This Week in Culture
The Sand Creek Massacre: The Betrayal That Changed Cheyenne and Arapaho People Forever
The Sand Creek Massacre in 1864 has been called one of the deadliest days in Colorado history. On one fateful day, American troops killed more than 230 Cheyenne and Arapaho tribe members, almost wiping out their entire population. The History Colorado Center opened an exhibition about this event in 2012. However, facing heavy criticism as many were discontent with the fact that the exhibit had been made without permission or consultation with the tribes themselves.
“There was recognition of the importance of this dark chapter in Colorado’s history, but there was not the coauthorship and sharing of authority with the Indigenous communities whose histories we present through our exhibitions.” – Shannon Voirol, former Sand Creek Massacre project director for History of Colorado on The New York Times
The 2012 exhibit quickly closed, making room for a new and improved version. Fred Mosqueda, the Arapaho coordinator for the Language and Culture Program of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, and Gail Ridgely, director of the Northern Arapaho Sand Creek Resource Office, took on this project together with three other descendents of survivors of the Sand Creek Massacre. The representatives of the tribes travelled to Denver from their Homelands in Montana, Wyoming and Oklahoma whilst museum staff members went to visit the tribes. These meetings went on for nearly a decade meticulously reviewing and revising every detail of the upcoming exhibition. The office in which they worked overlooked Broadway where a few days after the massacre in 1864, a victory parade was held celebrating the slaughter of Native Americans.
On November 19, 2022, the exhibition finally opened, called “The Sand Creek Massacre: The Betrayal That Changed Cheyenne and Arapaho People Forever”. The exhibition tells a narrative in a chronological sequence, starting with an exploration of the Cheyenne and Arapaho peoples’ way of life, which has endured for generations. It delves into aspects of their culture, traditions, and familial structures, something they pride themselves in. The exhibition subsequently documents the events leading up to the massacre: white settlers invaded the tribal lands once gold was discovered in Colorado. This influx of settlers and their hostile interactions with tribal members magnified tensions.
The exhibit hosts, a recruitment poster from August 13, 1864 is put on display, which had once beckoned volunteers to join a cavalry with the explicit aim of combatting and eliminating Native Americans. At the core of the exhibit, the Cheyenne and Arapaho recount the harrowing events of the massacre, describing how many of their ancestors perished in their own beds. They recall the moment when Chief Black Kettle surrendered to Col. John Chivington and his contingent of soldiers, begging them to spare the lives of their tribe.
A re-creation of the Sand Creek site stands in an enclosed room, where the sounds of birdsong and the silhouette of a golden sunrise against the backdrop of the sprawling prairie grass create a poignant, albeit artificial, depiction of the serenity that once enveloped the site just moments before the brutal massacre.The final section of the exhibit features a headline that reads “We Are Still Here.” Here, visitors can view Governor Hickenlooper’s 2014 speech, officially apologising to the Cheyenne and Arapaho. It also provides information regarding the 2021 repeal of Governor Evans’ authorization that allowed Colorado citizens to target “all hostile Indians.” The exhibit closes with a thought-provoking reflection: “Even with this bad thing that happened, there’s a word in Arapaho that says, ‘nih’oniitowoo.’ And it’s to be strong and keep going, or to persevere. And to me, I think that word kind of expressed the feeling of all the tribes.”
The Rise of ‘A.I. Agents’: Redefining the Digital World
A team of artificial intelligence researchers at Nvidia, a prominent computer chip company, harnessed ChatGPT’s underlying technology in an innovative way. In a matter of weeks, they trained it to master the popular game Minecraft, equipping it with skills like swimming, plant harvesting, hunting for food, gold mining, and even constructing buildings. This AI system was able to enter the Minecraft universe and autonomously explore it, collecting resources and improving upon in-game skills along the way.
This project represents an early example of how AI researchers are evolving AI chatbots into AI Agents – a kind of autonomous system capable of adapting to new scenarios, learning new skills, and operating across various online platforms, resembling human-like adaptability and capability. The vision for these AI Agents is to serve as personal assistants, proficient at managing a broad spectrum of tasks on the internet, from scheduling one’s calendar to updating work-related spreadsheets. This technology is made to enhance the efficiency of daily life and may even have a lasting impact on the gaming community, introducing a multitude of AI- companions for gamers to play alongside and chat with.
Nonetheless, the most notable ability of these AI Agents lies in their capacity to write computer programs. Skilled developers can request code that they can integrate into larger programming projects or generate code that interacts with other software applications and websites. This is accomplished by having the AI Agents write code that accesses the application programming interfaces (APIs) of various software apps, enabling them to communicate with other online services. The potential for AI to freely roam the internet is acknowledged as risky, given security concerns.
A few months after OpenAI released ChatGPT, they introduced a plugin known as the code interpreter. This plugin not only allows ChatGPT to generate code but also run it, thus enabling the technology to perform tasks it otherwise could not have accomplished. Another independent project named AutoGPT aims to refine this system. AutoGPT aspires to create an AI that, when provided with ideas like “make money” or “create a company,” can seek pathways to achieving those goals by asking itself questions and connecting with other internet services.
Many researchers argue that these AI Agents could offer widespread access to digital assistants capable of facilitating the use of software applications and websites. However, there is a downside to this advancement given the fact that it could potentially replace millions of jobs and leave many unemployed.
Jeff Clune, a computer science professor at the University of British Columbia, emphasises that this technological leap presents a substantial commercial opportunity, possibly worth trillions of dollars. Despite the significant benefits these automated AI Agents offer, they could also have detrimental consequences for society.
Van Gogh Museum Stops Distribution of Free Pokémon Cards Amidst Chaos
There has been a surge of interest surrounding a limited edition Pokemon card, which is the result of a collaboration between The Van Gogh Museumand Pokemon Company International. This card was initially part of a modern art exhibit, conceived by the creators of Pokemon, who drew inspiration from Vincent van Gogh’s connections to Japanese culture. The card featured Pikachu in the artistic style of Van Gogh’s famous “Self-Portrait With Grey Felt Hat.”
However, due to recent incidents that have posed a risk to visitors at the exhibition, both the company and the museum have unanimously decided to discontinue the distribution of these promotional cards. To provide context, within just an hour of the temporary exhibition’s opening, the queue to view six miniature paintings featuring Van Gogh-inspired Pokemon figures had already formed three lines deep. A treasure hunt was introduced, urging visitors to complete the exhibit to obtain their free card. Consequently, the museum was fully booked, and many of the related toys quickly sold out. The situation escalated when individuals began reselling the free cards online for prices as high as $80 or more.
Despite no longer being available at the museum itself, the limited edition Pokemon card will still be accessible through the Pokemon Center website and select retailers in the Netherlands, starting early next year.
