First Peoples Mountain (formerly Mount Doane) el. is a mountain peak in the

Absaroka Range The Absaroka Range ( or ) is a sub- range of the Rocky Mountains in the United States. The range stretches about across the Montana–Wyoming border, and at its widest, forming the eastern boundary of Yellowstone National Park along Paradise V ...

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowst ...

. The peak was formerly named for Lieutenant

Gustavus Cheyney Doane Gustavus Cheyney Doane (May 29, 1840 – May 5, 1892) was a U.S. Army Cavalry Captain, explorer, inventor and Civil War soldier who played a prominent role in the exploration of Yellowstone as a member of the Washburn–Langford–Doane Expeditio ...

, a U.S. Army cavalry officer who escorted the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition into Yellowstone in 1870. During that expedition, Doane and Nathaniel P. Langford ascended several peaks east of Yellowstone Lake. The name was changed to First Peoples Mountain in 2022.

Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition

Henry D. Washburn, the leader of the expedition named a peak for Doane, but that peak's name was later changed to

Mount Schurz Mount Schurz el. is a mountain peak in the Absaroka Range in Yellowstone National Park. Mount Schurz is the second highest peak in Yellowstone. The mountain was originally named Mount Doane by Henry D. Washburn during the Washburn–Langfor ...

. Mount Doane was officially named by the Hayden Geological Survey of 1871 to honor the first truly official report of an exploration of the Yellowstone region that Doane wrote after the Washburn expedition. Doane also participated in the 1st Hayden expedition in 1871. GustavusCDoane

Doane's account of his and Langford's ascent into the Absaroka Range (The Peak ascended is today's

Colter Peak Colter Peak el. is a mountain peak in the Absaroka Range in the southeastern section of Yellowstone National Park. The peak is named for mountain man John Colter, reputedly the first white man to visit the Yellowstone region. Colter Peak was f ...

): Image:LangfordYellowstoneLakeMap.JPG, Original Map of Yellowstone Lake showing the first Mount Doane File:MountsDoaneStevensonYNP1871.jpg, Mount Doane (left) and

Mount Stevenson Mount Stevenson el. is a mountain peak in the Absaroka Range of Yellowstone National Park. Mount Stevenson was named in 1871 by geologist Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden, Ferdinand Hayden during the Hayden Geological Survey of 1871 for his friend and ...

(right) 1871

Renaming

Various groups of Native Americans had proposed renaming the mountain in 2017 and 2018, to First Peoples Mountain. The Great Plains Tribal Chairman's Association stated that Gustavius Doane should not be honored because of his role in murdering 200 Native American people, predominantly women and children who were sick with smallpox, in the

Marias Massacre The Marias Massacre (also known as the Baker Massacre or the Piegan Massacre) was a massacre of Piegan Blackfeet Native peoples which was committed by the United States Army as part of the Indian Wars. The massacre took place on January 23, 1870 ...

. Based of suggestions by the Rocky Mountain Tribal Council, the Wyoming Board of Geographic names, and the National Park Service, the name "First Peoples Mountain" was forwarded to the Board of Geographic Names. In June 2022 the new name was affirmed by a vote of 15–0.

Notes

{{Wyoming Mountains of Wyoming Mountains of Yellowstone National Park Mountains of Park County, Wyoming

Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition

Renaming

See also

Notes