McKinley, you’re out. Denali, you’re back. It’s official.
The traditional and historic Alaska native name for North America’s highest mountain will be restored, President Obama announced today.
Obama will use executive power to restore the Alaska native name for the towering peak, a move made the day before a three-day trip to Alaska to push an agenda aimed at countering climate change.
The 20,237-foot Mount McKinley got its name from a gold prospector in 1896, who named it after then-presidential candidate William McKinley of Ohio. (He became president the following year.)
The government officially recognized the mountain as McKinley in 1917. But people continued to regularly use the former, arguably more beautiful and fitting name (it means “The Great One”).
The name has been a point of contention for years, as many saw it as a slight against Alaska Natives. Earlier this year, two U.S. Senators, including Alaska representative Lisa Murkowski, introduced a bill to restore the name.
She released a video (above) in support of the measure. “For generations, Alaskans have known this majestic mountain as ‘the great one,’” she says in the video. “I’d like to thank the president for working with us to achieve this significant change to show honor, respect, and gratitude to the Athabascan people of Alaska.”
