The lesson is not that Black Kettle was wrong to seek peace.

The lesson is that the American commitment to the peace process was insufficient to make peace possible.

The Place He Left in Cheyenne History

Among the Southern Cheyenne people today, Black Kettle’s place in history is understood with a complexity that acknowledges both his extraordinary commitment to peace and the painful fact that his commitment did not ultimately protect his people.

This is not a contradiction.