DENVER — Native American leaders convened in Denver on Friday for a ceremony aimed at moving forward the renaming of Mount Evans, an effort that stalled after one tribe’s last-minute objection delayed a federal vote on the change to Mount Blue Sky.
Tribal leaders said they seek a respectful resolution of differences as many still support the switch — which will strip the 14,271-foot peak of a name tied to the Sand Creek Massacre — in spite of the objection by Montana-based leaders of the Northern Cheyenne.
But assigning the words “Blue Sky” to Mount Evans would be “sacrilegious,” Northern Cheyenne tribal administrator William Walksalong told The Denver Post. That’s because a Northern Cheyenne ceremony uses the “blue sky” words and concept, and transferring these to serve as the name of a mountain would betray secrets, he said.
