Jefferson Davis’ Name Removed from Public Lands in Western Montana

In 2021, Wild Montana joined with other organizations and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in petitioning the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to rename three places on public lands in Montana honoring Jefferson Davis. As you might recall from your U.S history class, Davis was the president of the Confederate States of America. He was also an unrepentant defender of slavery, white supremacy, and racism to his dying days.

Earlier this year, the Board granted our request, ridding three places in western Montana of a name that our public lands should never have acquired and giving them new names recommended by the CSKT and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes.

I couldn’t be more delighted at the outcome, which was encouraged by the hundreds of Wild Montana members and supporters who joined our petition to the Board on Geographic Names.

I am also extremely proud of the work we did in partnership with other organizations and the CSKT to make our public lands more welcoming and inclusive. Other groups that participated in this effort included The Wilderness Society, the Montana Human Rights Network, Forward Montana Foundation, and the Montana Racial Equity Project.

Two of the names for these three places, all part of the Salish traditional homeland, were recommended by the CSKT. The third was recommended by the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, who also recognize southwest Montana as their homeland.

• What once was Davis Gulch, northwest of Helena and east of the Continental Divide, is now In-qu-qu-leet – a rough phonetic rendering of the Salish word that means Place of Lodgepole Pines. The CSKT’s Séliš-Ql̓ispé Elders Cultural Advisory Council recommended this name for the location’s abundance of this tree, which plays a paramount role in the lives of the Salish and other Indigenous nations, who use them as medicine, tipi poles, and for other purposes. As the Flathead Reservation’s newspaper, the Char-Koosta News, reports, “Not far is a place called Snčɫq̓eyq̓ey̓mtn, meaning ‘Place Where Tipi Poles Are Harvested’.”
• What once was Jeff Davis Peak in the Beaverhead Mountains southwest of Dillon, is now Three Eagles Peak, which the Elders Cultural Advisory Committee recommended in honor of Salish Chief Three Eagles. He welcomed Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery into the Salish camp in September 1804 and gave the party food, horses, and other gifts (a scene captured by Charlie Russell in his mural, “Lewis and Clark Meeting the Flatheads,” on the wall in the Montana House of Representatives). The Char-Koosta News writes, “Chief Three Eagle’s decision, described in numerous tribal accounts and reflected in the expedition’s journals, set the precedent for Salish policy toward non-Indians. This policy was marked by a commitment to peace and an insistence on tribal sovereignty, rights, and justice.”
• What once was Davis Creek, flowing from Three Eagles Peak, has been renamed Doyavinai Baa O’ogwaide at the recommendation of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. The name means “water flowing from the mountain creek.”

For more about the renaming, read this in-depth story published by the Char-Koosta News.

Public lands belong to all Americans, and all Americans have the right to enjoy those lands and feel welcome to use them. But that can’t happen if these lands bear names that clearly represent hatred and division.

That’s why, as part of our commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and justice, we will continue to explore other opportunities for renaming other offensive and inappropriately named public lands in Montana.

We believe that names for Montana’s public lands should reflect our state’s true history and make all people feel welcome. In that spirit, let’s raise a toast to In-qu-qu-leet, Three Eagles Peak, and Doyavinai Baa O’ogwaide.