Lean Bear

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Lean Bear

Lean Bear (Cheyenne name "Awoninahku") was the leader of a group of Cheyenne who were camped near Ash Creek in the territory of Nebraska, and were massacred by the Colorado miltia in 1864. The militia, under the command of Lieutenant George Eayre, approached their village. When they did so, Lean Bear and his fellow Cheyenne came forward to greet them. They were unarmed, and Lean Bear approached the militia alone to show his peaceful intentions, and to show them the peace medal that he had received on his trip to Washington D.C. in 1862. Eayre's troops had been ordered to kill Indians on sight, and Eayre ordered his men to shoot Lean Bear. Lean Bear was shot off his pony, and was then shot repeatedly by the soldiers as he lay on the ground.