Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Alaska Legislature Asks Trump to Retain Denali's Name
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 1 month ago on
February 7, 2025

People stand at the Eielson Visitor Center with a view of North America's tallest peak, Denali, in the background, Sept. 2, 2015, in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska. (AP File)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

JUNEAU, Alaska  — The Alaska Legislature passed a resolution Friday urging President Donald Trump to reverse course and retain the name of North America’s tallest peak as Denali rather than change it to Mount McKinley.

Trump, on his first day in office, signed an executive order calling for the name to revert to Mount McKinley, an identifier inspired by President William McKinley, who was from Ohio and never set foot in Alaska.

He said he planned to “restore the name of a great president, William McKinley, to Mount McKinley, where it should be and where it belongs. President McKinley made our country very rich through tariffs and through talent.”

Unanimous Vote in State Senate About Denali

The 19-0 vote in the state Senate came just over a week after the House passed the measure 31-8.

The Interior Department late last month announced efforts were underway to implement Trump’s renaming order, even though state leaders haven’t seen the matter as settled. An Interior spokesperson, J. Elizabeth Peace, earlier this week said the agency did not have any further updates.

According to the National Park Service, a prospector in 1896 dubbed the peak Mount McKinley for William McKinley, who was elected president that year.

Although there were challenges to the McKinley name at the time it was announced, maps had already been circulated with the mountain’s name in place. There was no recognition of the name Denali, or “the high one,” bestowed on the mountain in interior Alaska by Athabascan tribal members, who have lived in the region for centuries.

Denali Recognized in 2015

The name was formally recognized by the U.S. government until it was changed in 2015 by the Obama administration to Denali as a symbolic gesture to Alaska Natives.

The name change reflected the traditions of Alaska Natives and the preference of many Alaskans, underscored by a push by state leaders decades earlier. The 20,310-foot (6,190-meter) mountain in Denali National Park and Preserve on clear days can be see from hundreds of miles away.

Joe McAneney of Talkeetna is a pilot for an air taxi company, ferrying climbers and tourists to the mountain in a small airplane outfitted with skis to land at base camp, located on Kahiltna Glacier at 7,200 feet (2,194.6 meters) above sea level.

He said previously that once tourist season comes around, he will have to answer questions of what he thinks about Trump changing the name. He knows what his answer will be.

“I think unofficially and officially in Alaska, it’ll always be Denali,” McAneney said. “I don’t think the president can change that.”

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Dodgers Reward Manager With 4-Year Contract Extension That Runs Through 2029

DON'T MISS

Deals for QBs and Pass Rushers Highlight Start of NFL Free Agency

DON'T MISS

Janz Reveals Treasurer of Group Behind Attack Mailer, Issues $1K Sanction

DON'T MISS

Court Asked to Intervene After Email Tells USAID Workers to Destroy Classified Docs

DON'T MISS

House Passes Funding Bill Until September, Senate Outcome Uncertain

DON'T MISS

Education Dept. Plans to Lay Off 1,300 Employees as Trump Vows to Wind the Agency Down

DON'T MISS

President Trump’s Many Golf Trips Are Costing Taxpayers Millions Per Outing

DON'T MISS

Dogs Suspected of Killing Cats and Terrorizing Fresno-Clovis Are Captured

DON'T MISS

Billy Gunn Not the One as AEW Hits Fresno on Wednesday

DON'T MISS

2 Judges, Appointed by Republicans, Speak Out About Threats Against Federal Judiciary

UP NEXT

Deals for QBs and Pass Rushers Highlight Start of NFL Free Agency

UP NEXT

Court Asked to Intervene After Email Tells USAID Workers to Destroy Classified Docs

UP NEXT

House Passes Funding Bill Until September, Senate Outcome Uncertain

UP NEXT

Education Dept. Plans to Lay Off 1,300 Employees as Trump Vows to Wind the Agency Down

UP NEXT

President Trump’s Many Golf Trips Are Costing Taxpayers Millions Per Outing

UP NEXT

Dogs Suspected of Killing Cats and Terrorizing Fresno-Clovis Are Captured

UP NEXT

Billy Gunn Not the One as AEW Hits Fresno on Wednesday

UP NEXT

2 Judges, Appointed by Republicans, Speak Out About Threats Against Federal Judiciary

UP NEXT

Lake Superior Shipwreck From 1892 Finally Discovered

UP NEXT

US-Ukraine Deal Highlights Ukraine’s Wealth of Critical Minerals

Court Asked to Intervene After Email Tells USAID Workers to Destroy Classified Docs

5 hours ago

House Passes Funding Bill Until September, Senate Outcome Uncertain

5 hours ago

Education Dept. Plans to Lay Off 1,300 Employees as Trump Vows to Wind the Agency Down

5 hours ago

President Trump’s Many Golf Trips Are Costing Taxpayers Millions Per Outing

6 hours ago

Dogs Suspected of Killing Cats and Terrorizing Fresno-Clovis Are Captured

6 hours ago

Billy Gunn Not the One as AEW Hits Fresno on Wednesday

6 hours ago

2 Judges, Appointed by Republicans, Speak Out About Threats Against Federal Judiciary

7 hours ago

Lake Superior Shipwreck From 1892 Finally Discovered

7 hours ago

US-Ukraine Deal Highlights Ukraine’s Wealth of Critical Minerals

7 hours ago

Tiger Woods Ruptured His Achilles Tendon, Likely Causing Him to Miss the Masters

7 hours ago

Dodgers Reward Manager With 4-Year Contract Extension That Runs Through 2029

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Dave Roberts has a signed a four-year contract extension to manage the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers...

4 hours ago

4 hours ago

Dodgers Reward Manager With 4-Year Contract Extension That Runs Through 2029

4 hours ago

Deals for QBs and Pass Rushers Highlight Start of NFL Free Agency

5 hours ago

Janz Reveals Treasurer of Group Behind Attack Mailer, Issues $1K Sanction

5 hours ago

Court Asked to Intervene After Email Tells USAID Workers to Destroy Classified Docs

5 hours ago

House Passes Funding Bill Until September, Senate Outcome Uncertain

5 hours ago

Education Dept. Plans to Lay Off 1,300 Employees as Trump Vows to Wind the Agency Down

6 hours ago

President Trump’s Many Golf Trips Are Costing Taxpayers Millions Per Outing

6 hours ago

Dogs Suspected of Killing Cats and Terrorizing Fresno-Clovis Are Captured

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend