Place name disputes (part 1 – Denali)

Although places on a map represent real geographical locations, many of which are apparent from the ground, any name given to a place is entirely arbitrary. Even names which reflect the shape or appearance of a monument, such as Half Dome in Yosemite, were not automatically determined and only carry meaning in one language unless translated. Also, the resemblances indicated by these names may only be obvious to the cultures that named them. However, for the purposes of convenience and identification, humans have given places names for thousands of years.

It is not unsurprising that different people disagree on what to put on maps, as many countries have disputes over territory. However, I do not deem these disputes ‘trivial’ enough to cover in this blog, given that people and economies are affected by these disputes. However, what a place is called should not have any effect on its citizens, so they are fair game. These disputes are very common, and usually are a byproduct of greater ethnic or national tensions. The US has mostly avoided these disputes, though there is one lofty exception: the highest peak in the country, and indeed the continent of North America, which is located in Alaska.

To the Koyukon people who lived near the mountain, it was known as Denali meaning “tall,” though other neighboring tribes had their own names for the mountain. It was known by the Russians who once owned Alaska as Bolshaya Gora or “Big Mountain,” but the name it became widely known under by American was first coined in 1896 by prospector William Dickey. He named it after then-presidential candidate William McKinley, likely because McKinley’s support of the gold standard would be helpful in his profession. The name gained prominence due to the publication of Dickey’s account in the New York Sun. McKinley was assassinated in 1901, which made it popular to honor his memory, and the name became popularly accepted, with Mount McKinley National Park being created in 1917. 

The native name still had its ardent supporters, however, including Hudson Stuck, part of the first expedition to summit the mountain. While Mount McKinley remained the widely-known name, “Denali” was not forgotten, as the name was used for a post office, mountain pass, and state park. For reasons which I cannot quite determine, the Alaska state legislature petitioned the U.S. Board of Geographic Names to change the mountain’s name in 1975. Given the significance of the mountain, and the fact that the national park’s name of “Mount McKinley National Park” was mandated in law, the Alaskans had a difficult struggle ahead. Once the proposal was announced, most favored Denali, but vocal opposition originated from McKinley’s home state of Ohio.

Ralph Regula, who represented McKinley’s hometown of Canton, introduced a bill to prevent the renaming of Mount McKinley. The Board of Geographic Names would be forbidden to discuss changing the name as long as there was debate about the name in Congress. However, Jimmy Carter used his presidential power to create Denali National Monument in the area surrounding the park in 1978. In 1980, these areas, along with other lands surrounding the mountain, would be incorporated into an expanded national park and preserve named Denali. The Ohio delegation attempted to add legislation to this bill prohibiting renaming Mt. McKinley, but failed, leading to different names for the park and the mountain.

Regula continued introducing similar bills until his retirement in 2009, but other Ohio representatives continued his pursuits. However, the mountain was successfully renamed in 2015 on the orders of Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, who cited a rule allowing the Secretary to change a name if the Board of Geographic Names have not acted within a reasonable period of time.