Ben Nighthorse Campbell Gave America a Museum and Two National Parks
Senator’s 22-year congressional career transformed how the nation remembers tribal and Native history
Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, the Northern Cheyenne lawmaker who built the National Museum of the American Indian and preserved the Sand Creek Massacre site, died December 30, 2025, at his ranch in Ignacio, Colorado. He was 92.
Campbell was the first Native American elected to the U.S. Senate in more than 60 years when he took office in 1993, and he remains the only American Indian ever to chair the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. But his impact extended far beyond tribal policy. In the 106th Congress, Campbell ranked first among all 535 members of Congress for passing the most standalone legislation into law.
A Museum on the National Mall
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian opened on September 21, 2004, and Campbell wore his full Northern Cheyenne eagle feather headdress on the Senate floor that day. He had spent 15 years fighting for the building.
Campbell authored the 1989 legislation authorizing construction of the museum on the National Mall. The bill did something else: it required the Smithsonian to inventory human remains in its collection and return them to tribes requesting repatriation.
The museum drew 2.4 million visitors in its first year. Its collection holds more than 800,000 artifacts, making it the largest institution of its kind in the world. The curvilinear limestone building stands between the National Air and Space Museum and the U.S. Capitol.
Campbell called the museum “a monument to the millions of Native people who died of sickness, slavery, starvation and war.” At the opening ceremony, he led a procession of 25,000 Native Americans from more than 500 tribes through Washington’s streets. That evening, he said: “The circle is complete.”
Kristen Carpenter, director of the American Indian Law Program at the University of Colorado, said the museum legislation “was about respecting their humanity.”
The Sand Creek Massacre Site
Campbell’s most personal legislative achievement was the preservation of Sand Creek, where his ancestors Red Dress and Yellow Woman were killed.
On November 29, 1864, Colonel John Chivington led approximately 700 soldiers in an attack on a Cheyenne and Arapaho village in southeastern Colorado. The village, led by Chief Black Kettle, was flying an American flag and a white flag of truce. More than 150 people were killed, mostly women, children, and elderly men. No memorial marked the site for over 130 years.
Campbell introduced legislation in 1998 directing the National Park Service to verify the massacre site’s location. President Bill Clinton signed the establishment act on November 7, 2000, creating the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site.
“This action will provide remembrance to the event and allow present and future generations of Americans to learn from our history,” Campbell said.
Colorado’s Public Lands
Campbell was instrumental in four major public land designations in Colorado.
The Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 designated or expanded 19 wilderness areas after 13 years of legislative effort. Campbell also shepherded the elevation of Great Sand Dunes from a national monument to a national park and did the same for Black Canyon of the Gunnison.
In the House, Campbell co-sponsored legislation renaming Custer Battlefield National Monument to Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in 1991. The legislation also authorized a memorial to the Native warriors who fought there.
“History is written by the winners,” Campbell told reporters, “and while Indians won this battle, they did lose the war.”
Tribal Sovereignty and Economic Development
Campbell co-authored the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which established federal standards for gaming on tribal lands. The Indian Gaming Association said Campbell “understood that IGRA was not merely legislation; it was a hard-won, necessary protection for tribal governments.”
IGA Chairman David Z. Bean said Campbell “was a strong defender of Indian Country. He knew the people, he knew the struggle, and he knew the promise of Native nations.”
As chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee from 1997 to 2005, Campbell oversaw more pro-tribal legislation than any comparable period. He also negotiated the Animas-La Plata water project settlement, fulfilling long-overdue water rights for the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute Tribes. Lake Nighthorse, the reservoir created by the project, bears his name.
Beyond Indian Country
Campbell’s legislative record included significant work for non-Native constituencies. He passed the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Act, which funded protective equipment for small police departments and tribal law enforcement.
When critics dismissed the bill as minor, Campbell responded: “Well tell that to the mother of some cop whose life was saved by a bulletproof vest. That was a damn important bill.”
Campbell served as a Democrat from 1987 to 1995, then switched to the Republican Party. His policy positions remained consistent: pro-choice, pro-union, and supportive of public lands protection.
A Chief’s Final Journey
Campbell was born in Auburn, California, on April 13, 1933. His mother was a Portuguese immigrant; his father was Northern Cheyenne but hid his heritage due to discrimination. Campbell spent half of his first ten years in a Sacramento orphanage while his mother battled tuberculosis.
He dropped out of high school to join the Air Force, served in Korea, earned his GED, then used the G.I. Bill to attend San Jose State University. He captained the 1964 U.S. Olympic judo team and won a gold medal at the 1963 Pan-American Games.
Campbell learned jewelry-making from his father and later incorporated techniques from Japanese sword makers. His work was collected by U.S. presidents, Mick Jagger, and Robert Redford.
In his final hours, Southern Ute elders visited the Nighthorse Ranch. Eddie Box Jr. sang the sacred Sundance songs that have carried Native people between worlds for generations.
“In his vision, Eddie saw my father on his horse, wearing his war bonnet and buckskins, riding into the other world, the warrior heading home,” his daughter Shanan Campbell wrote.
National Congress of American Indians President Mark Macarro said Campbell “stood at the intersection of our peoples’ history and future. His extraordinary life and accomplishments broke barriers and left a path for all those who seek to follow.”
What Remains
The museum still stands on the National Mall, welcoming millions of visitors annually. Sand Creek is preserved. Two national parks protect Colorado’s landscapes. Lake Nighthorse still fills.
Cherokee Senator Markwayne Mullin, elected in 2022, became the first Native American to serve in the Senate since Campbell’s retirement. Campbell set the precedent that made that representation possible.
Campbell is survived by his wife Linda, to whom he was married for 59 years, and by his children Colin and Shanan and four grandchildren.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis ordered flags lowered in Campbell’s honor. Flags at the National Museum of the American Indian flew at half-staff as well, at the building Campbell spent 15 years fighting to construct.
The Native Ledger covers Native American rights, policy, and communities.