Washington (AFP) – US President Donald Trump announced in his inaugural speech Monday that he will seek to rename Alaska’s Denali as part of his day one actions, overriding the will of the state’s Indigenous population and its elected leaders. The order, set to be published later in the day, will revert the name of North America’s highest peak back to Mount McKinley.
The mountain — which rises more than 20,000 feet (6,000 meters) above sea level — was officially renamed “Denali” in 2015 by former president Barack Obama, adopting the name used by Alaska Natives for centuries, with the Alaskan government following suit in the 1970s. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, a Republican, led the effort to make the change official.
“We will restore the name of a great president, William McKinley, to Mount McKinley, where it should be and where it belongs,” Trump said at his swearing-in ceremony, where he also announced the US would refer to the “Gulf of Mexico” as the “Gulf of America.”
McKinley, the 25th president, never visited the mountain and has no significant historical connection to the peak nor the state of Alaska, though it was named in his honor in 1917.
“This announcement goes against the desires of Alaska Natives, Alaska’s elected officials, and centuries of tradition,” said Athan Manuel, director of Sierra Club’s land protections program. “The Koyukon people have known this mountain as ‘Denali’ for centuries, and even the state’s elected officials oppose this attempt to rename it. It’s clear that Donald Trump is more interested in culture war stunts than addressing the concerns of the American people.”
© 2024 AFP
