Smallpox Blankets: One of the Darkest Chapters in Colorado History

The unspeakable acts committed against Native Americans by European settlers in the United States' early days are widely known, taught in schools across the country, and should never be understated.

Read More: Historic Colorado Site a Reminder of a Dark Chapter in the U.S. |

One story that has almost become a folktale from this time period is the act of these white settlers purposefully infecting Native Americans with smallpox by gifting them contaminated blankets. Unfortunately, this scenario actually did play out in what would become Colorado and even provoked an infamous massacre.

Smallpox Blankets Trigger Infamous Colorado Massacre

On Christmas Day of 1854, an infamous and bloody battle known as the Fort Pueblo Massacre took place in what would later become southeastern Colorado.

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This attack saw over 100 Utes attack the settlement, resulting in 15 deaths. While conflict between Native Americans and settlers was prevalent during this time, the motivation behind this particular massacre was remarkably sinister.

The massacre was a direct result of the deaths of a number of Utes, including Chief Chico Velasquez, after they became infected with smallpox. The Native Americans, who had never been exposed to the disease on the North American continent, caught smallpox from blankets given to them by settlers.

While this would appear to be an especially sinister act, in the years following the massacre, it has been debated as to whether or not infecting the Utes was intentional.

Regardless, the tale of the smallpox-infected blankets and the Fort Pueblo Massacre that was a direct result serves as one of the darkest chapters in Colorado's history books to date.