Mount McKinley to Be Renamed Denali By Elizabeth Williamson And Ryan Tracy
http://www.wsj.com/articles/mount-mckinley-to-be-renamed-denali-1440970559?mod=trending_now_4
Obama is giving the mountain its Alaskan native name on the eve of visit.
The White House said Sunday that Sally Jewell used her authority as secretary of the Interior Department to switch to the name given to the mountain by Alaskan native tribes.
“Generally believed to be central to the Athabaskan creation story, Denali is a site of significant cultural importance to many Alaska natives,” the White House said in a written statement. The change was announced on the eve of President Barack Obama’s visit to Alaska.
Denali, an Athabaskan word meaning “the high one,” has been the name used by Native Alaskans for centuries, and Mt. McKinley has long been a politically controversial replacement. A prospector exploring the area named the 20,320-foot-high peak after William McKinley after his nomination for president in 1896. In 1901, after Mr. McKinley was assassinated, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names “hurriedly” endorsed it despite the fact that the president had no connection to the mountain, according to the 1995 cartography book “Drawing the Lines—Tales of Maps and Cartocontroversy” by Mark S. Monmonier.
When the Russians owned Alaska, the mountain was known as Bolshaya Gora, which means “big mountain.”
In 1975, Alaska petitioned for the name to be changed. Since then, the mountain has been caught between the state where it sits and Ohio, home to Mr. McKinley. The request had been pending with the Interior Department until Friday, when Ms. Jewell granted it. Ms. Jewell said she had the legal authority to act if the geographic names board doesn’t respond to such requests “within a reasonable time.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R., Alaska) thanked the president for the decision on Sunday, and her staff issued a news release noting she “has long advocated for Denali to officially be called Denali.”
Ms. Murkowski introduced a bill earlier this Congress to make the name change official, and her staff spoke with offices of the Ohio congressional delegation “trying to soften them up” to the idea, said Robert Dillon, a spokesman for the senator. Obama administration officials also held meetings with Ohio lawmakers’ offices about the move, an Interior Department spokeswoman said. The spokespeople said they weren’t aware of the Ohio delegation voicing opposition to the move this time.
In July, the Columbus Dispatch endorsed the name change and scolded Ohio’s politicians for a “rather unseemly effort on behalf of a politician who never set foot near the mountain and had no known interest in it.” The editorial continued: “Let Denali be Denali.”
Supporters of the McKinley name could win redemption yet: A National Park Service spokesman said the service is looking at other ways to honor the former president.
Alaskans have pressed for the change for years, even though the national park that contains the mountain was renamed Denali in 1980 as part of an earlier congressional compromise.
The order could be rescinded by Ms. Jewell’s successor, so Ms. Murkowski’s spokesman said the senator will continue pushing for Congress to make the change official. She used her seat on the Senate Appropriations Committee to insert the measure into a spending package that Congress will take up this fall.
Now, the identity crisis passes to Alaska businesses like Mt. McKinley Bank, Mt. McKinley Animal Hospital, and the Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge.
Allison Hovanec, spokeswoman for Holland America-Princess Cruise Lines, which owns the lodge, said little will likely change, since the company has hedged its bets: “we also have a Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge, which is closer to the mountain anyway.”
Write to Elizabeth Williamson at elizabeth.williamson@wsj.com and Ryan Tracy at ryan.tracy@wsj.com
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