He trusted them correctly — they genuinely wanted what they said they wanted.

The problem was that they were not strong enough.

The Vision He Carried

What did Black Kettle actually envision as the outcome of a successful peace policy?

This question is rarely asked, but it deserves consideration.

The world he was trying to negotiate toward was not one of complete submission or cultural erasure.

The treaties he signed preserved, in their formal terms, specific rights — hunting rights, movement rights, the continued existence of a Cheyenne community with specific territory.

The vision was of a Cheyenne people that had accommodated to the new political reality of American sovereignty without abandoning the essential elements of Cheyenne identity.