Polis endorses change to Mount Blue Sky

U.S. Board of Geographic Names decision could be announced Thursday

Gov. Jared Polis has endorsed a collaborative proposal to change the name of Mount Evans to Mount Blue Sky. The historic change could happen this coming week.

The U.S. Board of Geographic Names meets Thursday, in Reston, Va., and a broad-based recommendation to change the mountain’s name is on the federal board’s agenda, which could include a ratification vote.

On Tuesday, Polis wrote to Trent Palmer, BGN executive secretary of domestic names, endorsing the change on behalf of the state of Colorado and stakeholders, including the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes. Clear Creek County and the Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board also have endorsed the name change.

“Simply put, Gov. Evans didn’t just engage in warfare against Native Americans but facilitated the senseless slaughter of noncombatants including large numbers of women, children and the elderly by his proclamation and acknowledged initiative to fully eliminate eastern Colorado of any Native American presence and actions further empowering Col. John Chivington,” Polis wrote in the letter.

The landmark, a Colorado 14er, is named for John Evans, a territorial governor who resigned after U.S. soldiers, lead by Chivington, in southeastern Colorado attacked and killed hundreds of Cheyenne and Arapaho people in the Sand Creek Massacre after a peace deal had been reached in 1864.

“Subsequent military and congressional investigations, spurred by the brave accounts of several of Chivington’s men who objected to the massacre, further illuminated Evans’ role in the event, including efforts to cover it up, and led to his forced resignation,” Polis wrote. “Numerous other contemporary examinations of the atrocity and Evans’ role have further underscored his culpability.”

The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes Legislature passed a resolution in January 2020 calling on Congress to rename Mount Evans and the wilderness area Blue Sky.

“The name ‘ Evans’ translates to ‘Good Man.’ Who were we praising by keeping this mountain named Mount Evans?” said Sarah Ortegon, an artist who is a member of the Eastern Shoshonee and Northern Arapaho tribes, in a statement. “A man that allowed the massacre of the Cheyenne and Arapaho people. With this name change, we correctly give this mountain a name that holds life. What sounds more beautiful and vast than the ‘Blue Sky?’ ”

In his endorsement letter, Polis said the “Blue Sky” name pays homage to the mountain, as well as the Cheyenne and Arapaho.

“As such, I concur with Clear Creek County and the board’s recommendation that the USBGN rename Mount Evans to Mount Blue Sky,” Polis said.