The massacre of hundreds of Indian men, women and children who were at Sand Creek, Colorado by Colonel Chivington and local volunteers was a horrific act which became an obstacle to peace between Plains Indians and American settlers. The Massacre was officially sanctioned as the settlers on Cheyenne lands in Colorado were miners, ranchers and importantly Homesteaders who felt threatened by the closeness of the Indians on whose land they were settling. It was the first of a number of Indian massacres, which revealed the determination of the USA in gaining control over the Plains.