Black Kettle

Black Kettle
Born
Mo'ohtavetoo'o

c. 1803
DiedNovember 27, 1868(1868-11-27) (aged 64–65)
Cause of deathGunshot wound
NationalitySouthern Cheyenne
Known forColorado War
Sand Creek massacre
Treaty of Medicine Lodge
Battle of Washita River 
TitleTribal chief

Black Kettle (Cheyenne: Mo'ohtavetoo'o)[1] (c. 1803 – November 27, 1868) was a 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 Hills of present-day South Dakota,[2] he later married into the Wotápio / Wutapai band (one mixed Cheyenne-Kiowa band with Lakota Sioux origin) of the Southern Cheyenne.

Black Kettle is often remembered as a peacemaker who accepted treaties with the U.S. government to protect his people. On November 27, 1868, while attempting to escape the Battle of Washita River with his wife, he was shot and killed by soldiers of the U.S. 7th Cavalry.

  1. ^ Mo'ôhtavetoo'o in the current orthography. See Cheyenne Names Archived September 6, 2007, at the Wayback Machine by Wayne Leman.
  2. ^ "Sand Creek Massacre Timeline 1800-1859". kclonewolf.com. Retrieved April 30, 2015.