Mount McKinley Remains, just with a Different Name

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Alaskan mountain’s name changed from Mount McKinley to Mount Denali. How do you feel about this sudden change?

Wes Stout

It’s done. President Barack Obama has officially announced the renaming of Alaska’s Mount McKinley. As of Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015, the mountain as we know it will cease to exist. America’s highest peak will from now on be known as Mount Denali, its original Alaskan title. But all this controversy leaves us with one question: why? What’s the point of renaming one of America’s greatest natural symbols after more than 100 years?

The mountain was originally named after William McKinley, America’s 25th president, in 1896, when a gold prospector heard news of his nomination. McKinley was born in Ohio and never actually visited Alaska. He was assassinated before he ever had the chance.

Although he had nothing to do with the actual discovery of the mountain or the state of Alaska itself, many Republicans and politicians from Ohio have responded to the renaming in outrage. But according to the United States government and Alaska’s native Koyukon tribe, its true name has, and will always be, Denali, meaning “tall” or “high.” The state of Alaska has been disputing the Mount McKinley’s name since 1975. To many, the recent renaming is viewed as a great justice to the Alaskan Native Tribes.

While the decision will have a drastic effect on geography textbooks nationwide and the occasional trivia game show, the mountain’s name will have absolutely no effect on most Americans outside the state of Alaska. In fact, the renaming won’t even effect most Alaskans. So why have so many “politicians” (Donald Trump) taken such strong opposition to the announcement? The answer is simple: it’s just a gimmick. No matter what party the president is affiliated with, the opposition will always find faults in the office’s decisions, regardless of how important they truly are.

Since the government is going through the trouble of changing Mount McKinley’s name to Mount Denali in every single government document, we might as well play along. Don’t worry America, Mount McKinley remains the same symbol of natural beauty and pride it has always been. It just has a different, more culturally appropriate name.