Ep. 3 - Indigenous History of Yellowstone National Park and Beyond with Shane Doyle

In January 2021, The Smithsonian Magazine published an article called “The Lost History of Yellowstone.” I was already in the middle of an awakening about the origins of how the land of North America became settler land (i.e., it was stolen from Indigenous peoples). The article interviews and follows researchers who had recently uncovered artifacts that proved what is now called Yellowstone National Park was a major thoroughfare for Native communities traveling through the Northern Plains region. These artifacts were not only interesting archeology, but they proved that the land so many of us were taught was uninhabited before it became a national park was, in fact, inhabited, and it was sacred ground. It thwarted the myth that we were all sold, which actually covered up the atrocities committed by the U.S. government to force Native peoples out of the region.In that story, then-research associate, Shane Doyle, who is a member of the Apsaalooke (Crow) Nation, was also interviewed. The story’s author, Andrew Geiger read a quote from a current-day Yellowstone brochure to Doyle and his colleague Doug MacDonald: “When you watch animals in Yellowstone, you glimpse the world as it was before humans.” Geiger notes that Doyle burst out laughing and responded: “The park is a slap in the face to Native people. There is almost no mention of the dispossession and violence that happened. We have essentially been erased from the park, and that leads to a lot of hard feelings, although we do love to go to Yellowstone and reminisce about our ancestors living there in a good way.”I have continued to go back to this story time and again and knew that I wanted to talk with Shane for this book and podcast. So when Betsy Gaines Quammen told me that she and Shane were also friends (they both live in Boseman!) I was thrilled. Since then, Shane has gone on to write a ton about Indigenous history and is doing so much for his community in Boseman. I’m excited for you to learn from him in this podcast. Shane is in the process of planning a Tipi Village in Yellowstone for September 2026, which is meant to celebrate the Indigenous connection to the park. Stay tuned for more information on that.For more of Shane’s writing, check out these stories:* Land of Steam | National Parks Conservation Association* Commemorating Yellowstone’s 150th Birthday with the Park’s ‘First Family’ | National Parks Conservation Association* Actors: Making Meaning and Medicine in the Land of the Burning Ground | Mountain Outlaw* Brilliance and Beauty: Celebrating the Gift of a Blackfoot Map | Distinctly Montana* Following the Footsteps | Outside Bozeman* Above the Sky | Big Sky JournalThanks for reading Charm of the Wilderness! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit charmofthewilderness.substack.com