What did Native Americans think of Yellowstone?

The Crow Indians called Yellowstone “land of the burning ground” or “land of vapors” while the Blackfeet called it “many smoke.” The Flatheads called it “smoke from the ground.” The Kiowas called it “the place of hot water.” Only the Bannocks had a name that did not call to mind the park's thermal regions: “buffalo ...



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Yellowstone has 40 mountain peaks above 10,000 feet, and we know from Native American testimonies that they were important religious sites. People went there to pray and seek visions by fasting.

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The fictional Broken Rock Indian Reservation is actually the Crow Indian Reservation. The reservation, home of the Crow Tribe, is the largest reservation in Montana, spanning about 3,600 square miles.

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The Yellowstone supervolcano last erupted about 640,000 years ago. A sleeping giant is nestled in the western part of the United States. Though it stirs occasionally, it has not risen from slumber in nearly 70,000 years.

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No one “lived” in what is now Yellowstone Park, though obviously, tribes did live in the region, typically at lower elevations. The reason is evident to anyone who has spent any time in the area (which most revisionists have not).

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— There are 27 listed tribes who have historic connections to the lands and resources now found within Yellowstone National Park (YNP). Many think of YNP as an untouched wilderness, but human occupation in YNP goes back 11,000 years ago and includes an important history of indigenous peoples.

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During historic times, a number of tribes are known to have used the Yellowstone area. However, the one group most closely associated with the park is the Shoshone. Trappers and early explorers of the region provide first-hand accounts of small bands of Shoshone in the park.

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One of those girls is played by Aminah Nieves, an indigenous actress who landed the very important role of Teonna Rainwater — a veritable prisoner of the Catholics (and ancestor of Gil Birmingham's Thomas Rainwater, who we eventually meet in Yellowstone) who can dish it out as much as she can take it.

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Instead, we have the honor of calling ourselves “Seminoles” in admiration of the only Native American tribe never conquered by the U.S. Government.

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