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[ 0 => '{{Infobox NRHP', 1 => ' | name = Massacre Canyon Battlefield', 2 => ' | nrhp_type = ', 3 => ' | image = View SW from Massacre Canyon monument.JPG', 4 => ' | caption = View looking southwest from the Massacre Canyon monument', 5 => ' | nearest_city= [[Trenton, Nebraska]]', 6 => ' | locmapin = Nebraska#USA', 7 => ' | coordinates = {{coord|40.206443|-100.964598|display=inline,title}}', 8 => ' | added = July 25, 1974', 9 => ' | area = {{convert|3680|acre}}', 10 => ' | governing_body = Private', 11 => ' | refnum = 74001118<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2009a}}</ref>', 12 => '}}', 13 => false, 14 => 'The '''Massacre Canyon Battle''' took place on August 5, 1873, in [[Hitchcock County, Nebraska|Hitchcock County]], [[Nebraska]]. It was one of the last battles between the [[Pawnee people|Pawnee]] and the [[Sioux]] (or [[Lakota people|Lakota]]) and the last large-scale battle between Native American tribes in the area of the present-day United States of America.<ref>The Nebraska Indian Wars reader, 1865-1877 By R. Eli Paul p.88 Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (April 1, 1998) Language: English {{ISBN|0-8032-8749-6}}</ref> The battle occurred when a combined [[Oglala Lakota|Oglala]]/[[Brulé]] Sioux war party of over 1000 warriors attacked a party of Pawnee on their summer [[Bison|buffalo]] hunt. More than 60 Pawnees died, mostly women and children. Along with the assault on [[The Battle at Pawnee Chief Blue Coat's Village, 1843|Pawnee chief Blue Coat's village in 1843]], this battle range among "the bloodiest attacks by the Sioux" in Pawnee history.<ref>Dunlay, Thomas W.: Wolves for the Blue Soldiers. Indian Scouts and Auxiliaries with the United States Army, 1860-90. Lincoln and London, 1982, p. 154.</ref>', 15 => false, 16 => 'According to Indian agent John W. Williamson of the [[Genoa, Nebraska|Genoa]] Agency, who accompanied the hunting party, "On the 2d [in fact the 3d<ref>Indian Office Documents on Sioux-Pawnee Battle. ''Nebraska History Magazine'', vol. 16, No.3 (1935), pp. 147-155, p. 147.</ref>] day of July, 1873, the Indians, to the number of 700, left Genoa for the hunting grounds. Of this number 350 were men, the balance women and children."', 17 => false, 18 => 'The Pawnee were traveling along the west bank of the canyon, which runs south to the [[Republican River]], when they were attacked.', 19 => false, 20 => '"A census taken at the Pawnee Agency in September, according Agent Burgess. . ."(see "Massacare Canyon Monument" article in External Links section) found that "71 Pawnee warriors were killed, and 102 women and children killed", the victims brutally mutilated and scalped and others even set on fire"<ref>''The Chicago Tribune'', Saturday, August 30, 1873; ''New York Times'', August 21, 1873 (reported by William Burgess, Pawnee Indian agent)</ref> although Trail-agent John Williamson's account states 156 Pawnee died (page 388). It is likely the death toll would have been higher, for Williamson noted ". . . a company of United States cavalry emerge[d] from the timber. When the Sioux saw the soldiers approaching they beat a hasty retreat." (page 387), although "Recently discovered military documents disproved the old theory" per the "Massacare Canyon Monument" article. This [[massacre]] is by some considered one of the factors that led to the Pawnees' decision to move to a reservation in [[Indian Territory]] in what is today [[Oklahoma]].<ref>Massacre Along the Medicine Road: A Social History of the Indian War of 1864, p. 389, By Ronald Becher. Publisher: Caxton Press (March 1, 1999) Language: English {{ISBN|0-87004-387-0}}</ref> The Pawnee disagree.