Gavett letter: Native Americans

The Civil War was not just about the North fighting the South. There were many wars between Native Americans and the U.S. Army, most of them atrocities against the Native Americans.

Three of the most notable were against the Sioux in Minnesota in 1862-63, against the Navajo in Arizona and New Mexico in 1863-64, and against the Cheyenne and Arapaho at Sand Creek, Colorado Territory in 1854. It has been said that the Battle at Sand Creek was a frontier brutality. Many soldiers serving against Native Americans were disappointed at being so far from what they considered the real war. There was a mass hanging of 38 Sioux in Mankato, Minn., in 1862. In the New Mexico Territory Kit Carson was ordered to lay waste to the prairie with fire in an attempt to deny Native Americans food and shelter. There were also 150 Native American men, women and children killed at Sand Creek.

This information is in addition to my previous letter to the editor about the inhumane treatment to Native Americans that still rages today, and it is time to take care of them and forget about any and all immigrants coming into America.

This story was originally published April 20, 2017 at 3:52 PM with the headline "Gavett letter: Native Americans."