President Barack Obama signed an executive order in late August renaming Mount McKinley to Mount Denali, its original Native American name. Denali, which is located in Alaska, is the tallest mountain in North America.

The Daily Orange spoke to Robert Wilson, an associate professor of geography, Mark Monmonier, a distinguished professor of geography and Kristi Andersen, a political science professor, about the decision to rename the mountain.

The Daily Orange: Do you support the renaming of Mount McKinley?

Robert Wilson: Yes, I do absolutely…I would say of course many Native Americans who lived in the areas already had names for each river and mountain. So essentially what Americans and Europeans did when they came there was they kind of wiped those names clean from the landscape and then superimposed other names. I think Native Americans, in Alaska and elsewhere, rightfully see this as an example of cultural imperialism.

Mark Monmonier: Yes, I mean it’s something overdue… the fact of the matter is the mountain, before the end of 19th century, had the name Denali. A prospector who liked (President) McKinley because McKinley was in favor of maintaining the gold standard applied McKinley’s name and wrote an article on “National Geographic” and somehow stuck and stuck even more after McKinley was assassinated. There had been some grumblings by Native Alaskans as well as Alaskans who basically wanted to restore the original name. They were able to get the National Park Service to rename the national park because that does not have to go through a vote on geographic name.

The D.O.: What cultural significance is there to Mount McKinley being renamed Denali?

R.W.: I think this is an example of the government, particularly President Obama, recognizing that there is a legacy of, particularly, cultural imperialism and trying, at least in some way, to rectify that wrong with the highest mountain in the United States.

M.M.: In their culture, (the mountain) has a name and the name of this other person from the 49 states was applied to it. It was an insult, but their views were not taken seriously. It was only since the 1960s when Native Americans or Native Alaskans had theirs concerns taken seriously by the federal government.

The D.O.: This was done as a part of a movement to improve relations with Native American tribes. Do you think the renaming was impactful or effective in terms of improving relations?

R.W.: I think it is a modest step…I think their grievances still are much deeper down to the physical loss of their land and wanting adequate funding to support community programs and healthcare because the federal government provides healthcare for Native Americans…Denali doesn’t do anything for that, but these cultural issues matter as well.

M.M.: This is something that Alaska natives (are grateful for) although it is not a radical change.

Kristen Andersen: This may have been one of the president’s goals. I would say less “improving relations” than “recognizing and valuing.”

The D.O.: How do you assess Obama’s efforts to improve relations with Native American tribes?

K.A.: I would say that this probably improved his relations with all Alaskans. They have been trying to change the name back to “Denali” for years. One of the first people to congratulate Obama on this decision was Alaskan Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski, who is not a Native American and not generally a supporter of Obama.

The D.O.: The renaming upset some lawmakers from Ohio, including former Rep. Ralph Regula, who told The Columbus Dispatch that Obama undertook a “political stunt.” What do you make of arguments from critics?

K.A.: I suspect most of these critics are Republicans, who generally criticize anything President Obama does. They claim to be upset because McKinley was from Ohio. I was interested in these Ohio reactions, I used to lived in Columbus, and found that The Columbus Dispatch, in fact, supports the name change.

Published on September 7, 2015 at 10:34 pm

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