unit-6 "fv-autolink") (Industrialization and the Gilded Age, 1865-1898)**, specifically **Topic 6.3: Westward Expansion Social and Cultural Development**, supporting learning objective **APUSH 6.3.A** (explain the causes and effects of western settlement). Yes, the massacre happened in 1864, just before the period technically starts. That's fine. The exam treats it as the opening act of the [Indian Wars](/apush/key-terms/indian-wars "fv-autolink") era that runs through the 1890s. It's a go-to piece of evidence for KC-6.2.II.C and KC-6.2.II.D, and it's perfect for continuity arguments: from Sand Creek (1864) to Little Bighorn (1876) to Wounded Knee (1890), federal policy toward Native Americans relied on force, broken treaties, and dispossession. That's exactly the kind of thread DBQ and LEQ prompts about the West want you to pull. ## Connections ### [Indian Wars (Unit 6)](/apush/key-terms/indian-wars) Sand Creek is one of the earliest and most infamous episodes in the decades of armed [conflict](/apush/unit-2/interactions-between-american-indians-europeans/study-guide/chUDbGx9XSPajryeDxcv "fv-autolink") between the U.S. Army and Plains tribes. Use it as your starting data point when a prompt asks how the government responded to Native resistance with military force. ### Treaty of Fort Laramie (Unit 6) [Treaties](/apush/unit-3/shaping-new-republic/study-guide/jDcJK92nIldkFTb5QJpZ "fv-autolink") promised tribes specific lands, then settlers and the government violated them. Sand Creek is what treaty violation looked like at its most brutal, which is why the two terms pair so well as cause-and-effect evidence for KC-6.2.II.D. ### [Battle of Little Bighorn (Unit 6)](/apush/key-terms/battle-of-little-bighorn) Little Bighorn (1876) was a rare Native victory, with Lakota and Cheyenne forces defeating Custer. Together with Sand Creek, it shows both sides of the Indian Wars: massacre of peaceful camps and armed resistance that the government then crushed. ### [Dawes Act (Unit 6)](/apush/key-terms/dawes-act) After the military broke Native resistance, policy shifted from violence to [forced assimilation](/apush/key-terms/forced-assimilation "fv-autolink"). The Dawes Act (1887) carved up tribal land into individual allotments. Think of Sand Creek as the military phase and Dawes as the legal phase of the same dispossession. ## On the AP Exam Sand Creek shows up most often in multiple-choice questions about patterns in westward expansion. Practice questions pair it with the Wounded Knee Massacre (1890) and ask what continuity the two events demonstrate. The answer is sustained U.S. violence against Native Americans across the entire post-Civil War period. No released FRQ has required this term verbatim, but it's strong specific evidence for any LEQ or DBQ on the consequences of western settlement, federal Indian policy, or continuity and change in the West from 1865 to 1898. The move the exam rewards is connecting the event to the bigger pattern: don't just describe the attack, explain that it reflects government treaty violations and the use of military force against Native peoples (KC-6.2.II.D). ## Sand Creek Massacre vs Wounded Knee Massacre Both were U.S. military massacres of largely defenseless Native Americans, which is exactly why they get mixed up. Sand Creek (1864) came at the start of the Indian Wars era, when Colorado volunteers attacked a peaceful Cheyenne and Arapaho camp. Wounded Knee (1890) came at the end, when the army killed Lakota people gathered around the Ghost Dance movement, effectively closing the Indian Wars. On the exam, get the order right: Sand Creek opens the era, Wounded Knee ends it, and together they bookend a continuity of violence. ## Key Takeaways - The Sand Creek Massacre occurred on November 29, 1864, when Colorado volunteer cavalry under Colonel John Chivington killed roughly 150 to 200 Cheyenne and Arapaho people at a peaceful encampment. - The camp had signaled peace, so Sand Creek proves the violence of westward expansion wasn't only a response to Native resistance; the military also attacked people who had surrendered or sought protection. - In APUSH terms, Sand Creek is evidence for KC-6.2.II.C and KC-6.2.II.D: competition for western land bred violent conflict, and the U.S. government broke treaties and used military force against Native Americans. - Paired with the Wounded Knee Massacre (1890), Sand Creek