Marias Massacre facts for kids

The Marias Massacre (also known as the Baker Massacre or the Piegan Massacre) was a terrible event where the United States Army attacked Piegan Blackfeet Native people. This happened as part of the Indian Wars. The massacre took place on January 23, 1870, in what is now Montana Territory. About 200 Native people were killed. Most of them were women, children, and elderly men.

The U.S. Army was trying to stop a group led by Mountain Chief. But they attacked a different group instead. This group was led by Chief Heavy Runner, whom the U.S. government had promised to protect. This mistake caused a lot of anger across the country. It also led to a big change in how the government dealt with Native Americans. President Ulysses S. Grant started a "Peace Policy". He kept the Bureau of Indian Affairs under the Department of the Interior. He also chose new Indian agents. These agents were often suggested by religious groups like Quakers and Methodists. Grant hoped they would be fair and honest.

Why did the Marias Massacre happen?

For many years, relations between the Niitsitapi Confederacy (also called Blackfeet) and white settlers in Montana were difficult. European Americans were moving onto Native American lands. This led to fights over land and resources. Sometimes, Blackfeet people would take horses or raid white settlements. By 1870, most Blackfeet had moved north of the Marias River.

Who was Malcolm Clarke?

Malcolm Clarke was a rancher and fur trader. He worked with the American Fur Company. Clarke had married a Native woman named Coth-co-co-na. They had four children: Helen, Horace, Nathan, and Isabel. This marriage helped Clarke trade with the Blackfoot tribes. Later, Clarke left the fur trade. He moved his family to the Rocky Mountains. In 1864, he started the Clarke Horse and Cattle Ranch.

What happened during the Marias Massacre?

Major Eugene M. Baker led a group of soldiers from Fort Ellis on January 6, 1870. They stopped at Fort Shaw to pick up more soldiers. They also picked up scouts Joe Kipp and Joseph Cobell. These scouts knew the Piegan groups well. They were supposed to help Baker tell friendly groups from unfriendly ones. Baker was told not to attack friendly groups.

On January 19, Baker's soldiers moved north from Fort Shaw. They were looking for Mountain Chief's group near the Marias River. On January 22, Baker's group found a small Piegan camp. The people there told Baker that the camps of Big Horn and Red Horn were nearby. Baker thought these leaders were hostile. He ordered his soldiers to march through the night.

They found a camp of 32 lodges along the Marias River. This was just south of where Dunkirk, Montana, is today. Baker placed his men on high ground above the camp. He got ready to attack.

What was the camp like?

More than 300 Piegan people were sleeping in Heavy Runner's camp on January 23. It was very cold before dawn. Many people in the camp were sick with smallpox. Most of the strong men had left the camp to hunt. So, nearly everyone in the camp was a woman, a child, or an elderly person.

What did survivors remember?

Spear Woman was six years old. She woke up to barking dogs. She saw Heavy Runner run towards the soldiers. He was holding his "name paper" (a document showing he was peaceful). Then the soldiers started shooting. She hid in a lodge. Soldiers went from lodge to lodge, killing people. One soldier cut a hole in her lodge and shot anyone who moved.

Buffalo Trail Woman saw soldiers surround a lodge and shoot into it. They took blankets and robes. Then they tore down all the tipis and set everything on fire.

Long Time Calf was eight years old. She escaped through the freezing Marias River. She carried her baby niece with her.

Bear Head was catching horses when he saw the soldiers. They took him prisoner. He saw Heavy Runner run to the soldiers, waving a paper, and then fall. He saw soldiers shoot at the tops of lodges, making them fall onto the fires. He saw them do this to his mother's lodge, killing her and others. He wished the soldiers had killed him too. After the soldiers left, a few people came back from hiding. They buried the dead. Bear Head counted 15 men, 90 women, and 50 children dead.

What happened after the Marias Massacre?

Ninth from left Eugene M. Baker and group of army officers at Fort Ellis, Montana Territory 1871.

Mountain Chief's group heard about the attack and escaped into Canada. Baker's men counted 173 dead. Only one soldier was killed, and another was injured. Scout Joe Kipp later said 217 Blackfeet people died.

Why were there different reports?

