Alaskan Mountain Denali Stripped of Native Name

The Indigenous name of North America’s highest mountain has been removed, marking a potentially significant shift in the stance of the federal government toward Native culture.

The 21,000-foot mountain in Alaska, Denali, has been renamed Mount McKinley following an executive order from President Donald Trump on his first day in office.

Denali is a word from Alaskan Native Tribes that means “the high one” in the Athabascan language.

“Our nation’s tallest mountain, which has been called Denali for thousands of years, must continue to be known by the rightful name bestowed by Alaska’s Koyukon Athabascans, who have stewarded the land since time immemorial,” said Alaska’s senior Senator Lisa Murkowski in response to the order.

The mountain had been known as Mount McKinley since 1896, when it was named for then presidential candidate William McKinley. McKinley became the 25th President of the United States in 1897, and was assassinated in 1901.

More than 100 years later, it was officially renamed Denali under the direction of President Barack Obama, a move celebrated by Alaska’s Tribal communities.

Alaska is home to 229 federally recognized Tribes, almost half of all federally recognized Tribes in the U.S., and the most of any state. The same executive order that renamed Denali also changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

By Denali National Park and Preserve – Every Road- DenaliUploaded by AlbertHerring, Public Domain, Link