Posted on 08/30/2015 2:40:46 PM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
President Obama on Monday will announce a plan to rename Alaskas Mount McKinley to Denali, the name that nearby natives have long used.
By taking action to officially name the 20,000-foot peak Denali, Obama will take the Alaskan Natives side in a dispute that has stretched on for more than a century.
Generally believed to be central to the Athabascan creation story, Denali is a site of significant cultural importance to many Alaska Natives, the White House said in a Sunday fact sheet. The name Denali has been used for many years and is widely used across the state today.
Alaska first formally requested the change in 1975.
It has often been a bipartisan legislative priority among Alaskas congressional delegation to rename the mountain. Lisa Murkowski (R), the states senior senator and chairwoman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which is responsible for the matter, has sponsored legislation in every session of Congress to do so since taking her seat.
At a hearing about the Denali bill in June, Murkowski said renaming the mountain seems a fitting gesture and an appropriate way to honor the culture and history of Alaska Natives.
There is no need for this name confusion and controversy to continue, she said.
At the same hearing, Victor Knox, the associate director for planning, facilities and lands at the National Park Service, which manages the mountain and surrounding area, said the Obama administrative respects the history of Denali and would not object to Murkowskis legislation.
Efforts to rename the mountain have often faced strong opposition from Ohio and its congressional delegation in an attempt to preserve the honor of William McKinley. The 25th president was a presidential candidate when a gold prospector first named the peak after him.
The White Houses announcement did not specify how Obama and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell will assert authority to change the mountains name without approval from Congress.
Obama announced the action as part of a series of efforts to improve outreach to Alaska Natives. He will meet Monday in Anchorage to discuss the efforts with Alaska Native leaders and Gov. Bill Walker (I), Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott (D) and Murkowski.
The new actions include neighborhood revitalization funding for Anchorage, a native youth engagement program and wildlife management cooperation efforts.
It was named McKinley for political reasons. A ranger insisted on keeping the road to it named Denali.
I see nothing wrong with giving it back it’s real name. Only it gives Ubama a feather in his cap.
When odumbo’s gone, Trump can rename it Mt. McKinley.
I never thought I’d agree with anything Bronco Bama did, but this is good. Everyone in Alaska calls it Denali.
I assume Palin supports this as well.
Go to Alaska and it's Denali, and always has been Denali. They've never accepted Mt. McKinley and have been trying to get it changed for over 50 years.
He wanted Mount Obama, but he was afraid people would think it was named after Mooshelle
It is easier to rename a mountain than it is a football team.
Wait until they decide to change the name of Washington D.C. How could our nation’s capitol be named after a slave owner?
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In times like this we learn that we are to ignore the foolish actions of “Presidents” and Supreme court justices.
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>> “And Army Street will NEVER be Cesar Chavez Blvd.” <<
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Amen!
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There are a few other threads today.
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We are a Christian nation, not a pagan nation, so we do not honor false gods.
YMMV
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Shall we name it after a moslem terrorist?
“Obama D.C.”
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how is acknowledging a culture that was here before we were being against Christianity.....I was going to say something snappy and put you in your place but you just are not worth it for others looking at this post -—Christianity is about personnel belief not about forcing it on others. the attitude that this is a Christian nation is the same attitude that is playing out in the middle East by Isis. who are currently destroying any trace of cultures and there religion that they find.
there is nothing wrong about using native American names on maps. there is nothing anti Christian about it.
There are several NAIA schools in Texas.
FDR changed the name of the Hoover Dam to "Boulder Dam" just to spite old Hoover .... and the name went back and forth as administrations came and went, so that renaming Hoover Dam became a change-of-administration regular event, sort of like prying all the "W's" off keyboards ....
Right now it's Hoover Dam, and well named since Hoover had a lot to do with its building, and was an engineer to boot.
Go ahead, elect me President and I'll give the 'Rats something to think about: I'll rename Tammany Hall, Thomas Nast Hall and the Hirschhorn Museum (named for a big 'Rat who basically bought a monument to himself sticking out onto the Mall, where it would be conspicuous), "Republican Modesty Museum", and Leavenworth Penitentiary to "Democrat Party Training Camp". I'd also put most of the officials of the Ohio and Florida 'Rat Parties inside it.
Maybe they'd get over this urge to rename things after themselves.
Obama wants a plaque with his name on it in Alaska.
Folks on this thread are in Denali over this name change thingy.
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