Native Americans in traditional dress.

The human history of the Yellowstone region goes back more than 11,000 years. From about 11,000 years ago to the very recent past, many groups of Native Americans used the park as their homes, hunting grounds, and transportation routes. These traditional uses of Yellowstone lands continued until a little over 200 years ago when the first people of European descent found their way into the park. In 1872 a country that had not yet seen its first centennial established Yellowstone as the first national park in the world. A new concept was born and with it a new way for people to preserve and protect the best of what they had for the benefit and enjoyment of future generations.

Please visit the links below to learn more about history and culture in Yellowstone National Park.

Yellowstone History Electronic Field Trip

Take an Kite Aerial Photography Tour of Fort Yellowstone

Online Publications Related to Yellowstone History

Enchanted Enclosure, The Army Engineers and Yellowstone National Park, A Documentary History - Historical Division, Office of the Chief of Engineers, United States Army, Washington, D.C. 1976

Oh Ranger! - Horace Albright and Frank Taylor, published in 1928 by Stanford University

Thomas Moran Art Exhibit

Thomas Moran's Diary

Yellowstone National Park, Its Exploration and Establishment - An online Yellowstone history book by Aubrey L. Haines