Posted on 01/26/2025 5:50:12 AM PST by DoodleBob
President Donald Trump’s executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska’s Denali, the tallest peak in the country, has resulted in lots of discussion. While for some, such renaming might seem less important than the big problems the country faces, there is a formal process in the United States for renaming places, and that process is taken seriously.
Usually, so people don’t get confused, official, agreed-upon names are used by the government. In the U.S., place names are standardized by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, which is part of the U.S. Geological Survey, the agency in charge of making maps.
In his executive order, Trump asks the Board on Geographic Names “to honor the contributions of visionary and patriotic Americans” and change its policies and procedures to reflect that.
Usually, renaming a place starts locally. The people in the state or county propose a name change and gather support. The process in each state is different.
Minnesota recently changed the name of a large lake in Minneapolis to Bde Maka Ska, which the Minneapolis Park Board described as “a Dakota name for the lake that has been passed down in oral history for many years.”
The board voted to change the name and took its request to the county commissioners. When the county agreed, the request was then sent to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, which made it official for Minnesota. Then, the state of Minnesota sent the request to the Board on Geographic Names, which made it official for the entire U.S.
It’s a lot of paperwork for something so seemingly minor, but people get passionate about place names. It took 40 years to rename Denali from the name established in the late 19th century, Mount McKinley.
The state of Alaska requested the name change in 1975, but the Board on Geographic Names didn’t take action. Members of the Ohio congressional delegation – President William McKinley was from Ohio – objected over many years to requests to rename the mountain, and the board did not act on those requests.
The president appoints the secretary of the Interior Department. The secretary works with the heads of related agencies to appoint the Board on Geographic Names. Current committee policy states, “Input from State geographic names authorities, land management agencies, local governments, and Tribal Governments are actively pursued.”
In 2015, President Barack Obama named a new leader for the Department of the Interior, Sally Jewell. Just as Obama made a trip to Alaska in late August 2015, Jewell declared the name change official under a law that allows the secretary of the Interior to change a name if the board doesn’t act on the proposal in a “reasonable” amount of time.
“This name change recognizes the sacred status of Denali to many Alaska Natives,” Jewell said. “The name Denali has been official for use by the State of Alaska since 1975, but even more importantly, the mountain has been known as Denali for generations. With our own sense of reverence for this place, we are officially renaming the mountain Denali in recognition of the traditions of Alaska Natives and the strong support of the people of Alaska.”
If someone objects to a name change, they could ask the courts to rule on whether the name change was made legally. Going back to Bde Maka Ska, some people objected to changing the name from Lake Calhoun, so they took the state natural resources agency to court. Eventually, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that the name change was done correctly.
Alaska’s two U.S. senators and prominent state figures have strongly objected to Trump’s renaming attempt.
Renaming the Gulf of Mexico is a different kind of case, however, from renaming a geographic place within U.S. borders.
The gulf is not within the territorial U.S. On the coast, the first 12 miles from shore are considered part of that country, but outside of that is international waters.
The Board on Geographic Names could change the name to Gulf of America on official U.S. maps, but there is no international board in charge of place names. Each country decides what to call places. And there is no official way for the U.S. to make other countries change the name.
It’s possible that the U.S. could formally ask other countries to change the name, or even impose sanctions against countries that don’t comply.
If the names were officially changed in the U.S., the government would use the new names in official documents, signage and maps. As for all the people and companies in the world that make maps, they usually use the official names. But there is nothing that would force them to, if they believed that a certain name is more widely recognized.
On Jan. 24, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Interior issued a statement on the name changes:
“In accordance with President Donald J. Trump’s recent executive order, the Department of the Interior is proud to announce the implementation of name restorations that honor the legacy of American greatness, with efforts already underway.
"As directed by the President, the Gulf of Mexico will now officially be known as the Gulf of America and North America’s highest peak will once again bear the name Mount McKinley….The U.S. Board on Geographic Names, under the purview of the Department of the Interior, is working expeditiously to update the official federal nomenclature in the Geographic Names Information System to reflect these changes, effective immediately for federal use.”
It’s a better reason to re-print school books than what’s been come up with, so far.
“ there is a formal process in the United States for renaming places, and that process is taken seriously.”
Really? Then who changed Mount McKinley to Denali? No serious person wanted that change. Who renamed all the military bases? No serious person wanted that. Every one of those was DEI BS and should be changed back to their traditional names.
Mount McKinley was renamed Denali to garner the Eskimo vote. Trump is merely reverting to the original name on American maps.
Gulf of America is a different kettle of fish. The Persian Gulf is called by some the Arabian Gulf. So, there is a precedent for ahving two names simultaneously
Should they have “naming rights” to sell like an NFL stadium?
“””Minnesota recently changed the name of a large lake (Lake Calhoun) in Minneapolis to Bde Maka Ska”””
Just as the left likes huge, gaudy, and inappropriate government art for public spaces, they also want to rename things with names that no one can pronounce, the left likes to keep the citizens uncomfortable and make things awkward for them, always keeping them uneasy and off balance.
School books are, unfortunately, going/gone electronic.
Haven’t heard recently about changing the names of military installations
I see a lot of ‘”X” formerly known as “Twitter”’.
Perhaps we’re going to see “Lake Bde Maka Ska” formerly known as “Lake Calhoun”, “Mt McKinley” formerly known as “Mt Denali”, and “The Gulf of America” formerly known as “The Gulf of Mexico”.
I don’t know why he changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico. That was silly. No other country is going to call it the Gulf of America. Most Americans won’t either. This is the current version of Freedom Fries.
Good! Renaming to Chinese will be easier - and pictures for bigger words.
On an only somewhat related note, I was at a veterinarian office, not too long ago, and noticed that the children’s play area was now little desks with electronic tablets, instead of blocks and other toys. It will be interesting to see what the electronic age does to people’s eyes and brains. Who needs depth perception and a range of focus, anymore, or the ability to see in natural lighting?
Give it time. It will grow on you.
We’ve already got our answer to that: shrunken brains and unhappy minds.
Don’t forget the Las Vegas airport, which was named for the American patriot an Cold War hero Sen. Pat McCarran (D-Nev.) but then renamed for Sen. Harry Reid, who is very familiar to all of us here at FR. Also Lindbergh Field in San Diego was quietly renamed San Diego International Airport, and the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, Calif. reverted to the name Burbank Airport.
you are well-named ...
Schoolbooks? There are very few schoolbooks anymore. Everything is online now. My High School Junior has had one or two physical books since his freshman year.
Will Webster Lake ever revert to it’s native American name Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg?
It’s because Biden ordered a cease of drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Trump being Trump saw the easiest and cheapest way to get around that order was to rename the Gulf of Mexico.
I have long thought the people who inhabited the upper levels of the U.S. Geological Survey were Leftists.
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