This is the core of the betrayal.

Not just that Americans attacked a Cheyenne camp — that happened repeatedly.

But that Americans attacked a Cheyenne camp that was flying the specific signal that Americans themselves had designated as the marker of safety.

The white flag he also raised — the universal signal of peaceful intent — was equally ignored.

What the flags’ failure meant, for Black Kettle and for anyone who tried to follow the peace path after Sand Creek, was that the communicative framework of diplomatic signals had been shown to be empty.

The symbols that were supposed to carry meaning didn’t carry meaning.