President Trump's Inauguration Day order to reinstate Mount McKinley as the official name for the tallest mountain in North America is getting pushback from some Alaska tourism companies.
The peak was called Mount McKinley until 2015, when the Obama administration changed it to the Indigenous name for the mountain -- Denali. It is a Koyukon Athabascan word meaning "the high one."
Jordan Sanford, president of the Indigenous-owned Doyon Tourism, said the Denali name "reflects the reverence and respect Indigenous people have for the land and the spiritual significance it holds." Doyon runs day trips in Denali National Park's backcountry and operates the Kantishna Roadhouse.
Sanford said Doyon Tourism will continue to call the mountain Denali. Kantishna Roadhouse, an all-inclusive lodge, posted on Facebook that it would "continue to refer to the mountain by its traditional name, Denali, a name that has held deep significance for generations."
Camp Denali, a wilderness lodge in the park, posted on Facebook, "One thing remains the same: Denali will always be Denali to Alaskans." The post received 105,000 likes and 10,000 shares.
Sanford, who is Upper Tanana Athabascan, said the back-and-forth over the mountain's name brings up complex issues tied to identity, history and culture, and that the name change from McKinley to Denali in 2015 was widely celebrated.
"Changing the mountain back to Mount McKinley, I personally view as a rollback of progress toward honoring the traditional names of Indigenous peoples and their lands," Sanford said.
Alaska Travel Industry Association CEO Jillian Simpson said, "We suspect that regardless of its official name, most Alaskans, including the Indigenous people who named the mountain, will continue to call North America's highest peak Denali."
The Alaska House of Representatives approved a resolution asking the Trump administration to keep the name Denali. Forty years before the Obama administration changed the mountain's name to Denali, Alaska lawmakers in 1975 petitioned the U.S. government to formally recognize the peak as Mount Denali.
The mountain was officially named McKinley in 1917 in honor of President William McKinley, who was from Ohio and never visited Alaska.
The Trump executive order stated, "President McKinley championed tariffs to protect U.S. manufacturing, boost domestic production and drive U.S. industrialization and global reach to new heights. He was tragically assassinated in an attack on our nation's values and our success, and he should be honored for his steadfast commitment to American greatness."
Sanford viewed the name change differently.
"Denali isn't just about geography. It's about respect, identity, history, and the way we honor the cultures that have existed long before any outside influence," Sanford said.