Sand Creek Massacre Film

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Film tells Sand Creek story from tribes’ eyes

By Dennis Huspeni, The Gazette

Don Vasicek’s dream is to document a nightmare of many American Indians.

The Centennial filmmaker and writer has worked for the past four years, using his money, to create a documentary on the Sand Creek Massacre.

All that work has yielded a 6½-minute demo of the documentary, which will be shown Friday in Castle Rock.

He’s found support difficult to come by, as Vasicek freely admits the film’s point of view rests squarely with the Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians.

“This happened 140 years ago,” Vasicek said. “Nevertheless, they carry the grief with them today.”

The grief comes from the event’s particularly brutal history. On Nov. 29, 1864, soldiers from Colorado’s 1st and 3rd Regiments, under the command of Col. John Chivington, attacked a group of Cheyenne and Arapaho at Sand Creek, about 145 miles east of Colorado Springs and 35 miles north of Lamar.

“The attack at Sand Creek resulted in the deaths of over 150 Indians, the vast majority being women, children and infants,” according to the National Park Service’s Web site for the Sand Creek historic site. “For the soldiers, losses were much less, with about nine or 10 killed and three dozen wounded.”

The film portrays tribal elders relating “oral histories of what their descendants experienced at Sand Creek,” Vasicek said.

After filming in Oklahoma this summer, Vasicek said he formed an emotional bond with the Indians.

“I just saw how significant, vital and important this is to the Cheyenne and Arapaho people,” he said. “It’s vital for someone to do something to record those histories.”

Several companies are interested in seeing Vasicek finish the film, he said, including Rocky Mountain PBS and The National Museum of the American Indian-Smithsonian Institution. Cinema Guild International has urged Vasicek to complete a 20-minute version for classroom showings.

“It’s time for the Cheyenne-Arapaho people to tell their truth,” he said. “And hopefully it can be educational for young people to learn something about problem-solving in a nonviolent way.”

Last updated on November 05, 2005