This is Denali - the tallest mountain on the continent of North America. It is located in Alaska and it stands 20,310 feet above sea level. Mount Everest is 9,000 feet taller.
The mountain is located 133 miles north of Anchorage in the territory of the Koyukon people. These indigenous Alaskans called their mountain Denali for several millennia before a gold prospector working in the region in 1896 decided to change Denali's name to Mount McKinley after William McKinley who was, at the time, seeking election to the position of US President.
It was not until 1917 that the US government officially endorsed the name change from Denali to Mount McKinley in an act of what might easily be seen as thoughtless imperialism that carelessly bulldozed through the wishes and history of native Alaskan people.
In 2015, under President Obama, it appeared that a wrong had been righted when the name Denali was restored and "Mount McKinley" was ditched. It seems to me that resurrecting the traditional name represented an act of restorative respect for the original Alaskans who had always clung to the historical name anyway.
Then on January 20th 2025, along comes Trump (he's very nasty) and instructs that Denali will be Mount McKinley once again. He doesn't say why and he gives no indication that he is aware of past debates about the name or any ethno-cultural sensitivities. Is he aware that McKinley never visited Alaska and had no particular attachment to the state? He was after all an Ohioan.
The renaming of The Gulf of Mexico is quite absurd but trying to blot out the name Denali a second time round has a pretty vicious and spiteful edge to it. The decision shows no heart or historical perspective. Perhaps it is Donald J. Trump who needs renaming and I invite visitors to this humble Yorkshire blog to give their considered suggestions in the "Comments" below...
from Yorkshire Pudding https://ift.tt/r9WcgaC
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