By Shawn Gillette

Do you enjoy learning and sharing history? Are you looking to enhance your public speaking abilities? Do you have a desire to work on behalf of the National Park Service?

As the National Park Service enters its second century, sites around the country are looking to recruit more volunteers to meet increasing visitation. Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site (NHS) welcomes thousands of visitors to the site of a Cheyenne and Arapaho village that was brutally attacked by units of the United States Army in 1864. The ensuing massacre of over 230 men, women, and children caused a national furor in the 1860s. Today the site is preserved as a unit of the National Park Service.

Volunteers are being recruited to assist in orienting visitors to the site and in interpreting the tragic story and modern significance of the Sand Creek Massacre. The specific duties entailed are welcoming visitors as they enter the main parking lot, providing orientation contacts using park maps, building rapport with visitors, and – with coaching – providing short interpretive talks on the events surrounding the massacre. Operating a cash register to sell books, patrolling the four miles of trails, and assisting in park resource management are other common responsibilities.

Sand Creek Massacre NHS receives most of its yearly visitation during the summer months. Volunteers are sought to assist on a part-time basis, with as little commitment as one day a month. No prior experience is necessary, but an interest in history and/or public speaking is beneficial. Park staff will work with each individual to provide a worthwhile volunteer experience, including training in various techniques of public speaking.

Sand Creek Massacre NHS has no housing available. Volunteers are responsible for furnishing their own lodging and transportation.

For more information, please call Keegan Donovan (719) 729-3003 or visit www.nps.gov/sand. 

Photo courtesy National Park Service