The tallest mountain in North America, which has been known as Mount McKinley for over a century, will finally be recognized once again as Denali, as Native Alaskans have called it for much longer. The move comes as President Barack Obama is set to arrive in Alaska today.
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell signed an order, with Obama’s approval, on Sunday, reports the Alaska Dispatch News. Jewell has the authority to change the name without asking Congress thanks to a 1947 federal law.
Despite that authority, Ohio politicians in Washington, DC are upset about the change and have called this another example of Obama avoiding Congress. The mountain had been named Mount McKinley after Republican William McKinley of Ohio since 1896. McKinley was then elected the 25th president and assassinated in 1901. In 1917, an act of Congress officially named the mountain after McKinley.
“This political stunt is insulting to all Ohioans, and I will be working with the House Committee on Natural Resources to determine what can be done to prevent this action,” Rep. Bob Gibbs, R-Ohio, said in a statement to Fox News.
“We must retain this national landmark's name in order to honor the legacy of this great American president and patriot,” Rep. Tim Ryan, a Democrat who represents the district where McKinley was born, added.
But Denali has been associated with the mountain for a much longer time than McKinley’s name. The term is a local Athabascan word that means “the high one” or “the great one.” Alaska had been trying to get the federal government to officially change the name since 1975, but nothing happened. Even when Mount McKinley National Park was renamed Denali National Park in 1980, the name of the mountain itself was not changed.
“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,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said in a video this weekend.
According to the New York Times, Obama’s trip to Alaska will only last three days, but he also hopes to talk about fighting climate change and will talk with Native Alaskan tribes.