It looks like
Denali, the Native name for Alaska's and North America's highest peak, is safe under the Trump administration. For now.
In remarks to the
Alaska Federation of Natives on Saturday,
Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), whose wife is Native, said he told
President Donald Trump to keep the name. Both he and
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who also spoke at AFN's annual convention, support the continued use of Denali, which means "the high one" or "the great one" in the
Koyukon
Athabascan language.
"Alaska Native people named that mountain over 10,000 years ago," Sullivan said he told Trump during a meeting at the White House, Alaska Public Media reported. "And by the way, that was the Athabascan people, and my wife’s Athabascan, and if you change that name back now she’s gonna be really, really mad."
Former president Barack Obama recognized the original name of the mountain during his historic trip to Alaska in 2015. But Republicans from outside the state have pushed
President Donald Trump to continue using the
Mount McKinley.
After winning the November 2016 election, Trump vowed to
"change
[it] back" to its non-Native designation.
Read More on the Story:
Alaska’s congressional delegation addresses AFN on final day of convention
(Alaska Public Media October 23, 2017)
Trump offered to change Denali back to Mount McKinley. ‘We said no!’
(Alaska Dispatch News October 23, 2017)
Alaska senators tell Trump they want mountain’s name to stay
(The Associated Press October 24, 2017)
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