Massacre Canyon Battlefield Memorial - Trenton, NE
N 40° 12.410 W 100° 57.863
14T E 332822 N 4452564
A monument erected in 1930 to commemorate the Massacre Canyon Battle between the Pawnee and the Sioux. The monument stands 35 feet tall and weighs over 90 tons.
Waymark Code: WMFFFH
Location: Nebraska, United States
Date Posted: 10/11/2012
Views: 8
The Massacre Canyon Monument was the first historical marker in Nebraska erected by federal grant. It is constructed of Minnesota pink granite and stands 35 feet tall, weighing in at 91 tons. Originally placed about a mile south of its present location, the monument was moved when the highway was relocated in 1951.
The Massacre Canyon Battle took place in 1873 between a Pawnee hunting party of 700 (including women and children) and 1000 Sioux warriors. It was one of the last large-scale Native American battles in the United States. According to the nearby historical marker, the battle occurred "when a Pawnee hunting party of about 700... were surprised by a War Party of Sioux. The Pawnee, badly outnumbered and completely surprised, retreated into the head of the canyon about two miles northwest". After their defeat, the Pawnee decided to move to a reservation in Oklahoma.
An inscription near the base of the monument reads, "Along this canyon, stretching northwest three miles, the last battle between Pawnee Nation and Sioux Nation was fought August Fifth 1873. Principal chiefs were Pawnee: Sky Chief, Sun Chief, Fighting Bear. Sioux: Spotted Tail, Little Would, Two Strikes. This monument erected by authority of the Congress of the United States, as a memorial to the frontier days and Indian Wars now forever ended." Near the top of the obelisk is a relief carving of Sioux Chief John Grass and slightly lower on the opposite face is a carving of Pawnee Chief Ruling His Son, whose wife and two children were killed in the battle.
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| Chief John Grass, Sioux | Ruling His Son, Pawnee Chief |
Sources: Hitchcock County History & Nebraska State Historical Society