<ref>Blaine, Garland James and Martha Royce Blaine: Pa-Re-Su A-Ri-Ra-Ke: The Hunters that were massacred. ''Nebraska History'', Vol. 58, No. 3 (1977), pp. 342-358, pp. 356-357.</ref>', 21 => false, 22 => 'Principal chiefs at the battle were:', 23 => '*Pawnee: Sky Chief, Sun Chief, Fighting Bear, Ruling His Son.', 24 => '*Sioux: [[Spotted Tail]] (Brulé chief) (unclear<ref>Indian Office Documents on Sioux-Pawnee Battle. ''Nebraska History Magazine'', vol. 16, No.3 (1935), pp. 147-155, p. 158.</ref>), [[Little Wound]] (Oglala chief), [[Two Strike (Chief)|Two Strike]] (Brulé chief). Chief Charging Bear ([[John Grass]], [[Sihasapa]]) (Source?).', 25 => false, 26 => 'Among the Pawnee dead were the wife and four children of [[Co-Rux-Te-Chod-Ish|Traveling Bear]], a former [[sergeant]] in the [[Pawnee Scouts]] who served under [[Major]] [[Frank North]] and a Medal of Honor recipient.<ref>Medal of honor: historical facts & figures By Ron Owens p.52</ref>', 27 => false, 28 => '{{Infobox military conflict', 29 => '| conflict = Massacre Canyon Battle', 30 => '| width = ', 31 => '| partof = ', 32 => '| image = ', 33 => '| caption = ', 34 => '| date = August 5,1873', 35 => '| place = Massacre Canyon, Hitchcock County, Nebraska', 36 => '| coordinates = ', 37 => '| map_type =', 38 => '| map_relief = ', 39 => '| latitude = ', 40 => '| longitude = ', 41 => '| map_size = ', 42 => '| map_marksize = ', 43 => '| map_caption = ', 44 => '| map_label = ', 45 => '| territory = ', 46 => '| result = Lakota victory', 47 => '| status = ', 48 => '| combatants_header = ', 49 => '| combatant1 = Brule Lakota Indians Oglala Lakota Indians', 50 => '| combatant2 = Pawnee Indians', 51 => '| commander1 = Little Wound, Two Strike', 52 => '| commander2 = Sky Chief, Sun Chief, Fighting Bear, Ruling His Son', 53 => '| units1 = ', 54 => '| units2 = ', 55 => '| strength1 = Around 1,000 Lakotas', 56 => '| strength2 = Around 400 all in all, children, women and men', 57 => '| casualties1 = Unknown, but few', 58 => '| casualties2 = Unknown, but likely between 65 and 100, mostly women and children ', 59 => '| notes = ', 60 => '| campaignbox = ', 61 => '}}', 62 => false, 63 => '==History==', 64 => false, 65 => 'The Pawnee Indians had a long tradition of living in present-day Nebraska.<ref>Ludwickson, John: Historic Indian Tribes. Ethnohistory and Archaeology. ''Nebraska History'', Vol. 75, No. 1 (1994), pp. 132-157, p. 140.</ref> Their first land cession to the United States took place in 1833, when they sold land south of [[Platte River]].<ref>Kappler, Charles J.: Indian Affairs. Laws and Treaties. Washington, 1904. Vol. 2, pp. 416-418.</ref> The Massacre Canyon battlefield near Republican River is located within this area. Forty years and two land cessions later, the tribe lived in a small reservation on old Pawnee land, present-day [[Nance County, Nebraska|Nance County]]. The Pawnees had kept a right to hunt buffalo on their vast, ancient range, now territory of the United States.<ref>Kappler, Charles J.: Indian Affairs. Laws and Treaties. Washington, 1904. Vol. 2, pp. 416.</ref>', 66 => false, 67 => 'The Sioux lived north of the Pawnee. In 1868, they had entered into a [[Sioux Treaty of 1868| treaty]] with the United States and accepted to live in the [[Great Sioux Reservation]] in present-day [[South Dakota]]. By Article 11, they (also) received a right to hunt along the Republican, almost 200 miles south of the reservation.<ref>Kappler, Charles J.: Indian Affairs. Laws and Treaties. Washington, 1904. Vol. 2, pp. 1002.</ref>', 68 => false, 69 => 'Both the Pawnee and the Sioux complained regularly over attacks by the other tribe.<ref>See e.g. Blaine, Royce Martha: Pawnee Passage, 1870-1875. Norman and London, 1990, pp. 82-142. Poole, D.C.: Among the Sioux of Dakota. Eighteen Months' Experience as an Indian Agent, 1868-1870. St. Paul, 1988, pp. 58,62 and 131.