After studying primary sources regarding The Baker Massacre, it has come to the conclusion that it was a two-sided predicament that resulted in many deaths. On January 23rd, 1870, a Blackfeet camp along the Marias River was brutally invaded by a white man named Major Eugene Baker and his soldiers. They were looking for the murderers who killed a white man named Malcolm Clarke, who was involved in a family feud between his wife's Blackfeet family. This event took the lives of approximately 200 Piegan Indians, mostly women and children. The lives of those most innocent souls were taken with such vile and cruel behavior. According to (Holmes Document 1) it states, “But the surrounding settlers saw it as random Indian violence against innocent …show more content…
In her story (Black Bear Woman, Document 10) she says, “The soldiers came early in the morning and surrounded the camp. When Heavy Runner went toward them with his peace paper, he was shot and killed before he got to them.” This direct evidence explains that Heavy Runner was a peaceful man, and died with no apparent reason to. Some of the women were able to escape the massacre, but later froze or starved to death with their infants in hand. Colonel Baker was not punished for his actions when he should have been. Also according to Black Bear Woman, she says, “I heard later that the colonel was supposed to be punished for doing all that killing. But I also heard that he had been sent to Washington to be a big shot.” Analyzing this information shows that Baker was not properly punished for this violent behavior. Baker was also described as a raging alcoholic, which is evidence that proves he was in the wrong when he wasn't even in his own head. As stated by (Spear Women, Document 11) she explains, “We were told that Baker was so drunk during the attack on our camp that he didn’t know what was going on and made no effort to be in command of his seizers.” Per this information, Baker deserved time in detention and should have been held accountable for his