Evanston's Name Must Be Changed

I want to tell you the story of Dr. John Evans, a founder of Northwestern University and the man after who our city is named. When you finish, you will agree that the name of Evanston must be changed because of tragic events which occurred 152 years ago on November 29, 1864. Think about this story as you eat your Thanksgiving dinner.

After a medical career and founding several institutions in Chicago, Evans was appointed in 1862 by Abraham Lincoln as Governor of the Colorado Territory. In August 1864, Evans issued a proclamation authorizing “all citizens of Colorado . . . to go in pursuit of all hostile Indians [and] kill and destroy all enemies of the country.” Evans ordered that so-called “friendly” “Indians” should present themselves to various forts for their “safety and protection,” and those who did not were “hostile” and should be “pursued and destroyed.”

A troop of U.S. Cavalry heeded Evan's call. On November 29, 1864, they staged an unprovoked attacked a group of unarmed Native Americans camped along Sand Creek in the eastern Colorado territory. Scores of victims were killed - the majority of them women and children. Body parts were taken by the soldiers as souvenirs of their genocide.

Evans rewarded the troops, giving them medals and declaring their valor. Whistleblowers objected and eventually several hearings were conducted which established that Evans had lied to investigators and that he had participated in a factual cover-up. President Andrew Johnson demanded and received Evans' resignation.

In 2013 a study by the University of Denver concluded that Evans was culpable for the massacre. Northwestern formed a study committee. (A link to the report of the committee responds that the page does not exist.)

I am perplexed and fascinated that although I was educated in Evanston's schools (Oakton, Nichols and ETHS), I was never taught this history about Evans. I only stumbled on it when watching a PBS documentary about Sand Creek.

Everything that I know and believe about Evanston tells me that Evans is not a man we should honor. His is not a legacy that we want to glorify. The next question is NOT whether we change our name. No, the next question should be "to what do we change our name?"

I'll have some proposals and reasoning in an article next week. In the meantime, share your own ideas about our new name in the comment section.