</ref> An attempt to make peace in 1871 with the United States as intermediary came to nothing.<ref>Riley, Paul D.: The Battle of Massacre Canyon. ''Nebraska History'', Vol. 54, No. 2 (1973), pp. 221-249, p. 223.</ref>', 70 => false, 71 => '[[File:Massacre Canyon battlefield (1873), Nebraska. Pawnee reservation and relevant Indian territories.png|thumb|left|Map with Massacre Canyon battlefield (1873), Nebraska. Pawnee reservation and relevant Lakota territories.]]', 72 => false, 73 => '==Lead up to the battle==', 74 => false, 75 => 'A Pawnee hunting group, roughly 400 men, women and children,<ref>Indian Office Documents on Sioux-Pawnee Battle. ''Nebraska History Magazine'', vol. 16, No.3 (1935), pp. 147-155, p. 147.</ref> were located in camp near present-day Trenton on August 4, 1873. Trail-agent John W. Williamson stayed in the camp, and with him the younger Lester Beach Platt, a visitor from the east. All were homeward bound for the reservation after a fine hunt.', 76 => false, 77 => 'Sioux chiefs Little Wound and Pawnee Killer and their followers of Cut-off Oglalas had hunted along tributaries to the Republican further west. In July, the sub-agent in camp, Antoine Janis, banned an expedition against the [[Ute people|Utes]] to avenge the loss of a man and some horses. The camp moved closer to the Republican.<ref>Riley, Paul D.: The Battle of Massacre Canyon. ''Nebraska History'', Vol. 54, No. 2 (1973), pp. 221-249, p. 232.</ref>', 78 => false, 79 => 'About 700 Brule-Sioux Indians sought out buffalo on these Nebraska hunting grounds in early August, in addition. Chief Two Strikes was in the camp and Sub-agent Stephen F. Eastes.<ref>Riley, Paul D.: The Battle of Massacre Canyon. ''Nebraska History'', Vol. 54, No. 2 (1973), pp. 221-249, p. 232-233.</ref>', 80 => false, 81 => 'Some Oglalas brought the news of the big Pawnee camp on August 3. Chief Little Wound told Antoine Janis, that he had stopped them from going against the Utes. Now, "the young men had determined to fight" the Pawnees, not to lose men and horses again.<ref>Riley, Paul D.: The Battle of Massacre Canyon. ''Nebraska History'', Vol. 54, No. 2 (1973), pp. 221-249, p. 234.</ref> Janis said he had no order to keep them from fighting the Pawnee here. His suggestion to meet and talk with the enemy was turned down.<ref>Indian Office Documents on Sioux-Pawnee Battle. ''Nebraska History Magazine'', vol. 16, No.3 (1935), pp. 147-155, p.155.</ref> Later he told his sister, Susan Bordeaux Bettelyoun, that to restrain the warriors, "... you might as well stop an avalanche".<ref>Bettelyoun, Susan Bordeaux and Josephine Waggoner: With My Own Eyes. A Lakota Woman Tells her People's History. Lincoln and London, 1998, p. 80.</ref>', 82 => false, 83 => 'All Sioux [[tipi|tipis]] in the area got the news. A boy eyewitness recalled many years later, that "instantly all the warriors began to get ready to go on the war-path ...". In his understanding, the braves defended their hunting grounds.<ref>Standing Bear, Luther: My People, the Sioux. Lincoln, 1975, p. 53.</ref> During the day around thousand warriors set off for the Pawnee to make a joint, quick attack and prevent the enemy from striking first.<ref>Riley, Paul D.: The Battle of Massacre Canyon. ''Nebraska History'', Vol. 54, No. 2 (1973), pp. 221-249,p. 234.</ref>', 84 => false, 85 => '==Trail-agent Williamson's account==', 86 => 'John Williamson (23), was assigned as the Pawnee trail-agent at the [[Genoa, Nebraska|Genoa]] Agency, the Pawnee reservation, and accompanied the Pawnee on their hunt. He wrote his recollections of the battle decades after the incident.