Tuesday, May 25, 2010

A Mountain by Any Other Name

Dinale
Denali ("The High One")
Koyukon Athabaskan

Doleika (Dghelay Ka'a) ("The Big Mountain")
Dena'ina

Traleika
Aleut

Tenada
Found on a Russian map

Densmore's Mountain
Densmore's Peak
After prospector Frank Densmore, who really liked the mountain and talked about it a lot.

Mt. McKinley
Dubbed so by McKinley-for-president supporter William Dickey, prospector and reporter-at-large for the New York Sun.

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Today, "Denali" is favored by Alaska Natives, Alaskans, and mountaineers. The Alaska Board of Geographic Names has officially changed the name to Denali, however, despite many efforts by members of the Alaska Legislature including Jay Hammond and Don Young, the name change has not been adopted by the U.S. Board of Geographic Names. Each attempt over the years has been successfully blocked by a variety of Ohio congressmen, who seem to have a furious attachment to McKinley, a former Ohio congressman prior to becoming the 25th U.S. president.



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