In 1881, prospectors Joe Healy (see Healy Pass) and J.S. Dennis (see Mount Dennis) claimed to have discovered copper high on the mountain and George Dawson, who was searching for economic treasures in the mountains on behalf of the Government of Canada, named the mountain. He noted the name of the mountain and the presence of copper on his 1886 map. Dr. Dawson climbed to the mine and it is from this point that he first saw and named Mount Assiniboine in 1884. According to Ken Jones, when George Dawson first saw the peak from Copper Mountain there was, as is often the case, a plume of cloud trailing from the summit. This reminded him of the plumes of smoke that he had seen from the teepees of the Assiniboine Indians and this led to his choice of the name Mount Assiniboine.