Letter: Alaskans should vote on McKinley vs. Denali

ADN wrote a front-page article on President-elect Donald Trump’s interest in changing North America’s high mountain name back to Mount McKinley (”Trump wants to change the name of Denali back to Mount McKinley”). The article definitely appears to be in opposition to such a change.

There is additional information to what is presented in this article that can help to fully understand the issue.

William McKinley was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. He was known for a number of actions during his presidency, including leading the nation to victory in the Spanish-American War in 1898. At the same time, as the last president to have served in the Civil War, McKinley was famous for the quote: “We want no wars of conquest; we must avoid the temptation of territorial aggression. War should never be entered upon until every agency of peace has failed.” As a member of the Republican Party, he led a political realignment that made Republicans largely dominant nationwide for decades. Many political historians consider him to be one of the best presidents the United States has ever had.

The mountain was first called “Mount McKinley” by William Dickey, who led a gold mining operation in the area in 1896. An account written on his return to the contiguous United States appeared in The New York Sun on Jan. 24, 1897, under the title Discoveries in Alaska. Dickey wrote, “We named this great peak after the great William McKinley of Ohio. In a United States Geological Survey (USGS) report in 1900, it was referred to as Mount McKinley; also in a 1911 USGS report The Mount McKinley Region, Alaska.

In 1917, Congress passed into law “An Act establishing the Mount McKinley National Park in the territory of Alaska” (Public Act No. 353).

In 1975, Gov. Jay Hammond requested that the United States Board on Geographic Names change the name of the mountain to “Mount Denali.” For the next four decades (until 2015), the question of this name change was argued and fought over in Alaska, Ohio and Washington, D.C.

In 2015, Sally Jewell, who was Secretary of the Interior in Obama’s administration, changed the name. Ohioans considered it a great insult. All 13 Republican members of Ohio’s congressional delegation signed a letter of complaint denouncing this action of the Obama administration: “William McKinley’s legacy has been tarnished by this political stunt.”

While we are told that the Koyukon, a people of Athabaskan descent who lived north of the mountain, provided the name Denali, there is historical evidence that a number of other Native groups living adjacent to the mountain had  different names for the mountain.

When considering the question of what the name of the mountain should be, many Alaskans would say the decision should not belong to the ADN, or Lisa Murkowski, or any other politician, or Koyukon Natives; rather it should belong to all Alaskans. Maybe what is really needed here is a referendum/public vote on this question at our next election.

— Jim Lieb, Palmer

Have something on your mind? Send to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Letters under 200 words have the best chance of being published. Writers should disclose any personal or professional connections with the subjects of their letters. Letters are edited for accuracy, clarity and length.