Trump Signs Executive Order to Rename North America’s Tallest Mountain Back to Mount McKinley
In a controversial move announced on Monday, President Donald Trump revealed plans to sign an executive order renaming North America’s tallest peak back to Mount McKinley, restoring the name first used in 1917. This decision overturns a 2015 executive action by President Barack Obama that reinstated the mountain’s original Alaska Native name, Denali, meaning “the great one” in the Koyukon Athabascan language.
Trump’s admiration for McKinley, the 25th president known for his support of high tariffs and territorial expansion, appears to be influencing this decision. During his campaign, Trump characterized McKinley as a “great but highly underrated president.” McKinley, who was assassinated shortly after beginning his second term, never visited Alaska, yet his name became synonymous with the mountain after local prospectors in 1896 advocated for its naming.
The change is expected to face substantial opposition in Alaska, where both politicians and native communities have long favored the name Denali. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan have publicly expressed their support for the original name. Murkowski, who chairs the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, criticized Trump’s decision, stating, “Our nation’s tallest mountain, which has been called Denali for thousands of years, must continue to be known by the rightful name bestowed by Alaska’s Koyukon Athabascans.”
Historically, efforts to change the mountain’s name have been met with resistance, particularly from lawmakers in Ohio, McKinley’s home state. Despite this pushback, Trump’s executive order reignites the debate over the mountain’s identity while spotlighting the complexities of heritage and historical recognition in American culture.
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