29 Facts About Chief Niwot

Chief Niwot lived along the Front Range, and wintered near the site of modern-day Boulder, Colorado.

Chief Niwot was a prominent advocate of peace during the negotiations, and sought to de-escalate growing tension between native groups and settlers.

Chief Niwot is generally believed to have died in the subsequent Sand Creek Massacre in 1864.

Many place names in Boulder County pay tribute to Chief Niwot, including Niwot, Colorado, Left Hand Creek, Left Hand Canyon, Niwot Mountain, Niwot High School, Niwot Elementary, Niwot Ridge and the Left Hand Brewing Company.

The whites, led by Charles Gardner, were quickly condemned and subjected to a public meeting in Auraria, and on his return Chief Niwot agreed to allow Auraria to handle their punishment, rather than retaliate for the attack.

Chief Niwot's Arapahos focused raids in this time on rival tribes, notably the Utes.

However, some Arapahos under Chief Niwot occasionally stole from white settlers as well, in defiance of his orders.

Chief Niwot was one of the few Arapaho and Cheyenne leaders who did not sign the Treaty of Fort Wise.

Chief Niwot argued that the signing had been specifically scheduled for a time when he could not be in attendance, as he was the only tribal leader who could speak Arapaho, Cheyenne, and English.

At his camp near Denver, Chief Niwot continued to take a peaceful approach and stayed out of the fighting.

Chief Niwot wanted Byers to inform his readers in Denver that the Southern Arapaho maintained a friendly stance toward the white settlers.

Chief Niwot spoke directly to the audience, reminding them that the Arapaho were friendly and urging them to stop fighting with the other plains tribes.

On June 12,1861, the Rocky Mountain News ran a story that Chief Niwot had, with other Arapaho, broken into a home and robbed a rancher of clothing, food, and his rifle.

Chief Niwot stated that the rancher had beat an Arapaho child unconscious with a club, prompting Chief Niwot to enter the home and ask for repayment.

Colley, who had been involved with the handling of the treaty, departed Fort Wise early and without Chief Niwot, hoping to prevent Chief Niwot from serving as a translator.

Chief Niwot noted that the Arapaho had not to agreed to war, but Evans concluded that the tribes, with the exception of a few bands of Southern Arapaho, were planning to attack white settlements.

Chief Niwot noted that a single band of Arapaho - Chief Niwot's band - declined to join the war party.

Chief Niwot stayed in the area around the Arkansas River in Kansas during this time, getting food and other supplies for his people from nearby Fort Larned.

Chief Niwot refused requests by neighboring Kiowa to join in attacks against the fort, and tried to warn officials of Fort Larned of the threat.

Chief Niwot reported that he was not overly angered by the aggression, but that he was not able to restrain his warriors' anger after the attack.

The Southern Arapaho began to raid the Santa Fe trail at that time, though Chief Niwot neither advocated for the attacks, nor participated in them personally.

Many Arapaho chiefs, Niwot included, were not made aware of the proclamation and did not head for the forts Evans had specified.

Black Kettle and Chief Niwot called a council, hoping to convince the disparate groups of their respective tribes to sue for peace.

Chief Niwot was the only man in the delegation to speak Cheyenne, Arapaho, and English.

Chief Niwot maintained to Wynkoop that his intentions had always been peaceful, and that Southern Arapaho raids against white settlers had happened without his consent.

Chief Niwot complied with Major Scott Anthony, now in charge of the Fort, and had the Southern Arapaho relinquish their weapons.

Chief Niwot Black Kettle was sure there was a mistake, and hastily raised both a US flag and a white flag of surrender.

Chief Niwot was mortally wounded and died a few days later.

Historians agree Chief Niwot did not go with his people to Oklahoma.