What is the most well known group of Native Americans to use Yellowstone?

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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The Indian name for the Yellowstone was Burning Mountains, and it is easy to understand their superstitions. Only when they were pursued and sought refuge to save their lives would parties of Indians come into the Burning Mountains.

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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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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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One of the first settlers to explore Yellowstone was a man named John Colter. He was one of America's first mountain men, living in the wilderness for months at a time, and a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, sent by President Thomas Jefferson to find a route through the American West.

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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.

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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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The Yellowstone bison herd is a bison herd in Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. It is probably the oldest and largest public bison herd in the United States, estimated in 2020 to comprise 4,800 bison. The bison are American bison of the Plains bison subspecies.

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In total, there are 26 current tribes that have historic connections to the lands and resources now found within Yellowstone National Park.

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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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