Sunday, August 30, 2015

Kennedy Park 4th Renaming Mount Mckinley

While on a trip this week to Alaska to talk about ways to slow climate change, President Obama, will be officially renaming former Mount McKinley to its native Alaskan name "Denali." McKinley is central to the Athabascan tribe's creation story and a significant cultural site to many other Alaskan natives. Denali's meaning is "the high one" and is already a widely used name in Alaska. The mountain was named after William McKinley, the 25th president, who was assassinated only 6 months into his second term. Mount Mckinley is North Americas' tallest mountain.

Analysis: This story reminds me of when the colonizers of North America (like Winthrop) started renaming things with Native American names to fit their preference. I think that it's nice that we are giving back the original name that's actually used by the locals and has cultural significance.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/08/30/obama-to-rename-mt-mckinley-to-denali-during-alaska-trip-that-focuses-on/

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