The U.S. Board on Geographic Names put a period on the dispute between two tribal groups on the new name for Colorado’s Mount Evans, selecting Mount Blue Sky on Friday.

The vote was 15-1, with three abstentions. 

Last November, Colorado’s Geographic Naming Advisory Board unanimously recommended approving the change to Mount Blue Sky, a name supported by the Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes of Oklahoma.

The recommendation went to Gov. Jared Polis, who forwarded it to the federal naming board.

But a request from a tribal government for a “government-to-government consultation” regarding the renaming abruptly halted the federal board’s vote in March.

The vote has been held up for the past six months because of objections from the Northern Cheyenne of Lame Deer, Montana, the only original Colorado tribe, which is vehemently against the Mount Blue Sky name. The phrase “blue sky” is part of the sacred Tribal Arrow Ceremony and, thus, the Northern Cheyenne believe it would be “sacrilegious” for it to be spoken in common language, the tribe argued.  

Northern Cheyenne tribal leaders have, instead, long advocated to rename Colorado’s most famous peak to “Mount Cheyenne-Arapaho.”

That disagreement weighed heavily with several members of the federal board at its Friday meeting.

Chris Hammon of the U.S. Geological Survey, a member of the committee on domestic name, said there is “overwhelming agreement” that the name had to change. He added he would prefer the tribal parties come to consensus but noted that wasn’t going to happen.

“I don’t think we can reach consensus that will satisfy” everyone, added Andy Flora of the U.S. Dept. of Commerce. But “whatever name we pick, I hope it starts the healing process” sought by the tribal parties, rather than more division, he said.

There were six names submitted to the federal board, dating back to June 2018, according to Jennifer Runyon of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.

Colorado’s two Democratic U.S. senators weighed in after the vote.

“We must better face the dark history of the Sand Creek atrocities by honoring the lives that were lost,” said U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper. “Renaming one of Colorado’s tallest peaks to honor the Arapaho and Cheyenne people is an important step forward.”

 “This renaming was the result of a thoughtful process, led by local communities and Tribes, and I’m grateful to everyone who contributed,” added U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet. “As we work to address the wrongs done to the Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribes, and to Native people across the country, this is a strong first step.”

Jim Ramey, Colorado state director for The Wilderness Society, which backed the Mount Blue Sky name, noted that, one of the Front Range’s “stunning” Fourteeners, “this mountain looms large in the backdrop of the Denver skyline.”

“Changing its name was long overdue, and I thank the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes for leading this effort,” Ramey said. “Now, it’s time to finish the job by changing the name of the Mount Evans Wilderness, which no longer makes sense. Congress should act swiftly to change the name of the wilderness area so that we can all begin to learn, heal and grow together.”

“Mount Soule” was the first name change submission, intended to honor Capt. Silas Soule, the whistleblower whose missives to Washington D.C. resulted in a federal investigation of the 1864 Sand Creek massacre, where 230 peaceful Cheyenne women, children and elders were slaughtered by Colorado troops under the command of Col. John Chivington.

While Chivington was never held accountable for the massacre, territorial Gov. John Evans was ordered to resign in 1865 by President Andrew Johnson for his role in tasking Chivington with eliminating Native peoples on Colorado’s Eastern Plains.

The second name submitted was “Mount Rosalie,” meant to honor Rosalie Bierstadt, the wife of renowned Colorado artist William Bierstadt.

“Mount Blue Sky” was third, followed by “Mount Cheyenne-Arapaho.”

The fifth proposal was to keep the Mount Evans name but change the honoree to Anne Evans, Gov. Evans’ daughter and a Denver philanthropist. The final name was for “Mount Sisty,” which would honor Wilson Sisty, founder of the Colorado Department of Wildlife.

That wasn’t all the board handled for Colorado on Friday.

They also rejected two name changes.

“Cimarron Peak” was a previously unnamed peak in Jefferson County, near Conifer, that has been awaiting a name change since 2019. The Colorado board discussed but never approved it, and on Friday the federal group turned it down without explanation.

The final name change on Friday for Colorado came a previous request by the federal board to rename Calkins Lake in Longmont to “Union Reservoir.” The federal board sought the name change, noting the reservoir name had been in common use for years. However, the Calkins family disagreed, pointing out to the Colorado board the lake was named after Carlton Chase Calkins, an early settler of Longmont who also served two years in the Colorado House.

The federal board pointed out in its request that the name Calkins Lake was recorded from documents in the 1890s to 1910s. In between then and the 1970s, it was referred to by both names, but by 1977 Weld County documents referred to it only as “Union Reservoir.”

The Colorado board voted to keep the Calkins Lake name and recommended the federal board do the same, and on Friday, the latter sided with the state and voted, 19-0, to reject “Union Reservoir.” The board members then affirmed Calkins Lake as the official name.