Why North America's highest peak has spent decades caught in a political tug-of-war

Cultures · Published 10 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: For over a century, the mountain known as Denali to Alaska Natives has been the subject of a fierce federal naming dispute. While Alaska has officially recognized the Koyukon name since 1975, shifting presidential administrations and congressional interventions have repeatedly toggled the peak's official federal designation between Denali and Mount McKinley.

The mountain's identity crisis began in 1896 when gold prospector William Dickey unofficially named it after William McKinley, a future U.S. president. Dickey’s choice was explicitly political, intended to counter the influence of silver standard proponents by honoring a gold standard advocate. Despite McKinley never visiting the region, the federal government officially adopted the name in 1917. Conversely, the name Denali, derived from the Koyukon Athabaskan term for 'the high one,' has been the traditional designation for Indigenous peoples who have long inhabited the surrounding basins.

The modern conflict ignited in 1975 when the Alaska Legislature requested a federal name change to Denali. For decades, the effort was stalled by Ohio congressional representatives, who viewed the name as a vital tribute to their state's former president. This stalemate persisted until 2015, when Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell used executive authority to restore the name Denali in federal documents, citing the unreasonable delay in acting on Alaska's request. This move was met with immediate backlash from Ohio politicians, who characterized the decision as an insult to McKinley's legacy.

The dispute entered a new chapter in 2025. Following his inauguration, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14172, which mandated that the federal government revert the name to Mount McKinley. This action created a persistent divide between state and federal nomenclature, as the Alaskan government continues to recognize the peak as Denali. In response, Alaska's senators, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, introduced legislation in February 2025 to restore the name Denali at the federal level, signaling that the debate over the mountain's title remains far from settled.

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