The federal naming board chose Mount Blue Sky as the new name for the peak that used to honor a racist governor. The name was suggested by Colorado’s Geographic Naming Advisory Board and supported by Gov. Jared Polis, the Clear Creek County Board of Commissioners and many other groups.
The Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes, who have a historical connection to the land, also backed the name change, along with the Northern Arapaho Tribe, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe.
The Northern Cheyenne Tribe in Montana did not agree with the name change, because they said the name “Mount Blue Sky” could be disrespectful to a sacred ceremony that uses those words. The federal board waited for the tribes to talk to each other about their differences, but they could not find a common ground. The Northern Cheyenne Tribe could not be reached for comment before Friday’s vote.
Chris Hammond, who works for the U.S. Geological Survey’s Office of Tribal Relations and is part of the naming board’s Domestic Names Committee, said he was worried about using the name of a sacred ceremony. But he also said that it was impossible to make everyone happy with one name.
He said he hoped that the new name would help heal the wounds of the past, not make them worse.
Other names that were considered for the peak were Mount Rosalie, Mount Soule, Mount Sisty and Mount Cheyenne Arapaho. Another option was to keep the name Mount Evans but change it to honor John Evans’ daughter, Anne Evans, who was a leader in Denver’s civic and cultural arts.
There is still one thing that needs to be fixed: the name of the Mount Evans Wilderness. The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes asked Congress to change the name of the 74,401-acre area around the mountain to match the new name.
Jim Ramey, who works for The Wilderness Society in Colorado, agreed with them and thanked the tribes for leading the renaming effort. He said in a statement: “Now, it’s time to finish the job by changing the name of the Mount Evans Wilderness, which no longer makes sense. Congress should act quickly to change the name of the wilderness area so that we can all start to learn, heal and grow together.”
Colorado’s Geographic Naming Advisory Board was created in July 2020 because people wanted to remove symbols of racism from public places. It has looked at many name changes for different places around the state.
In a news release from the U.S. Department of the Interior on Friday, Michael Brain, who is in charge of water and science issues, said that the name change process showed that the federal government cared about the tribes and wanted to listen to all voices.
He said: “Names matter. How we identify our public lands is an important opportunity to be inclusive and welcoming, and to make a lasting impact for future generations.”**
Pres1 Team
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