WYOMING – For more than three years now, efforts have been underway to change the name of the iconic geological feature in the northeast part of the state.
Leaders of the Great Sioux Nation and the Oglala Sioux Tribe submitted a proposal to change the name of Devils Tower back in November 2014. The movement has the support of more than 20 other tribes.
The Sioux propose a name change to “Bear Lodge.” They say that name is in keeping with history and tradition. Numerous historical maps from between 1874 and 1901 refer to the area as Bear Lodge or Bears Lodge.
The erroneous name likely stems from an expedition led by Lieutenant Colonel Richard Dodge in 1875. Dodge led geologist Walter P. Jenney through the region in search of gold deposits rumored to be in the vicinity. Those rumors mostly initiated from General George Custer himself.
While they never found paydirt, they did find “a shaft named by local Indians as ‘The Bad God’s Tower,’” Dodge wrote in a journal entry. Mishearing “Bad Gods” to “Bear Lodge” could be one reason for mapmakers’ nomenclature of the tower and land around it as such.
Dodge’s interpreters eventually translated “Bad God’s Tower” to “Devil’s Tower.” By the time the country’s first national monument was proclaimed by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, it was dubbed “Devils Tower.”
Punctuation error aside, the National Park Service does not have the authority to change the names of geologic features, populated places, or national monuments. That can be done only by the United States Board on Geographic Names, the Congress, or the President.
US Senator Mike Enzi, along with Rep. Cynthia Lummis, introduced legislation on September 16, 2015 to retain the name Devils Tower. Congresswoman Liz Cheney recently drafted a bill of her own (HR 401) designating the geological formation at Devils Tower National Monument as Devils Tower and protecting the name. The measure passed the House Natural Resources Committee today.
“Wyoming’s Devils Tower is one of our state’s most beautiful and sacred geological features. The name Devils Tower is over a century old and represents one of the most well-known sites in the nation,” Cheney said. “In addition to its historic importance in our state, Devils Tower attracts crucial tourism and revenue to our communities. I’m proud that my bill protecting this historic name passed out of the House Natural Resources Committee today, and I look forward to continuing to work with Senators Enzi and Barrasso to protect this special monument.”
