Ochinee of Cheyenne and Arapaho Delegation, Camp Weld, September 28, 1864 (cropped)

Ochinee (died November 29, 1864), also known as Lone Bear and One-Eye, was a Native American

Peace Chief Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

of the

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...

tribe. He was the father of

Amache Prowers use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = Cambridge, Massachusetts , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , rest ...

, a tradeswoman, advocate and leader among the

Southern Cheyenne The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes are a united, federally recognized tribe of Southern Arapaho and Southern Cheyenne people in western Oklahoma. History The Cheyennes and Arapahos are two distinct tribes with distinct histories. The Cheyenne (Tsi ...

. Ochinee, who had worked to create peace for the Cheyenne, died during the Sand Creek massacre on November 29, 1864.

Attempts to broker peace

Ochinee, a sub-chief, helped negotiate a treaty between the government, Cheyenne, and

Arapaho The Arapaho (; french: Arapahos, ) are a Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota. By the 1850s, Arapaho band ...

to safely camp along Sand Creek during the winter of 1864–1865. Ochinee went to

Fort Lyon Fort Lyon was composed of two 19th-century military fort complexes in southeastern Colorado. The initial fort, also called Fort Wise, operated from 1860 to 1867. After a flood in 1866, a new fort was built near Las Animas, Colorado, which oper ...

on September 4, 1864 with his wife to deliver a letter to Major Ned Wynkoop from

Black Kettle Black Kettle (Cheyenne: Mo'ohtavetoo'o) (c. 1803November 27, 1868) was a prominent leader of the Southern Cheyenne during the American Indian Wars. Born to the ''Northern Só'taeo'o / Só'taétaneo'o'' band of the Northern Cheyenne in the Black ...

and other chiefs. Nervous soldiers tried to shoot him when he approached the fort. The letter conveyed that Cheyenne people were fearful of raids and were starving. Black Kettle released white people that the Cheyenne had taken captive and asked to discuss a solution for peace. Ochinee, his wife Minimic, and a man that had accompanied them, were put under guard and taken on a four-day ride with 127 soldiers and taken to an encampment of Arapaho and Cheyenne people on the

Smoky Hill River The Smoky Hill River is a river in the central Great Plains of North America, running through Colorado and Kansas.Smoky Hill River. (2009). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved July 22, 2009, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.br ...

. Wynkoop encouraged tribal chiefs, including Black Kettle and Arapaho

Chief Niwot Chief Niwot ( Hinóno'eitíít/Arapaho: Nowoo3 ɔ'wɔːθ or Left Hand(-ed) (c. 1825–1864) was a Southern Arapaho chief, diplomat, and interpreter who negotiated for peace between white settlers and the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes during the ...

(Left Hand) to travel with him to Denver to meet with Territorial Governor, John Evans and Colonel

John Chivington John Milton Chivington (January 27, 1821 – October 4, 1894) was an American Methodist pastor and Mason who served as a colonel in the United States Volunteers during the New Mexico Campaign of the American Civil War. He led a rear action ...

. The delegation left for Denver for the September 28 meeting at

Camp Weld Fort Weld, also called Camp Weld, began as a military camp on 30 acres east of the Platte River in what is now the La Alma-Lincoln Park neighborhood of Denver, Colorado. It was named for Lewis Ledyard Weld, the first Territorial Secretary. The ce ...

Cheyenne and Arapaho Delegation, Camp Weld, September 28, 1864

With other members of the delegation, he met with the Territorial Governor, John Evans. Colonel

certified that Ochinee was a man of good character and a "friendly Indian." Before the attack, the

John Wesley Prowers John Wesley Prowers (January 29, 1838 – February 14, 1884) was an American trader, cattle rancher, legislator, and businessman in the territory and state of Colorado. Married to Amache Prowers, a Cheyenne woman, his father-in-law was a Cheyenne ...

family, including his daughter

, were held hostage to prevent them warning Cheyenne at the Sand Creek winter camp site of the eminent attack.

Sand Creek massacre

Portion of winter count depicting

at Sand Creek. (Buffalo Bill Center of the West) On November 29, 1864, the Cheyenne encampment at the Sand Creek was attacked by 600 soldiers of the Colorado Volunteer Cavalry and Ochinee and 160 other people, most of whom were children and women, were killed. The troops were led by Colonel

upon the orders of John Evans, the territorial governor of Colorado. His wife was able to escape. Amache went later to the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

with her husband and testified to seek justice for the Cheyenne. Cheyenne men sought retribution after the Sand Creek massacre. Called Cheyenne dog soldiers, they looted and terrorized the area. Ochinee's wife, Amache, and her two oldest daughters each received

reparations Reparation(s) may refer to: Christianity * Restitution (theology), the Christian doctrine calling for reparation * Acts of reparation, prayers for repairing the damages of sin History *War reparations **World War I reparations, made from G ...

by the United States government in the form of 640 acres of land along the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United Stat ...

, which she used to expand her family's cattle ranch. The rest of Ochinee's family moved to

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...

, now Oklahoma.

Personal life

Ochinee's wife was Minimic. He had a daughter,

Amache The Amache National Historic Site, formally the Granada War Relocation Center but known to the internees as Camp Amache, was a concentration camp for Japanese Americans in Prowers County, Colorado. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor o ...

, who married a white man,

. Minimic taught Amache how to make tepees from buffalo hides; how to make and decorate clothing from hides, beads, and animal teeth; and how to select wild plants for medicine, dyes, and food.

Legacy

The Achonee Mountain in the

Indian Peaks Wilderness The Indian Peaks Wilderness is a wilderness area in north central Colorado managed jointly by the United States Forest Service and the National Park Service within the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and small parts of the southern sectio ...

was named after him.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ochinee Date of birth unknown 1864 deaths People from Colorado Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes people Native American history of Colorado Santa Fe Trail