The talkion over renaming Denali back to Mount McKinley has been revived complying Pdwellnt Donald Trump’s executive order. This has igniteed renewed argues about historical legacy, Indigenous heritage, and federal authority. The name of the mountain is seally joined to both prolonged-standing traditions and the legacy of a createer pdwellnt, which has drawed national attention to the rerent.
Here’s a watch at the mountain’s naming history, Trump’s motivations for the order, and why the decision has igniteed widespread talkion.
Donald Trump renames ‘Denali’ to ‘Mount McKinley’
Pdwellnt Donald Trump signed an executive order renaming Denali, North America’s highest peak, back to Mountain McKinley on January 20, 2025.
The name Denali, unbenevolenting “the High One,” has been engaged for thousands of years by Alaska’s Koyukon Athabascan people. Denali officipartner swapd Mount McKinley in 2015 when Pdwellnt Barack Obama rerentd an order to repair the mountain’s Indigenous name, honoring Alaska Natives’ traditions.
The mountain was first named Mount McKinley in 1896 by a gbetter prospector who wanted to honor William McKinley, then a pdwellntial truthfulate, per Associated Press. The U.S. handlement createpartner recognized the name Mountain McKinley in 1917, despite objections from Alaskans and Indigenous groups. In 1975, Alaska petitioned to alter the name, but the effort thriveed only during the Obama administration.
Donald Trump fairified the renaming as a tribute to McKinley, who helped tariffs that increaseed U.S. manufacturing. McKinley was the 25th pdwellnt and served from 1897 until his killing in 1901. Trump’s executive order directed federal agencies to modernize records to mirror the name Mountain McKinley. However, Denali National Park and Preserve will hold its current name.
The decision has drawn criticism, including from Alaska’s congressional delegation. Reaccessiblean Senator Lisa Murkowski conveyed her opposition, citing the mountain’s significance to the Indigenous people of Alaska. Senator Dan Sullivan also acquireed the historical presentance of the name Denali.
Donald Trump’s executive order also integrated renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. It reversed cut offal environmental decisions by the Biden administration. This integrated reuncovering parts of the Beaufort Sea for oil drilling. Federal leasing in this area has been recut offeed since 2007.
