In 1917, the federal government officially bestowed the grand mountain soaring to an impressive height of 20,310 feet with the name Mount McKinley. However, prior to this official recognition, various Indigenous groups had long revered the majestic peak by different names, with the Athabascan people referring to it as Denali, meaning “the tall one” in their language. The mountain’s original name of Denali was reinstated in 2015 under the administration of President Obama, celebrating the enduring heritage and significance bestowed upon it by the Athabascan people over millennia.
During his first term in office, President Trump proposed reverting the mountain’s name back to Mount McKinley, a move met with resistance from Alaska’s senators, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan. Both senators vehemently opposed the idea, advocating for the preservation of the culturally significant name Denali. Senator Sullivan, in a poignant video message, emphasized the historical and cultural importance of the name bestowed upon the mountain by the Koyukon Athabascan people thousands of years ago, urging respect for their enduring legacy.
Despite President Trump’s campaign rhetoric advocating for the recognition of McKinley’s presidency by renaming the mountain, historical accounts reveal that William McKinley, the 25th president of the United States, had no direct connection to the mountain or the state of Alaska. The association of his name with the mountain stemmed from a gold prospector’s admiration for the President-elect in the late 1800s, leading to its casual reference as “Mount McKinley” in a newspaper article.
The dual nomenclature of Denali and Mount McKinley over the years showcased the enduring reverence and cultural significance of the mountain among the people of Alaska. The official designation of Denali in 2015 marked a poignant moment of recognition for Native peoples and their ancestral ties to the land, symbolizing a step towards honoring their heritage and language. Sondra Shaginoff-Stuart, an esteemed scholar of Alaska Native studies, emphasized the symbolic importance of the name change, underscoring the intrinsic connection between the mountain’s appellation and the acknowledgment of Native peoples’ resilience and identity.
In a fascinating turn of events, Massee McKinley, vice president of the Society of Presidential Descendants, shared an intriguing perspective on President Trump’s admiration for President McKinley and his desire to emulate his business acumen in office. The imminent signing of the proclamation to rename the mountain symbolized a convergence of historical lineage and contemporary politics, showcasing the interplay between past legacies and present aspirations.
Notably, President Trump’s executive order also included a directive to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, reflecting a broader trend of symbolic gestures aimed at reshaping national identities and narratives. The U.S. Department of the Interior was tasked with updating the government’s geographic names database within a specified timeframe, underscoring the enduring impact of naming conventions on collective memory and identity.