Colonel Régis de Trobriand told his leaders the mission was a success. He said the "murderers" had been killed. General Philip Sheridan praised Baker's soldiers. He said this would "end Indian troubles in Montana." But de Trobriand had to explain why Baker attacked the wrong camp. He said Baker attacked a "hostile" camp. He also said Heavy Runner was killed because he left a safe trading post.

Baker wrote his official report on February 18. He claimed 173 Native people were killed. He also said over 100 women and children were captured and then freed because of smallpox. He reported burning lodges and supplies.

William B. Pease, a Blackfeet agent, reported the massacre to his boss. He interviewed officers and survivors. Pease reported 18 old men, 90 women, and 50 children killed. He said only 15 young men were killed. Pease's report caused a lot of public anger. News of the massacre spread across the country.

General Sherman asked Baker for a more detailed report. He wanted to know "exactly the number, sex, and kind of Indians killed." Sherman wanted to answer the public charge that most killed were women and children. Baker then claimed 120 "able men" and 53 women and children were killed. He said soldiers tried to save non-fighters. Baker's reports became the official military record.

The army defended Baker's actions. They called him a hero. General Winfield Scott Hancock said it was needed to "fire into the lodges at the outset." He claimed fewer than 40 women and children died.

Joe Kipp, the guide, said he counted 217 dead. Most were old men, women, and children. He said Baker was drunk during the attack. Kipp later refused to talk to a writer. He feared the military would punish him if he told what he knew.

How did the massacre affect the Blackfeet?

After the massacre, conflicts between settlers and the Blackfeet decreased. The Blackfoot Nation was weakened by smallpox and the attack. They feared the Americans. Baker's attack helped take away Blackfeet land. At the time, the Blackfeet Reservation covered much of northern Montana. In 1872 and 1873, President Grant made the reservation smaller. In 1887, Congress passed the Dawes Act. This took away another 17 million acres from the Blackfeet.

How did the massacre affect Baker's career?

Many people blamed Major Baker for the massacre. They also blamed him for not catching Mountain Chief's group. The news that many victims had smallpox added to the anger. Despite the problems, General Sheridan trusted Baker. He stopped an official investigation into the event. After the Marias Massacre, Baker was seen as a strong military leader. He was chosen to command Fort Ellis. Baker later died at age 47.

How did the massacre affect the Clarke family?

The Clarke family was mixed-race. They found it hard to fit into both white and Native communities. Horace Clarke, Malcolm's son, said the massacre haunted him. He spent much of his life trying to forget that day. The Native community forgave Horace for his part in the massacre. They understood he wanted to avenge his father.

Nathan Clarke, another son, died two years later. He was killed by James Swan. Nathan wanted to marry Swan's daughter, but Swan wanted her to marry a white man.

Why is the Marias Massacre important?

General Sheridan wanted military people to control Native American affairs. He thought they could do a better job. But his involvement in the massacre stopped him. After the massacre, President Ulysses S. Grant started his "Peace Policy." He ended talks about the army taking over Native American affairs. Grant appointed Quakers and other religious people as Indian agents. He hoped this would improve how Native Americans were treated.

Who was involved in the Marias Massacre?

United States Army, Major Eugene M. Baker, commanding.

• 2nd United States Cavalry Regiment
  • Company F, First Lieutenant Gus Doane.
  • Company G.
  • Company H.
  • Company L, Captain Lewis Thompson.
• 13th United States Infantry Regiment
  • Mounted Detachment, 55 men.

Native Americans, Heavy Runner.

• Piegan Blackfeet
  • About 230 people, mostly unarmed women and children.

What is the legacy of the Marias Massacre?

• For many years, students and teachers from Blackfeet Community College have held a memorial on January 23. It takes place at the massacre site. One year, they placed 217 stones there. This was to remember the victims counted by Joe Kipp.
• In 2010, the Baker Massacre Memorial was built at the site.

How is the Marias Massacre shown in popular culture?

• Fools Crow is a novel by Native American writer James Welch. The story ends with the Marias Massacre.
• Fair Land, Fair Land, a novel by A. B. Guthrie Jr., also ends with the Massacre.
• Gustavus Cheyney Doane was honored by having a mountain named "Mount Doane" in Yellowstone. This was for his part in early surveys. The mountain was renamed in 2022 to First Peoples Mountain.