<ref>Paul, R. Eli (Ed.): Lester Beach Platt's Account of the Battle of Massacre Canyon. ''Nebraska History'', Vol. 67, No. 4 (1986), pp. 381-407, p. 405, note 3.</ref>', 87 => false, 88 => '"On the fourth day of August we reached the north bank of the Republican River and went into camp. At 9 o'clock that evening, three white men came into camp and reported to me that a large band of Sioux warriors were camped 25 miles [40&nbsp;km] northwest, waiting for an opportunity to attack the Pawnees for several days, anticipating that we would move up the river where buffaloes were feeding. Previous to this, white men visited us and warned us to be on our guard against Sioux attacks, and I was a trifle skeptical as to the truth of the story told by our white visitors. But one of the men, a young man about my age at the time, appeared to be so sincere in his efforts to impress upon me that the warning should be heeded, that I took him to Sky Chief who was in command that day, for a conference. Sky Chief said the men were liars; that they wanted to scare the Pawnees away from the hunting grounds so that white men could kill buffaloes for hides. He told me I was squaw and a coward. I took exception to his remarks, and retorted: 'I will go as far as you dare go. Don't forget that.'', 89 => false, 90 => '"The following morning August 5, we broke camp and started north, up the divide between the Republican and the Frenchman Rivers. Soon after leaving camp, Sky Chief rode up to me and extending his hand said, 'Shake, brother.' He recalled our little unpleasantness the night previous and said he did not believe there was cause for alarm, and was so impressed with the belief that he had not taken the precaution to throw out scouts in the direction the Sioux were reported to be. A few minutes later a buffalo scout signaled that buffaloes had been sighted in the distance, and Sky Chief rode off to engage in the hunt. I never saw him again. He had killed a buffalo and was skinning it when the advance guard of the Sioux shot and wounded him. The Chief attempted to reach his horse, but before he was able to mount, several of the enemy surrounded him. He died fighting. A Pawnee, who was skinning a buffalo a short distance away, but managed to escape, told me how Sky Chief died."', 91 => false, 92 => '==The battle==', 93 => 'The morning of August 5, the Pawnees went up a canyon. Men looking for game took the lead and the families followed with loaded down packhorses. Soon after the battle was on.', 94 => false, 95 => 'A Number of the Pawnee huntsmen in front seem to have been the first fatalities, lured into a Sioux trap by a decoy.<ref>Standing Bear, Luther: My People, the Sioux. Lincoln, 1975, p. 56.</ref>', 96 => false, 97 => 'The Pawnee prepared for defense. Williamson with either Platt or the schooled Pawnee Ralph Weeks rode out to arrange a peace council, but bullets forced them back.<ref>Paul, R. Eli (Ed.): Lester Beach Platt's Account of the Battle of Massacre Canyon. ''Nebraska History'', Vol. 67, No. 4 (1986), pp. 381-407, p. 388. Blaine, Garland James and Martha Royce Blaine: Pa-Re-Su A-Ri-Ra-Ke: The Hunters that were massacred. ''Nebraska History'', Vol. 58, No. 3 (1977), pp. 342-358,p. 348.</ref>', 98 => false, 99 => 'The Pawnees say that Sky Chief lived during the first part of the battle. He fought for his tribe, shouting words of encouragement to it. He killed his own little son with his knife, telling the Sioux, that they would not get his child.<ref>Blaine, Garland James and Martha Royce Blaine: Pa-Re-Su A-Ri-Ra-Ke: The Hunters that were massacred. ''Nebraska History'', Vol. 58, No. 3 (1977), pp. 342-358, p. 353.</ref>', 100 => false, 101 => 'The Pawnee version of the Massacre Canyon battle tells of a few individuals' fate and relates some peculiar incidents.