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President Donald Trump issued an executive order on his first day in office to change the name of North America's highest peak, Denali, back to Mt. McKinley. On Friday, the Interior department confirmed the name change. Then-president Barack Obama changed the mountain's name to Denali at the request of Alaskans in 2015. According to polling cited by Alaska's News Source, two out of three Alaskans are against changing the name back to McKinley.
The state's two U.S. senators were quick to denounce the change.
“You can’t improve upon the name that Alaska’s Koyukon Athabascans bestowed on North America’s tallest peak, Denali – the Great One,” Senator Lisa Murkowski said in a statement. “For years, I advocated in Congress to restore the rightful name for this majestic mountain to respect Alaska’s first people who have lived on these lands for thousands of years. This is an issue that should not be relitigated.”
Guides and climbers also pushed back. Mark Westman, a former ranger on the mountain, said, “The name Denali reflects a local cultural heritage here that predates the United States... The name McKinley was an arbitrary name given for someone who had never even set foot here. He was from Ohio.”
The federal name change will not officially go into effect for 30 days. At that point, it is possible it could be litigated. It is unclear whether the State of Alaska will continue using the name Denali. The state officially changed the peak's name to Denali in 1975, well before the federal government did so. Denali National Park and Preserve will maintain its current name.
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Located on the traditional homelands of the Dene peoples, [Denali] reflects a profound spiritual and cultural relationship with the land... Keeping this name honors that connection and recognizes the enduring contributions of Alaska Native peoples."
