It had been reduced to fewer than 700 not even a decade later. In the middle of the conflict was Tenaya, the last known chief of the valley’s Native Ahwahneechee people and the canyon’s namesake.

One of the most prominent is that of Chief Tenaya of the Ahwahneechee people. Chief Tenaya’s people lived in Yosemite when settlers attempted to force them out of the park. After one of his sons ...