Denali, The Mountain
What's in a name? Mount McKinley, known in Alaska as simply "Denali," may be due for an international make-over.
Denali, in Athabascan, means "The Great One" or "The High One." The mountain was known by Alaska Natives as Denali for centuries before a prospector named William Dickey came along. He was a gold seeker and, upon seeing North America's highest mountain (20, 320 Feet high) for the first time in 1896, decided that he would name it after William McKinley of Ohio. William was a presidential candidate whose platform included upholding the gold standard for our currency. McKinley did become president and the name for our mountain "stuck."
Although the rest of the world writes "Mount McKinley" on their maps, Alaskans never did adopt the new name for Denali. Alaskans are once again proposing that that rest of the world adopt "Denali" as the name of our most famous peak. After all, President McKinley never came to Alaska. He never saw the mountain that bears his name. The gold standard has long fallen by the wayside. It is time for Alaska to reclaim its' own. I vote "Denali!"
