The subsequent congressional investigation changed the public narrative, but it did not change the underlying political culture that had enabled Chivington.

The territorial elite that had supported the attack retained its political power.

Denver continued to grow.

The Cheyenne were removed.

The Role of the Indian Peace Commission

The congressional response to the escalating plains Indian conflict of the 1860s included the creation of the Indian Peace Commission in 1867, a body charged with negotiating the comprehensive peace agreements that became the Medicine Lodge Treaty and the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868.

The Peace Commission represented the peace faction within American politics — people like Commissioner of Indian Affairs Nathaniel Taylor and Senator James Doolittle who genuinely believed that negotiated settlements were both morally preferable and practically more effective than military campaigns.