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For decades, Native Americans were not a part of the broader story of Yellowstone National Park, even though they have deep historical connections to the region dating back more than 10,000 years.
That’s changed incrementally as the Park Service has removed place names from locations associated with bigoted historic figures, encouraged tribal demonstrations and tours, and participated in consultation with Native Americans over managing bison hunts and transferring live bison to tribes.
This spring, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service official announced tribes would be consulted regarding a petition to list bison as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
Monte Mills is the director of the Native American Law Center at the University of Washington.
Changing perspectives
Such tribal engagement, and even co-stewardship at other federal sites, is “changing the perspective and understanding of the history of public lands,” said Monte Mills, director of the Native American Law Center at the University of Washington.
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