<ref>Blaine, Garland James and Martha Royce Blaine: Pa-Re-Su A-Ri-Ra-Ke: The Hunters that were massacred. ''Nebraska History'', Vol. 58, No. 3 (1977), pp. 342-358.</ref>', 102 => false, 103 => 'The Sioux proved too strong. Women threw hides, [[pemmican| dried meat]] and saddles from the packhorses, and the Pawnee started a disorganized retreat. "The withdrawal was a rout as the Sioux shot from both banks of the canyon into the fleeing Pawnee".<ref>Riley, Paul D.: The Battle of Massacre Canyon. ''Nebraska History'', Vol. 54, No. 2 (1973), pp. 221-249, p. 237.</ref> In [[Culbertson, Nebraska| Culbertson]], 10 miles east of the battlefield, the residents heard the sound of gunfire.<ref>Riley, Paul D.: The Battle of Massacre Canyon. ''Nebraska History'', Vol. 54, No. 2 (1973), pp. 221-249, p. 238.</ref>', 104 => false, 105 => 'East of Culbertson camped Captain Charles Meinhold with his small command from [[Fort McPherson, Nebraska|Fort McPherson]], by twist of fate. All through the morning, Pawnee survivors found the camp as well as Williamson and Platt, who had made his escape early during the fight. The Pawnees got instructions to proceed further east.<ref>Riley, Paul D.: The Battle of Massacre Canyon. ''Nebraska History'', Vol. 54, No. 2 (1973), pp. 221-249, p. 238.</ref>', 106 => false, 107 => '==The next hours and days==', 108 => 'The whites rode up the canyon in the afternoon. "The first body we came upon was that of a woman", remembered Platt.<ref>Paul, R. Eli (Ed.): Lester Beach Platt's Account of the Battle of Massacre Canyon. ''Nebraska History'', Vol. 67, No. 4 (1986), pp. 381-407, p. 393.</ref> Army doctor David Franklin Powell described the march up the battleground, "We advanced from the mouth of the ravine to its head and found fifty-nine dead Pawnees ...".<ref>Riley, Paul D. (Ed.): Dr. David Franklin Powell and Fort McPherson. ''Nebraska History'', Vol. 51, No. 2 (1970), pp. 153-170, p. 163.</ref> A number of the killed women lay naked. "Although the Pawnees made a stand and fought through the day, over a hundred were wounded, killed, or raped and mutilated".<ref>Blaine, Royce Martha: Pawnee Passage, 1870-1875. Norman and London, 1990, p. 91.</ref>', 109 => false, 110 => '[[File:Chief Luther Standing Bear.png|thumb|left|Chief Luther Standing Bear. As a boy he saw the victorious Lakota warriors return to the camp after the Massacre Canyon battle.]]', 111 => false, 112 => 'Sometime after the battle, the Sioux warriors rode into camps. "One of the men in advance was waving a scalp. This caused great excitement. The men paraded around the village ... Everybody appeared to be happy and rejoicing".<ref>Standing Bear, Luther: My People, the Sioux. Lincoln, 1975, p. 55.</ref> Later well-known Sioux Indian [[Luther Standing Bear]] got the impression, that "about three hundred Pawnees were killed".<ref>Standing Bear, Luther: Land of the Spotted Eagle. Lincoln and London, 1978. p. 41.</ref> Eastes reported one Sioux killed and some badly wounded.<ref>Indian Office Documents on Sioux-Pawnee Battle. ''Nebraska History Magazine'', vol. 16, No.3 (1935), pp. 147-155, p. 151.</ref> The Cut-off Oglalas had suffered no casualties at all according to their sub-agent.<ref>Indian Office Documents on Sioux-Pawnee Battle. ''Nebraska History Magazine'', vol. 16, No.3 (1935), pp. 147-155, p. 155.</ref> This is at odds with narratives of what happened in the canyon that day.<ref>Blaine, Garland James and Martha Royce Blaine: Pa-Re-Su A-Ri-Ra-Ke: The Hunters that were massacred. ''Nebraska History'', Vol. 58, No. 3 (1977), pp. 342-358, see e.g. p. 348.</ref>', 113 => false, 114 => 'People from the nearest communities visited the scene of the battle the next days. Royal Buck wrote to the readers of Nebraska City News. "It was a ''massacre'' and nothing more, and near one hundred victims are lying on the ground and full two thirds are squaws and pappooses [small Indian children]".