Chief Niwot

Chief Niwot 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 Pike's Peak Gold Rush (1858-1861) and the Colorado War (1864–1865).

Niwot lived along the Front Range, and wintered near the site of modern-day Boulder, Colorado. A fluent English speaker, Niwot was often relied on as a translator and interpreter in negotiations between tribal leaders and settlers. Niwot was a prominent advocate of peace during the negotiations, and sought to de-escalate growing tension between native groups and settlers.

Niwot was among the chiefs who complied with Colorado Governor John Evans and US Colonel John Chivington to relocate to Fort Lyon, where they were to await a peace agreement. His birth name, per Arapaho naming custom, likely meant that he was genuinely left-handed. Accounts of the encounter between Aikens and the Arapaho Chiefs differ. Members of Aikens party allege that Niwot permitted them to stay in the area, Evans and other Denver residents interpreted the attack as a declaration of war.

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

Chief Black Kettle was sure there was a mistake, and hastily raised both a U.S. flag and a white flag of surrender. As bullets, including the only artillery barrage ever put forth by one group on another in the history of the State of Colorado, rained down on the scattering Arapaho and Cheyenne, it is reported Chief Niwot stood in the middle of the battle, arms folded, refusing to fight the white men he still believed were his friends.

The Sand Creek Massacre was such an atrocity that President Abraham Lincoln, though in the midst of the Civil War, called for a Congressional investigation into the tragedy. Congress ruled the "gross and wanton" incident a "massacre" rather than a "battle." Chivington was censured for his actions. Governor Evans was removed from office and Colorado was placed under martial law.