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Chief Black Kettle is born in 1803
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A series of Fort Laramie treaties were signed with the Lakota, Cheyenne, Arapaho and other Plains tribes delineating the extent of their territories and allowing passage across these territories in exchange for payments to the tribes.
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In 1861 they cheyenne lead by Black Kettle, sign a peace treaty with Fort Wise promising to remain in the vicinity of the Arkansas River and not to interfere with the emigrants along the Smoky Hill Trail.
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On February 18, Arapaho and Cheyenne ceded most of eastern Colorado , which had been guaranteed to them forever in an 1851 treaty.
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In 1863, Black Kettle and his childhood friend, Chief Lean Bear, traveled to Washington, D.C. to see Abraham Lincoln. President Lincoln presented them with peace medals to wear and papers stating that they were good friends of the United States. Despite talk of peace, however, Black Kettle understood during this trip that war with the white man would lead to the destruction of his people.
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On the early morning of November 29, 1864, Chivington's troops, led by the old mountain man, Jim Beckwourth, moved into position near Black Kettle's camp along Sand Creek. This later bacame called the sand creek massacre.
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The chief signs the treaty of Little Arkansas.
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On the morning of November 27, 1868, almost four years to the day of the Sand Creek Massacre, Custer ordered his men to open fire on the sleepy Indian village. Then Custer later reported over a hundred Indians killed, the capture of women and children, and much destruction. Among those killed was Black Kettle.
