Yellowstone Brand (2024)

The Yellowstone Brand is a mark bore by all the property of the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch. It is painted on the roof of the primary barn, it is stuck on the side of the pickup trucks owned by the ranch, and it is burned into the livestock that are raised there. It is also bore, in secret, by certain ranch hands with criminal backgrounds who have bartered their freedom from criminal prosecution in exchange for a lifetime of service on the ranch.

History of the brand[]

The brand is established in the series premiere when Rip Wheeler confronts Jimmy Hurdstram in his home and offers him an ultimatum of either taking the brand and working for the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, or Rip reports him to the authorities for his illegal activities. This offer is made after Jimmy's grandfather asked John Dutton to help save Jimmy from prison or death. Jimmy agrees to work for the ranch and Rip brands him on the left side of his chest where it is typically worn. ("Daybreak")

It's revealed that other men on the ranch have the brand, and several more join them over the course of the series. Those who were already branded before the start of the show include Kayce Dutton, Rip, Lloyd Pierce, and Wade Morrow, who walked away from the ranch prior to the start of the series. Characters who have received the brand since the series premier include Jimmy, Walker, Ryan, Colby Mayfield, Teeter, Jake, and Ethan. ("Meaner than Evil")

Walker received the brand shortly after his arrival at the Yellowstone when Rip recruited him out of prison at John Dutton's suggestion, believing that recruiting an ex-convict gives them a helpful resource in some of the ranch's dirtier business. However, after seven years in prison Walker truly intended to reform his life and ultimately turned out to be very resistant to the darker jobs the ranch asked of him. When Walker was offered the brand early on in his stay at the Yellowstone, he cavalierly accepted either not knowing or not caring what was expected of him if he took it. This became a point of major tension between him and Rip because he often rebelled against the authority on the ranch. This culminated in Walker being sent away with the assumption that he would be killed and disposed of, however Kayce who volunteered to take him had hoped to begin redeeming the culture of the ranch and negotiated to let Walker leave if he never came back. Some time later, Rip and Lloyd discovered him in a bar in another town, returned him to the ranch, and after sorting out the dispute, Walker finally settled into life there as a wrangler.

Later, a former wrangler Wade Morrow and his son Clint emerged working for Roarke Morris as enforcers. When Wade and Clint attacked Colby and Teeter who were swimming in a creek on the Dutton property, they trampled the two underfoot with their horses and nearly killed them. Seeking revenge, Rip lead all of the wranglers to entrap the Morrow's which lead to Clint falling off his horse to his death and the wranglers lynching Wade on a tree. Before Wade died, Rip instructed Walker to cut the brand off of Wade's chest, not just as a request from John, but also a test of Walker's obedience and loyalty to the ranch going forward and a second chance being given to him.

In exchange for the revenge the hands desired for the attack on Colby and Teeter, Rip demanded that everyone involved receive the brand, unbeknownst to John. That night at the same campfire where Walker had received his, Colby, Teeter, Ryan, Jake, and Ethan all received their brands witnessed from afar by Beth. The following morning, Jimmy's girlfriend Mia and her friend Laramie who had been helping at the ranch and sleeping in the bunkhouse with the wranglers walked in the community bathroom to witness all of the hands treating their healing brands. Having already seen Jimmy's and finding the mark disturbing, Mia left the ranch soon after when she failed to convince Jimmy to leave the Dutton's service and he instead left for the 6666 Ranch.

Jimmy is the only known person to have the brand and be allowed to leave the ranch on good terms. When Walker was dismissed it was under the assumption that he would be taken to the Train Station and killed, and Wade apparently left the ranch without permission. Jimmy, however, was sent to the 6666 Ranch by John in the hopes that this one last effort would make a cowboy out of Jimmy. It succeeded, and Jimmy returned to the Yellowstone with a prized horse John had a newly-purchased ownership stake in. Jimmy brought with him his fiancée, and being pleased with Jimmy's transformation, John told Jimmy his debts are cleared and he may return to the Four Sixes with his fiancée.

Kayce is the only branded person who is not an employee of the ranch. John later explains to Monica that he branded Kayce for disobeying him when Kayce got Monica pregnant and Kayce refused John's demand to make Monica abort the child. John branded Kayce, which drove a wedge between the two and caused Kayce to enlist in the Navy where he became a SEAL. This rift would not be repaired for several years until Kayce returned to live on the ranch and work alongside John again.

Significance of the Brand[]

The brand is typically offered as a choice to men who have committed crimes as an alternative to what would likely otherwise be significant jail time or death. The brand is a second chance for men to have a life of paid, honest, and hard work although as a branded man there are unspoken duties that they may be called upon to do as the Dutton family has no shortage of enemies who want to chase them and everyone else off of their land. The branded employees then function as enforcers of sorts, who commit the majority of violence and intimidation that is required by John Dutton to protect the ranch and his family. Rip is the ideal example, as a devoted friend and employee of John, he does whatever he asks up to and including maiming and killing someone else.

As Mia once explains to Jimmy, the brand symbolizes who he belongs to, just like with cattle and horses. It describes ownership by the ranch of anyone who wears it, and a functions as a lifetime contract between the wearer and the ranch: in exchange for food, water, shelter, meager pay, and the support of whatever resources the ranch can bring to bear when needed, the ranch gets the wearers labor, loyalty, and unequivocal obedience. The wearer is also expected to live out their remaining days as an employee on the ranch.

Individuals with the brand[]

Prior to the series premier:[]

• Kayce Dutton
• Rip Wheeler
• Lloyd Pierce
• Wade Morrow (Removed)

Since the series premier:[]

• Jimmy Hurdstram
• Colby Mayfield
• Ryan
• Ethan
• Jake
• Teeter