Within hours of taking office, President Donald Trump outlined a mission to celebrate American greatness and recognize those who have contributed throughout history in one of his many executive orders.
He jumped at the effort by commanding The name of the highest peak in North America From Denali back to Mount McKinley to be converted in honor of the nation’s 25th president, William McKinley. He also called on the U.S. Department of the Interior to work with Alaska Natives and others to adopt other landmark names that would honor their history and culture.
The American Board on Geographical Names will play a role. Since the 1890s, the little-known panel of officials from several federal agencies has existed.
How did the board get its start?
As more settlers and prospectors headed west after the American Civil War, it became apparent that the federal government needed some form of consistency to refer to landmarks in maps and official documents.
President Benjamin Harrison arrives. He issued an executive order establishing the board in hopes of clearing up some of the confusion.
President Theodore Roosevelt took this further in 1906, making the board responsible for standardizing geographic names across the federal government. This includes renaming some places and identifying unknown features.
It was President Franklin Roosevelt who disbanded the board in 1934, opting instead to transfer duties to the Department of the Interior. After World War II, Congress reversed course and reconstituted the panel.
The board will have new members under the Trump administration, but the makeup will remain the same with representatives from a range of agencies, from the Interior and Commerce departments to the Post Office and the Library of Congress. Even the CIA plays a role when the board considers place names beyond our borders.
Members are appointed for two-year terms by the respective heads of the agencies they represent. The committee that deals with names on American soil meets monthly.
What’s in a name?
The board is well aware of the importance of a name, noting in its guidance Principles, policies and procedures That the names of geographic features across America reflect the nation’s history and its changing face.
Names of Native American origin are found scattered throughout the land and there are traces of languages ​​spoken by early explorers, the board said.
“These methods and many others have given geographic names a clear, interesting profile of America that is unmatched in any other medium,” Board says.
In the case of Mount McKinley, the original inhabitants had unique mountain names long before prospectors showed up. For Cocoon Athabaskans, it has always been “Denali,” which roughly translates as “high.”
Despite never having visited Alaska, McKinley’s name became attached to the mountain in 1896, after the Republican presidential candidate named it, labeled by a gold prospector. McKinley, who signed legislation in 1900 to make gold the sole standard for U.S. currency, was assassinated just six months into his second term and the name Mount McKinley stuck.
Alaska was not a state at the time and it would be decades before elected officials there would petition the Board on Geographic Names to determine what was known to Native peoples. But their efforts were repeatedly blocked. Then in 2015, after years of pressure from Alaska Natives and other advocates, President Barack Obama Issued an order Officialization of Denali for federal purposes.
Like many sites across America, it’s more of a tourist attraction. They are woven into the cultural fabric of the people who call the area home, said Valerie Gersing, executive director of the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers.
“It’s a sacred place,” he told The Associated Press, adding, “The name we use for it should reflect that sacred relationship between the people and the land.”
Have renaming campaigns made a difference?
In the 1960s and 1970s, the Board on Geographical Names took action to end the use of derogatory terms related to Japanese and black people.
More recently, former US Interior Secretary Deb Holland started A campaign to end offensive names At hundreds of locations across the country. He highlighted the work during his farewell address to the employees of the department a few weeks ago saying that Attempting to address abusive language Will continue.
In 2023, the board voted to replace Mount Evans, southwest of Denver Mount Blue Sky At the request of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes. Two years ago, more than a dozen sites in Texas with racist and offensive names were renamed.
In 2008, the board approved a proposal to rename a prominent mountain in Phoenix to Pestova Peak. Army Spc. Lori Pestovathe first Native American woman to die in combat while serving in the US military.
And now there’s a campaign to restore Denali in Alaska. It is too early to say whether this will result in a new proposal before the board.
On Friday, the Department of the Interior took steps to update the peak name in the Federal Geographic Names Information System. Since the decisions of the Board are binding only on the Federal Government, It is possible that Denali will survive Through Google and Apple Maps applications and other private mapping services.
Who can suggest a name change?
Any person, government agency, Native American tribe or organization may submit a proposal to the Board, as long as there is a compelling reason and evidence to support it. Support from local communities and historical or ethnic societies is helpful.
“A new name will affect many people for a long time. As such, it must be acceptable to local citizens, involved local, state and federal agencies and other users.
Although its role has evolved over the years, the board says its principles for making decisions on a natural feature for U.S. official maps and publications have stood the test of time. In some cases, the Board may be able to suggest an alternative geographic name that may be better remembered by an individual.
The Board prohibits consideration of any derogatory names and will not consider suggestions for names of living persons or of anyone who has been dead for less than five years.
Once determined, these names are listed in the official repository of geographic names used by the federal government. The system contains more than 2.5 million name records.
