After more than a year of public debate on the topic, Clear Creek County officials have selected a new name to replace Mount Evans.

Officials made the decision after considering five proposed options, including Mount Cheyenne-Arapaho, Mount Soule, Mount Rosalie, Mount Evans and Mount Blue Sky. They selected the latter, Mount Blue Sky, which was submitted by southern Cheyenne and Arapahoe tribes.

Now that county officials have made their endorsement for a moniker for the 14,264-foot peak, the decision goes to Gov. Jared Polis’ office and then to the federal government. It is likely the change will ultimately push through.

The Mount Evans name comes from Colorado Territory Gov. John Evans, who has faced criticism over the years due to his role in the Sand Creek Massacre and his brutal treatment of Native Americans.

In November of 1864 and during Evans’ stint in office, Col. Chivington ordered 700 cavalry troops to attack a peaceful Native American encampment, resulting in more than 100 deaths. Evans later decorated Chivington and his men for their efforts. Evans was later accused of a cover-up of the massacre and forced to resign as governor in 1865 after a federal investigation.

Despite controversy surrounding Evans as a politician and the Sand Creek Massacre, Mount Rosalie was renamed Mount Evans in 1895.

Clear Creek County Commissioner Randy Wheelock is hopeful the change will be officially made on state and federal levels by the end of 2022.

This change is set to follow several other recent instances in which the name of a geographic feature has been changed.

Another mountain in Clear Creek County also got a new name in December 2021, removing the name ‘Squaw Mountain’ and adopting ‘Mestaa’ehehe Mountain.’ The new name rids the mountain of a term deemed offensive to Native Americans and adds a nod to a Native American known as ‘Owl Woman,’ who helped negotiate trades among many at Bent’s Fort, something credited for forming good relations between Native Americans and settlers.

The term “squaw” has been addressed on a national level, with the federal government recently announcing that the term would be removed from federal locations, including the 650 place names on federal lands. Multiple states, including Maine, Minnesota and Montana have already banned the word, according to Reuters.

In September 2020, the Polis-appointed Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board held its first meeting, with 12 spots ultimately selected for renaming. Among these spots were Chinaman Gulch in Chaffee County, Redskin Mountain in Jefferson County and Mount Evans. At the time, proposed names for Mount Evans were only Mount Rosalie, Mount Soule and Mount Cheyenne Arapahoe, with Mount Blue Sky proposed as an option at a later date.

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