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jwmcoaching's review
4.0
Chief Left Hand is an essential read for anyone interested in Colorado history. Being from Missouri, I’m not very familiar with the state's history, even though I live here. I grew up in the Gateway to the West, but obviously don’t know near as much about Western history as I thought. Chief Left Hand is the biography of the man who tried to bring peace to his people and the white settlers during the 1860's.
It illuminates the people behind many of the area’s namesakes, including Niwot, Left Hand Canyon, Mount Evans, and certain Denver streets, such as Evans, Curtis, Wynkoop, and more. It illustrates how the cities of Denver and Boulder came to be settled in the years running up to the Sand Creek Massacre, where Chief Left Hand allegedly perished.
Until I read this, I was unaware how much the Sand Creek Massacre itself has been depicted and/or referenced in film, television, novels, and music. Margaret Coel even posits that if Sand Creek hadn’t occurred, the 25 years of warfare between settlers and natives (considered to be the longest war in U.S. history) might not have even happened.
jjupille's review
5.0
My knowledge of Native American history is woefully inadequate, so I don't have much background for this book. It is highly accessible -- really nicely researched and noted and easily readable.
It's a devastating story, told as a biography of Chief Left Hand of the Southern Arapaho tribe (for whom the town of Niwot, CO is named), culminating in the horrors of the Sand Creek massacre. Years of efforts by Left Hand at promoting peaceful coexistence between whites and Indians were repeatedly dashed by the incomprehension, misunderstanding, ethnocentrism, greed, and straight-out savagery. It's really depressing, but as one who lives in an area that Left Hand must have at least passed-through, I'd call it essential reading, with broad implications for understanding American history. Highly recommended.
It's a devastating story, told as a biography of Chief Left Hand of the Southern Arapaho tribe (for whom the town of Niwot, CO is named), culminating in the horrors of the Sand Creek massacre. Years of efforts by Left Hand at promoting peaceful coexistence between whites and Indians were repeatedly dashed by the incomprehension, misunderstanding, ethnocentrism, greed, and straight-out savagery. It's really depressing, but as one who lives in an area that Left Hand must have at least passed-through, I'd call it essential reading, with broad implications for understanding American history. Highly recommended.
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