<ref>Riley, Paul D. (Ed.): Red Willow County Letters of Royal Buck, 1872-1873. Nebraska History, Vol. 47, No. 4 (1966), pp. 371-397, p. 391.</ref>', 115 => false, 116 => 'News of the defeat reached the remaining Pawnees in the reservation on August 8 through a runner. "This produced intense excitement in the village, sorrowful wailings were heard all day".<ref>Indian Office Documents on Sioux-Pawnee Battle. ''Nebraska History Magazine'', vol. 16, No.3 (1935), pp. 147-155, p. 148.</ref>', 117 => false, 118 => 'The Pawnee survivors made the 80 miles or so to [[Plum Creek Township, Butler County, Nebraska| Plum Creek]] near the Platte. Here Doctor William M. Bancroft gave professional assistance to the wounded. By train, they arrived at Silver Creek, around 10 miles south of the Pawnee Agency. The last tribal buffalo hunt of the Pawnee in Nebraska ended soon after.<ref>Riley, Paul D.: The Battle of Massacre Canyon. ''Nebraska History'', Vol. 54, No. 2 (1973), pp. 221-249, p. 242.</ref>', 119 => false, 120 => '==Afterwards==', 121 => 'The last week of August, Williamson was back in Massacre Canyon. He covered the dead with dirt broken down from the banks.<ref>Riley, Paul D.: The Battle of Massacre Canyon. ''Nebraska History'', Vol. 54, No. 2 (1973), pp. 221-249, p. 245.</ref>', 122 => false, 123 => 'The number of Pawnee victims on the battlefield range from at least 50 to "156".<ref>Shellenberger, A. C.: The last Pawnee-Sioux Indian Battle and Buffalo Hunt. ''Nebraska History Magazine'', Vol. 16, No. 3 (1935), pp. 132-145, p. 142.</ref> A source often quoted is Agent William Burgess, "20 men, 39 women and 10 children" killed.<ref>Massacre Canyon Fight August 5, 1873. ''Nebraska History Magazine'', Vol. 16, No. 3 (1935), p. 141.</ref>', 124 => false, 125 => 'Pawnees taken captive were let loose after request from the whites. Before long they joined their tribe.<ref>Blaine, Garland James and Martha Royce Blaine: Pa-Re-Su A-Ri-Ra-Ke: The Hunters that were massacred. ''Nebraska History'', Vol. 58, No. 3 (1977), pp. 342-358, p. 351. Standing Bear, Luther: My People, the Sioux. Lincoln, 1975, p. 56-57.</ref>', 126 => false, 127 => 'The Pawnee received $9,000 for the loss of more than 100 horses, 20 tons of dried meat and all sorts of equipment.<ref>Indian Office Documents on Sioux-Pawnee Battle. ''Nebraska History Magazine'', vol. 16, No.3 (1935), pp. 147-155, p. 154. Blaine, Royce Martha: Pawnee Passage, 1870-1875. Norman and London, 1990, p. 139.</ref> The money came from the [[annuities under American law| annuities]] of the Sioux, as stipulated in the 1868 Sioux Treaty, Article 1.<ref>Kappler, Charles J.: Indian Affairs. Laws and Treaties. Washington, 1904. Vol. 2, p. 998.</ref>', 128 => false, 129 => 'This incident, in particular, caused the government nationwide to intensify "its efforts to keep the Indians confined to their reservation" in an endeavor to curtail intertribal warfare.<ref>McGinnis, Anthony: Counting Coup and Cutting Horses. Intertribal Warfare on the Northern Plains, 1738-1889. Evergreen, 1990, p. 129.</ref> On local level, Major General [[George Crook]] "dispatched a small force" to protect the Pawnee Agency. The presence of troops did not stop the Sioux Raids.<ref>Blaine, Royce Martha: Pawnee Passage, 1870-1875. Norman and London, 1990, p. 277.</ref>', 130 => false, 131 => 'In the Lakota winter count of Cloud-Shield, the victory is remembered as the winter "they killed many Pawnees on the Republican river."<ref>Mallory, Gerrick: Picture-writing of the American Indians. Tribal Designations. ''Tenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution'', 1888-'89. Washington, 1893, pp. 377-388, p. 386, fig. 509.