Native American Affairs

A Note About Terms

The term Native American is typically used in political and academic matters. When Native Americans refer to themselves and to personal matters, they might use Indian, American Indian, First American, First Peoples, or Indigenous Peoples instead of Native American.

 

Nez Perce tribe members and NPS Rangers sit together during a commemoration of the Nez Perce Trail.

NPS

Yellowstone’s location at the convergence of the Great Plains, Great Basin, and Columbia Plateau Indian cultures means that many Native American tribes have traditional connections to the land and its resources. For thousands of years before the park was established, this area was a place where Native Americans hunted, fished, gathered plants, quarried obsidian, and used the thermal waters for religious and medicinal purposes.

Yellowstone’s ethnographic resources are the natural and cultural features that are significant to tribes. They include sites, plant and animal species, objects associated with routine or ceremonial activities, and migration routes. Federal law requires the National Park Service to consult with Yellowstone’s associated tribes on a government-to-government basis on decisions which affect resources that are significant to tribes.

Consultation and Associated Tribes

The first tribes to request association came forward in 1996. Now 27 American Indian tribes are formally associated with Yellowstone. Since 2002, park managers have met periodically with tribal representatives to exchange information about park projects and ethnographic resources. The tribes have requested to participate in resource management and decision-making, to conduct ceremonies and other events in the park, and to collect plants and minerals for traditional uses.

Bison

American Indian tribes are most concerned about the management of bison that leave the park; many tribes have a physical and spiritual connection to bison in Yellowstone. Since 2007, some associated tribes have had the opportunity to conduct bison hunts outside the park boundaries. Since November 2009, the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes, the InterTribal Buffalo Council, and the Nez Perce Tribe have joined the Interagency Bison Management Plan and participate in the development of adaptive management strategies for bison and Brucellosis in the areas immediately outside Yellowstone National Park. For information on the Bison Conservation Transfer Program, read more here.

Representation

In 2018, the park consulted with associated tribes on increasing opportunities for non-consumptive ceremonial use of the park. Consultants also reviewed park educational media and programming for representation of native peoples and perspectives. Previous education consultation focused on the Yellowstone segment of the Nez Perce National Historic Trail and the associated sites and events of the 1877 Flight of the Nez Perce.

Park Names

In 2016, the Executive Committee of the Blackfoot Nation contacted Yellowstone National Park to request that the names of two locations inside the park be changed. National place names are managed by the United States Geologic Survey (USGS) and the representatives were referred to the USGS Board of Geographic Names at that time. The committee requested the park change Mount Doane to “First People’s Mountain” and that Hayden Valley be changed to “Buffalo People’s Valley.” In 2022, the USGS, based on a recommendation by the NPS, changed the name of Mount Doane to First People’s Mountain.

 

The Yellowstone Youth Conservation Corps provides an opportunity for young people aged 14-17 to come work, live, and learn in Yellowstone National Park.

NPS/Herbert

Native Student Opportunities

Currently, Yellowstone hosts an internship program which places Native American students with the University of Montana into resource management and resource education internships with the National Park Service. In addition, Yellowstone also hosts Native American youth conservation volunteers through the Montana Conservation Corps.

 

Resources

The list below includes academic publications, government publications, management documents that inform the decision-making process at Yellowstone. The Yellowstone Resources and Issues Handbook, updated annually, is the book our rangers use to answer many basic park questions.

Source: Data Store Collection 7826 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.