Loading Page...

What did the Indians 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 ...



People Also Ask

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.

MORE DETAILS

To the Crow, it was the “land of the burning ground” or “land of vapors”; to the Blackfeet it was known as “many smoke”; to the Flatheads it was “smoke from the ground”; to the Kiowa it was called “the place of hot water.”

MORE DETAILS

Surprisingly, The Yellowstone Ranch, with its massive white barns and big Y decals, is a real place that you can visit. Nestled some five hours away from Yellowstone National Park, the Chief Joseph Ranch—a functioning cattle ranch in Darby, Montana—is the official location for the Dutton family home.

MORE DETAILS

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).

MORE DETAILS

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 ...

MORE DETAILS

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.

MORE DETAILS

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.

MORE DETAILS

— 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.

MORE DETAILS

1896 Supreme Court case Ward v. Race Horse decided that the legislation that had established Yellowstone as a national park was the legal foundation for efforts to keep Indians off public land.

MORE DETAILS