The Alaska House of Representatives took up a resolution Monday petitioning the federal government to maintain the name of the nation’s highest mountain as Denali. The resolution passed the House 28-10 Monday.
The resolution, sponsored by Rep. Maxine Dibert (D-Fairbanks), is in response to an executive order President Donald Trump signed on Jan. 20 restoring the peak’s previous designation as Mount McKinley. The move was to honor William McKinley, the 25th president of the United States.
Trump said he based the decision on McKinley’s purported economic skills and the tariffs he enacted during his term in office from 1887 until his assassination in 1901. Despite being named after him, McKinley never set foot in Alaska, which was a U.S. territory at the time.
Several efforts were made over the decades to officially call it Denali, the Koyukon Athabascan word for the “High One.” However, it met with sharp resistance in Congress. Former President Barack Obama officially changed the name in 2015.
Trump’s decision to reinstate the peak’s Mount McKinley received sharp criticism from Alaska lawmakers, Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Alaska Native groups.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s response was more muted. He told reporters last week he would have to discuss the issue with the Trump administration and the Alaska delegation.
U.S. Rep. Nick Begich told Politico on Jan. 20, “What people in the Lower 48 call Denali is not of my concern.”
Sen. Dan Sullivan’s chief communications official, Amanda Coyne, said via a released statement that “Senator Sullivan like many Alaskans prefers the name that the very tough, very strong, very patriotic Athabascan people gave the mountain thousands of years ago – Denali.”
Dibert said the name of Denali connects Alaskans to their past and honors the state’s future.
Dibert said that the mountain has been known by Koyukon Athabascans as Denali for thousands of years.
“It’s not just a name, it’s a symbol of history, culture and respect,” she said. “Denali is more than a mountain. It’s a cornerstone of Alaska’s history, a tribute to our diverse culture and a testament to the people who have cherished this land for millenia.”
Rep. Louise Stutes (R-Kodiak) said Thursday morning “To me, this issue is not a political one, it is simply about honoring our Native culture and heritage in Alaska as well as our right to determine, as Alaskans, what is best for us.”
Rep. Ashley Carrick (D-Fairbanks) sponsored a similar resolution to maintain Denali’s name. She reminded legislators that Walter Harper, a 20-year-old Athabascan man, was the first person to summit Denali in 1913. Carrick’s father summited Denali in May 2019.
“My dad and almost every other climber you will meet that has accomplished this will tell you without any hesitation that the mountain is far greater than them or their accomplishment, “Carrick said. “Denali is greater than the accomplishments of man, than our ambitions. Denali’s name is ‘The Great One’ and it’s because it rises above all of us.”
Carrick said that Denali’s name exemplifies the “autonomy, determination and strength” of Alaska’s heritage.
The resolution passed with 28 “yes” votes Monday morning. Ten legislators, including Rep. Mike Prax (R-North Pole) and Rep. Frank Tomaszewski (R-Fairbanks), voted “no.” The resolution must be adopted by the state Senate before it is sent to Trump, Vice President JD Vance, the Senate president, secretary of the Interior, U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, and Rep. Nick Begich.
State legislators in the Republican minority caucus offered an amendment to the bill that would thank Trump for his executive order titled “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential” and his focus on resource development and energy security. The amendment failed with 17 “yes” votes and 21 “no” votes.
Supporters argued that the amendment would voice Alaska’s position on matters involving resource development and industry, and show Trump that Alaska supports the executive branch.
Contact Haley Lehman at 907-459-7575 or by email at hlehman@newsminer.com.
