Little Rock and the Question of Black Kettle’s Legacy

Among Black Kettle’s children and grandchildren and among the descendants of the survivors of Sand Creek and the Washita, the memory of Black Kettle has been preserved and honored across generations.

His name and his story are part of the living history of the Cheyenne-Arapaho people, who maintain their tribal identity and government in Oklahoma.

The Southern Cheyenne and Southern Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma — the descendants of the people Black Kettle led and the people who survived Sand Creek and the Washita — have maintained a complex and nuanced relationship with his memory.

He is honored as a leader who gave everything for his people’s survival, even knowing that his approach might not work.