Which mountain is referred to as both Mount McKinley and Mount Denali?
Lucy Kinsley
Way back in 1896, just 29 years post the US snapping up Alaska from Russia, adventurer William Dickey embarked on a journey through the Last Frontier. Along with three pals, they chased after gold rumors in the Cook Inlet, and it was there, under the gaze of the towering mountain they dubbed "the awful wilderness," that they caught their first glimpse of North America's tallest peak - a sight that left them gaping with admiration.
When Dickey returned from his wilderness adventure, news of William McKinley's election as the new US president reached his ears. In a proud moment, he and his buddies decided to honor the freshly minted president by bestowing the name "McKinley" onto that awe-inspiring peak. He used the name in a 1897 New York Sun article, sparking a chain reaction that led to the name becoming popular following McKinley's tragic assassination.
Up until 1917, McKinley had no direct connection to Alaska, being the Golden State's president and all. However, that year, a law was signed establishing Mount McKinley National Park and christening the peak with the same name. But it turns out, the mountain already had a name - Denali. The indigenous Alaskan Athabaskan tribes, native to Alaska's interior, had been calling it "Deenaalee" for centuries, meaning "the high one" or "the great one" in Koyukon, their primary language.
In 2015, President Obama brought the name back to its roots, acknowledging that McKinley had "never set foot in Alaska" and recognizing Denali's "significant cultural importance" to Alaska Natives. But here's a fun fact about the world of name-changing and politics - in 2025, during President Trump's second term, he issued Executive Order 14172, deciding to reinstated the name "Mount McKinley" to the highest peak in North America, reversing Obama's 2015 decision.
Sec. 3 of this executive order explains that William McKinley, the 25th president, "heroically led our nation to victory in the Spanish-American War" and enjoyed economic growth during his term, thanks in part to a controversial policy on tariffs credited with boosting domestic production. The executive order argues that honoring McKinley by naming the peak after him is a nod to his legacy, and Obama's decision to change the name was a disrespectful affront to his memory, according to the order.
The name change drama brings about two major questions: Do we really need another mountain named after a president? And how did William Dickey, an ordinary gold seeker, get to name that mountain?
Let's venture into the Presidential Range, a beloved mountain range in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, boasting 13 peaks. Seven of these are named after American presidents and earned their names from a simple day out in 1820. The tallest, Mount Washington, was christened after the first president; the second tallest, Mountain Adams, after the second president, and so on. At the time, there wasn't a formal system for naming peaks, but good old word of mouth in local communities spread the names. Today, the United States Geological Survey handles peak naming.
But why did the powder keg go off over McKinley? There are more than a dozen mountains named McKinley in the United States, including in Arkansas, Colorado, Montana, New York, and Washington, according to the Geographic Names Information System. Many believe that William McKinley holds a special place in President Trump's heart, given the tariff policies that Trump himself resembles.
Plenty of Alaskans didn't take too kindly to the name change. Two to one, they opposed it. Even Alaska's Legislature joined the fray, passing a resolution opposing Trump's decision to rename Denali as Mount McKinley. In their eyes, it's Denali. Emily Edenshaw, president and CEO of the Alaska Native Heritage Center, emphasized that the name Denali is "profoundly meaningful" to indigenous peoples, recognizing the "enduring contributions of Alaska Native peoples."
Historian and sociologist James W. Loewen argues that replacing indigenous names with names of European Americans is a form of cultural imperialism. It declares "the new rulers of the landscape can afford to ignore what Native names mean and connote in favor of new names that typically have no relation to what is named."
Shakespeare once wrote, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." But in this case, the name is crucial. We must learn to listen to the voices of indigenous communities and respect their cultural traditions and symbols. The renaming of Mount Denali is just one of the ongoing cultural battles between those who wish to preserve original Native names and those who wish to name geographic features after European American persons.
It's important to note that William Dickey had no right to name this mountain. C. H. Merriam, who testified before the U.S. Geographical Board in 1917, stated, "The right of the discoverer to name geographical features has never been questioned," but Dickey didn't even discover the mountain. Native peoples had discovered the mountain thousands of years ago. Even if we only take white explorers into account, Russian explorers like Andrew Glazunov, who saw it in 1834, came before Dickey did.
The renaming controversy started centuries ago, with Dickey's selfish decision to rename it after a president he supported, overlooking the mountain's true name and the deep cultural significance it holds for Native communities. It's time we listened to the voices of Alaska Natives who want to preserve this precious mountain's original name, Denali.
References:[1] McGrath, M. (2025, January 25). Trump administration renames Mount Denali to Mount McKinley. The Associated Press.
[2] Nelson, L. (2015, August 28). Mount Denali: A name that's finally right. The Washington Post.
[3] White House (2025, January 20). Executive Order 14172: Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness. The White House.
- The editorial provides an opinion on the renaming of Mount Denali, arguing that the original name holds significant cultural importance to Alaska Natives and that the mountain should be revert to its traditional name, Denali.
- The drama surrounding the renaming of Mount Denali can be traced back to an article written by adventurer William Dickey in 1897 for the New York Sun, in which he referred to the peak as Mount McKinley.
- The renaming of Mount Denali as Mount McKinley in 2025 was controversial and sparked social issues, as many Alaskans opposed the change and argued that the mountain is a sacred symbol for Alaska Natives.
- The article discusses the history of the Presidential Range in New Hampshire, where seven of the thirteen peaks are named after American presidents, with Mount Washington being the tallest and named after the first president.
- The renaming of geographic features after European American persons is seen by some as a form of cultural imperialism, as it ignores the traditional names and cultural significance of these places for indigenous communities.
