|
1867 Medicine Lodge Peace Treaty
Photography and story by Kenneth E. Thompson
MLHS Class of '72
|
Many people think of Kansas as miles and miles of flat wheat fields. But that's not all true. The south central portion
of the state has red clay soil containing white gypsum. Most of the land is covered with green cedar trees, which create
a marked contrast with the red soil. Over the centuries the land has eroded to form dozens of canyons
and buttes that stand a hundred feet tall. In the Medicine Lodge area the canyons and buttes are called The Gyp Hills.
This terrain extends south into Oklahoma. To the west it's called The Glass Mountains or sometimes, The Lost Mountains.
To the east, around Enid, Oklahoma,
it's called "Red Carpet Country". East of the town of Cherokee, Oklahoma, there is a saltwater lake, and along the
southwest area of the lake is a huge area of soft red clay soil that contains huge amounts of salt that forms into
selenite crystals.
Our story takes place in the town of Medicine Lodge, Kansas, about 90 miles southwest of Wichita. The earliest settlers
came into the area in the 1850's. Before that, the Five Tribes of Plains Indians, the Arapaho, the Comanche, the Prairie
Apache, The Kiowa, and the Cheyenne, were the indigenous people who made it their home.
|
|
The Native Americans believed that the water of the creek flowing west of modern day Medicine Lodge had medicinal powers.
They called it the Medicine Creek. Later on as the town was established in 1873, it was named Medicine Lodge, referring to
it as the lodge at the Medicine Creek. In modern times the creek is called The Medicine River.
This belief of the Native American peoples, that the Medicine River had medicinal powers, was put to use by the U.S.
Government in 1867. The government brought the five tribes of Native American peoples together at the place where
the Elm Creek poured into The Medicine River to hold a peace treaty. On October 21st of 1867, The Treaty of Medicine
Lodge Creek took place.
|
|
