Native Americans gather at History Colorado Center to celebrate Mount Blue Sky: "Well, it's good inspiration"
A crowd of about 250 Native American people gathered at the History Colorado Center Friday for what was to be a celebration of the decision to change the name of Mount Evans to Mount Blue Sky.
Instead, it became a gathering of support for the change, after one tribe called for a consultation on the proposed change at the U.S. Board of Geographic Names, where the name change was expected to be finalized last week.
"Well, it's good inspiration. It's good to know that the tribes can come together," said Reggie Wassana, governor of the Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes. "It's not us against anybody, it's us for a change a positive change to make things better."
The Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes built a consortium supporting a change of the name of Mount Evans to Mount Blue Sky.
Native people have long expressed hurt and disdain over the name Evans on the mountain that dominates the Front Range west of Denver due to the former territorial governor's connection to the Sand Creek Massacre.
"Evans needs to be erased from the Denver skyline," Morning Star Jones said. "It's harming to the people that were killed you know and we are the descendants of those people. We are the descendants of the Sand Creek Massacre."
Colorado's Geographic Naming Board and the governor signed off on the change to Mount Blue Sky.
The board of 15 members backed the change unanimously after a series of meetings in which the board sorted through a variety of proposals for the name change. Among those, was Mount Cheyenne Arapahoe, which was recommended by the Northern Cheyenne.
With the backing of Gov. Jared Polis along with Clear Creek and Jefferson Counties and the state geographic naming board, the idea of changing the name to Mount Blue Sky advanced to the U.S. Board of Geographic Names, which has the final say.
The matter was expected to be approved at a meeting on March 9, but the Northern Cheyenne filed an objection asking for a consultation on the matter.
On Friday, administrator William Walksalong told CBS News Colorado they had not been allowed input with Polis.
He said a letter was sent to the governor and they heard nothing back. They now have requested a discussion with the U.S. Board of Geographic Names, which delayed the renaming process after the request for a consultation was filed.
"Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board held two public meetings on the six proposed names for renaming Mount Evans. Our first meeting was solely devoted to taking Tribal input, in which the Northern Cheyenne gave a presentation and answered questions on their proposal for Mount Evans," said state spokesman, Chris Arend in an emailed statement.
At the event Friday, supporters of the renaming of Mount Blue Sky celebrated the name and the concept. People sang the Blue Sky anthem together as tribal members drummed.
"I think they had a vision," said Gov. Wassana of the Northern Cheyenne's position. "I believe they were definitely included. They did have the opportunity and I believe they sat in on some meetings as well."
Morning Star Jones, who lives in the Denver area and is Northern Cheyenne, says she backs the idea of Mount Blue Sky while tribal leaders in Montana may feel differently.
She noted that there are over 490 tribal nations in the United States and opinions are expected to vary.
"I hope that their rights are protected. I want to hear their input, yes and we would have liked for everybody to come together and make one decision and that the rest of Colorado can agree with," she expressed.