demonstrates a continuity of U.S. violence toward Native peoples that spans the entire Indian Wars era. - Sand Creek represents the military phase of dispossession; later policies like the Dawes Act and boarding schools represent the assimilation phase of the same overall pattern. ## FAQs ### What was the Sand Creek Massacre in APUSH? It was a November 29, 1864 attack in which Colorado volunteer cavalry under Colonel John Chivington killed an estimated 150 to 200 Cheyenne and Arapaho people, mostly women and children, at a peaceful encampment. In APUSH it's key evidence that westward expansion involved government violence and [treaty violations](/apush/key-terms/treaty-violations "fv-autolink") against Native Americans. ### Were the Cheyenne and Arapaho at Sand Creek hostile to the U.S.? No. The camp was at peace, and Chief Black Kettle flew an American flag and a white flag to show it. That's what makes Sand Creek a massacre rather than a battle, and why it's used on the exam to show that U.S. violence wasn't simply a reaction to Native attacks. ### How is Sand Creek different from Wounded Knee? Sand Creek (1864) happened at the beginning of the Indian Wars era and targeted a peaceful Cheyenne and Arapaho camp in Colorado. Wounded Knee (1890) happened at the end of the era, killed Lakota people connected to the Ghost Dance, and effectively closed the Indian Wars. Exam questions often pair them to test continuity in U.S. policy. ### Why is Sand Creek in Unit 6 if it happened in 1864? Unit 6 technically covers 1865-1898, but the CED frames western conflict as one continuous story, and Sand Creek is the opening act of the Indian Wars that dominate the period. It directly supports learning objective APUSH 6.3.A on the causes and effects of western settlement. ### Is the Sand Creek Massacre on the AP exam? It appears in multiple-choice questions, often paired with Wounded Knee to test the continuity of violence in westward expansion. It also works as specific evidence in LEQs and DBQs about federal Indian policy or the consequences of settling the West. ## Related Study Guides - [6.3 Westward Expansion Social and Cultural Development](/apush/unit-6/westward-expansion-social-cultural-development-1865-1898/study-guide/tjZEnBbepPcpcbtaF5eA) ## Structured Data ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"LearningResource","@id":"https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms/sand-creek-massacre#resource","name":"Sand Creek Massacre — APUSH Definition & Exam Guide","url":"https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms/sand-creek-massacre","learningResourceType":"Concept explainer","educationalLevel":"AP® / High School","about":{"@id":"https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms/sand-creek-massacre#term"},"audience":{"@type":"EducationalAudience","educationalRole":"student"},"dateModified":"2026-06-11T00:48:19.480Z","isPartOf":{"@type":"Collection","name":"AP US History Key Terms","url":"https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Fiveable","url":"https://fiveable.me"}},{"@type":"DefinedTerm","@id":"https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms/sand-creek-massacre#term","name":"Sand Creek Massacre","description":"The Sand Creek Massacre (November 29, 1864) was an attack by Colorado volunteer cavalry under Colonel John Chivington that killed roughly 150-200 Cheyenne and Arapaho, mostly women and children, at a peaceful camp, exemplifying violent U.S. displacement of Native Americans during westward expansion.","url":"https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms/sand-creek-massacre","inDefinedTermSet":{"@type":"DefinedTermSet","name":"AP US History Key Terms","url":"https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms"},"educationalAlignment":[{"@type":"AlignmentObject","alignmentType":"educationalSubject","educationalFramework":"AP® Course and Exam Description","targetName":"APUSH Unit 6, Topic 6.3, LO 6.3.A"}]},{"@type":"FAQPage","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What was the Sand Creek Massacre in APUSH?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"It was a November 29, 1864 attack in which Colorado volunteer cavalry under Colonel John Chivington killed an estimated 150 to 200 Cheyenne and Arapaho people, mostly women and children, at a peaceful encampment. 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