Posted on 08/30/2015 3:19:19 PM PDT by Zakeet
President Barack Obama on Monday will officially restore Denali as the name of North America's tallest mountain, ending a 40-year battle over what to call the peak that has been known as Mount McKinley.
The symbolic gesture comes at the beginning of a three-day trip to Alaska where Obama hopes to build support for his efforts to address climate change during his remaining 16 months in office.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
"Also known as Mount McKinley, this peak is the highest peak in North America and holds great significance within the native traditions. "Denali" is translated as "the great one" in the Athabaskan languages of the Alaska Natives living around the mountain. The mountain is part of the Tena creation myth, serving to block a spear thrown by the demi-god Yako's rival Totson."
Source:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/29/most-spiritual-places-america_n_5360618.html
The mountain's name means "great one" or "high one", but in the context of being a sacred place in the Athabaskan Indian tribal religions.
Indeed, reference is made is some articles about the name change that deference to sacred traditions of these Indian tribes is a factor in the name change.
Alaska renamed it Denali in 1975 and since has been pressing the Feds to do the same according to an article in the Huffington Post.
McKinley never even stepped into Alaska. There was no reason to give that President the name. We were there and IMO the older name was more deserving.
Hows about da-nile like in da riva
We have 26 states with American Indian names. All those names have some sort of spiritual significance within indigenous cultures.
We’re talking about Denali, not 26 states.
Let’s not re-direct here.
Denali has a sacred component to the local Indian tribes. Its name derives from the Indian sacred tribal legend, not just a generic “Great one” name for a tall mountain.
And Obama’s purpose in re-naming it is to gain support from these local tribes, meaning to wrap up Dem votes for the party.
My point is, it is OK to get into religion if it means votes for your own party, but that does seem to work for anybody’s else’s religious purposes.
If there is indeed separation of church and state, then why is Obama doing this?
I doubt that he gives a flip about the Athabaskan Indians at all.
Just more in-your-face political shenanigans wrapped in “I care so much because I’m a Dem” that this President has become known for—form over substance.
This is true.
I have to say I disagree. It's not pro-Indian. It's anti-American. I don't know what Alaska calls it. In this context, I also don't care. What is significant is what it means, now.
If this was the worst thing he did the rest of his residency i would be okay with that..but we know better.
Read the piece or my post, the answer is given.
http://geonames.usgs.gov/apex/f?p=136:3:0::NO:3:P3_FID,P3_TITLE:1414314,Mount%20McKinley
http://geonames.usgs.gov/domestic/Public_Law_242.pdf
http://geonames.usgs.gov/
What do Alaskans who are not indigent call it? How much money do you have to have to call it something else?
Thanks—my impression was that there was a naming board assigned to geographical names—that a site name was not a function of just one person’s decision.
Of course, Obama has no strategy to combat ISIS after a year and a half, but he has time to go to Alaska and to rename a mountaintop.
It is Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski of the Republican Party who requested the name change, supported by former Republican and now Independent Governor Bill Walker.
“Governor and Lieutenant Governor Applaud Naming of Denali”
“For decades, Alaskans have been urging the federal government to recognize Denali by its proper name. I am pleased that the White House and the Department of Interior have taken the necessary steps to finally make this important change,” said Governor Walker. “Alaska’s place names should reflect and respect the rich cultural history of our state, and officially recognizing the name Denali does just that.”
http://gov.state.ak.us/Walker/press-room/full-press-release.html?pr=7252
It was first requested 40 years ago by the Alaska State Legislature.
I can read.
Lisa is a little late to the party.
I am pointing out the hypocrisy of the renaming, noting the sacred traditions of the Athabaskan tribes, by an Administration that pays no attention to basic religious freedoms and rights, especially of Christianity.
But, hey, as long as we are not promoting Christianity or the God of the Bible, it is OK.
From the two Republican U.S. Senators of Alaska:
Wednesday, February 04, 2015
WASHINGTON, DC – Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan today announced they have introduced legislation that would make “Denali” the official name of America’s tallest peak – the most widely-used designation of the 20,230 foot tall mountain given by the state’s Koyukon Athabascan residents (Deenaalee). The bill would reverse a century-old decision: 19th Century prospector William Dickey naming it after a President who never stepped foot in Alaska, William McKinley – and how it has since been ‘officially’ known and printed on maps and learning materials internationally.
“Denali has long been known as the name for the great one, not only the tallest and largest mountain in Alaska but also all of North America,” said Murkowski. “Alaskans take great pride in this gorgeous natural monument, so it is important that we grant it its ancestral name to honor and respect our heritage as well as the lands through a name that goes back centuries. This is our Alaska, and this should be our decision.”
“The Athabascan people of Alaska already named this great mountain thousands of years ago,” said Sullivan. “They called it Denali, the ‘Great One.’ Denali absolutely belongs to Alaska and its citizens – and with all due respect to my colleagues and the good people of Ohio, where President McKinley was born and where I have many friends and family, the mountain is not theirs to name. The naming rights already went to the Alaska Native ancestors of my wife and daughters’ people.”
http://www.sullivan.senate.gov/content/murkowski-sullivan-denali-%E2%80%98-great-one%E2%80%99s-rightful-name
I think that you can probably find better examples to make that argument than “Denali.”
Could’ve named it after himself, Mt. Dipstick.
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