Funny thing about executive orders. They don’t stand up to Mountains. Take Denali for instance. It’s the tallest mountain in North America l(ocated in Alaska) and recently the subject of an executive order from newly inaugurated Donald Trump. The order said that day, January 20, 2025, Denali would revert to one of its previous names, Mount McKinley.
Standing 20,310 feet above the earth, the mountain, known for its extreme weather and sheer vertical rise, has long been a challenge for mountaineers and a sacred place for the Koyukon Athabascans, who have lived in its shadows for millennia.
“It’s not just a name, it’s a symbol of history, culture, and respect,” Alaska Representative Maxine Dibert, who is Koyukon Athabascan, said on the House floor shortly before signing a January 27 bi-partisan resolution opposing the renaming. “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 millennia” AFAR
Similarly, Alaska’s two senators, both Republicans, said they disagree with the rechristening. In a statement, Senator Lisa Murkowski said, “You can’t improve upon the name that Alaska’s Koyukon Athabascans bestowed on North America’s tallest peak, Denali: “the Great One.”
Depending on the Invaders of the Day, the Great One has been various given names over the years; the Russians named it “Bolshaya Gora when they laid claim in the 1700s, prospectors named it Densmore’s peak, Mt Allen, Mt McKinley (by someone who liked his politics) and Bulshaia. It was McKinley’s 1901 assassination that sealed the deal; it was named McKinley, along with the park, in 1917 by Woodrow Wilson and Congress, naturally ignoring the wishes of constituents. Mckinley had never been there. Not until 1978 was the name finally restored to Denali.
From Trump’s January 20 executive order re: Changing the name back to Denali:
““President McKinley championed tariffs to protect U.S. manufacturing, boost domestic production, and drive U.S. industrialization and global reach to new heights. He was tragically assassinated in an attack on our nation’s values and our success, and he should be honored for his steadfast commitment to American greatness,” states President Trump’s January 20 executive order, which is titled “Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness.” (The same order directs that the Gulf of Mexico be renamed the Gulf of America.
He need not have wasted his time dictating (?) this EO because Denali by any other name is still Denali. Time passes, kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall, but Denali will stay; It was there before McKinley, it will be there long after Trump. Call it what you will, it’s still Denali, The Great One.
The Summit Of Mt. Denali Reflects In Wonder Lake, Denali National Park, Alaska. (Patrick J. Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)
The Juneau Empire, and Anchorage Daily News