A proposal to place a memorial at the Colorado state Capitol in honor of the 230 Cheyenne and Arapaho massacred at Sand Creek has been tossed out and the proponents have started over, seeking a new design.

The original statue, a kneeling Native American woman in Cheyenne dress which was to be created by artist Harvey Pratt, is no longer in consideration. That’s according to Ryan Ortiz, an official Sand Creek Massacre representative for the Northern Arapaho tribe, who called it “unfortunate.”

Ortiz told Colorado Politics Pratt withdrew his design after being asked to modify it because the modifications sought no longer reflected his artistic vision. 

Pratt has not yet responded to a request for comment.

The Sand Creek memorial has been in discussion since at least 2014. It would commemorate the massacre of mostly women, children and elderly that took place on Nov. 29, 1864 under the command of Col. John Chivington. Around 675 soldiers with the First and Third Colorado Cavalry attacked a peaceful encampment of 750 Cheyenne and Arapaho on the banks of Sand Creek, in Kiowa County on Colorado’s Eastern Plains. The corpses were mutilated and later paraded through the streets of Denver.

The massacre resulted in a congressional investigation and the resignation of Territorial Gov. John Evans, as demanded by President Andrew Johnson. Chivington, who resigned shortly after, was never held accountable.

In December 2020, the Capitol Building Advisory Committee approved the placement of the Pratt-designed statue on the west plaza of the Capitol circle and forwarded that recommendation to the General Assembly’s Capital Development Committee. The building panel last reviewed the Sand Creek memorial plans in February 2021 but hasn’t discussed them since then. Committee Chair Rep. Susan Lontine, D-Denver, told Colorado Politics she was unaware of the change in statue design.

The Capital Development Committee would have to sign off on the placement, and then the proposal would go to the General Assembly for their approval. That committee also hasn’t taken action since February 2021. 

Ortiz told Colorado Politics they issued a request for quote for new artist proposals and hope to pick an artist or foundry within the next month. It will be a completely different memorial, Ortiz said this week.