Cheyenne and Arapaho tribal leaders have renewed a call for the Federal government to rename what is now the Washita Battlefield National Historic Site to recognize that it wasn’t a battle but a one-sided massacre. Previous calls produced no change.
The site in Oklahoma was the scene of an 1868 night-time attack by Gen. George Custer on an encampment of Cheyenne families along the Washita River. Over 100 sleeping Cheyenne were killed by Custer’s troops, who were after a band that had raided in Kansas and Oklahoma. The group attacked along the Washita were not part of that, and had been promised safety by local military officers. The attack took place on reservation land.
“If you’re going to tell a story, tell it accurately and truthfully,” said Cheyenne and Arapaho Gov. Reggie Wassana. “Don’t make it sound as if the genocide was proper and right.” Their request may be falling on sympathetic ears: the Federal government has recently changed a number of names that have included racist terms for Native Americans, although the decision will be up to Congress.