</ref> The Pawnee Indians talk about "The hunters that were massacred".<ref>Blaine, Garland James and Martha Royce Blaine: Pa-Re-Su A-Ri-Ra-Ke: The Hunters that were massacred. ''Nebraska History'', Vol. 58, No. 3 (1977), pp. 342-358.</ref>', 132 => false, 133 => 'It would take half a century, before the Pawnee and the Sioux smoked the pipe of peace during the Massacre Canyon Pow Wow in 1925.<ref>Riley, Paul D.: The Battle of Massacre Canyon. ''Nebraska History'', Vol. 54, No. 2 (1973), pp. 221-249, p. 246.</ref>', 134 => false, 135 => '==Monument==', 136 => '[[File:Massacre Canyon monument from SW 1.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|Massacre Canyon Monument]]', 137 => 'The Massacre Canyon Monument was dedicated on Sept. 26, 1930. It was the first historical monument erected in Nebraska by federal grant. It stands on a three-acre (1.2 ha) plot, three miles (4.8&nbsp;km) east of [[Trenton, Nebraska|Trenton]] off [[U.S. Route 34]], after having been moved from its original location overlooking the Republican River valley. The monument was constructed from Minnesota pink granite from a quarry in St. Cloud by R. P. Colling, Indianola, Nebraska.<ref>Tayler, A. L.: Building the Massacre Canyon Monument, ''Nebraska History Magazine'', Vol. 16, No, 3 (1935), pp. 171-177, p. 176.</ref> The shaft of the [[obelisk]] is {{convert|35|ft}} high. The base measures {{convert|9|ft}} by {{convert|9.5|ft}} across; the bottom of the shaft is five feet (1.5 m) across, tapering to {{convert|32|in|cm}} near the top. The entire monument weighs 91 tons (83,000&nbsp;kg).', 138 => false, 139 => 'The monument is located in a small park area with picnic tables and a visitor center that features exhibits about early pioneers, the tribal customs of the [[Sioux]] and the [[Pawnee people]] and a gift shop.', 140 => false, 141 => '{{clear}}', 142 => false, 143 => '==See also==', 144 => '* [[List of battles fought in Nebraska]]', 145 => false, 146 => '==References==', 147 => '{{reflist|30em}}', 148 => false, 149 => '==Bibliography==', 150 => '* Boughter, Judith A. ''The Pawnee Nation: An Annotated Research Bibliography'' (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press), 2004. {{ISBN|0-8108-4990-9}}', 151 => false, 152 => '==External links==', 153 => '*[http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/county/hitchcock/history/canyon.html Massacre Canyon Monument]', 154 => '*[http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nebuffal/bassett/p383.htm LAST BUFFALO HUNT OF THE PAWNEES By John W. Williamson]', 155 => '*[http://www.nebraskaruralliving.com/essays/massacre_canyon.asp "Massacre Canyon saga is just one story in a rich Native American history in Nebraska" - Nebraska Rural Living article]', 156 => '*[http://www.visitnebraska.gov/component/myplanner/detail/43/2000180 Massacre Canyon Monument and Visitor Center] - Visit Nebraska', 157 => false, 158 => '{{Native Americans in Nebraska}}', 159 => false, 160 => '{{National Register of Historic Places}}', 161 => false, 162 => '[[Category:Native American history of Nebraska|-]]', 163 => '[[Category:History of Nebraska]]', 164 => '[[Category:Lakota]]', 165 => '[[Category:Pawnee]]', 166 => '[[Category:Geography of Hitchcock County, Nebraska]]', 167 => '[[Category:Monuments and memorials in Nebraska]]', 168 => '[[Category:Tourist attractions in Hitchcock County, Nebraska]]', 169 => '[[Category:Buildings and structures in Hitchcock County, Nebraska]]', 170 => '[[Category:Conflict sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Nebraska]]', 171 => '[[Category:Massacres of Native Americans]]', 172 => '[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Hitchcock County, Nebraska]]' ]