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HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 3
IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION
BY REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK
Introduced: 1/22/25
Referred: Rules
A RESOLUTION
Opposing efforts to change the name of the tallest mountain in North America from 1
Denali to Mt. McKinley, and supporting efforts to recognize the heritage and continuing 2
importance of the mountain and of Alaska Native peoples. 3
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 4
WHEREAS the Koyukon Athabaskan name Denali, which translates to "the high 5
one," has been used as the name for the tallest mountain in the state for thousands of years; 6
and 7
WHEREAS the name Denali evokes the appropriate respect and recognition 8
throughout the world for the tallest mountain in North America, with an elevation of 20,310 9
feet; and 10
WHEREAS, in 1896, prospector William Dickey christened the mountain Mt. 11
McKinley after William McKinley of Ohio, then a candidate for President of the United 12
States, who never visited the state; and 13
WHEREAS, on June 7, 1913, Walter Harper, a 20-year-old Athabaskan man from the 14
interior of the state, became the first person to stand on the summit of the mountain; and 15 34-LS0387\A
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WHEREAS, in 2015, after decades of advocacy, the United States Department of the 1
Interior changed the name from Mt. McKinley to the Koyukon Athabaskan name Denali; and 2
WHEREAS using the Koyukon Athabaskan name Denali respects thousands of years 3
of the tradition and culture of and stewardship by Alaska Native peoples in the state; 4
BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature opposes efforts to change the 5
name of the tallest mountain in North America from Denali to Mt. McKinley; and be it 6
FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports efforts to 7
recognize the heritage and continuing importance of the mountain and of Alaska Native 8
peoples. 9
COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Donald J. Trump, President 10
of the United States; the Honorable J. D. Vance, Vice President of the United States and 11
President of the U.S. Senate; United States Secretary of the Interior; and the Honorable Lisa 12
Murkowski and the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Nick Begich, 13
U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress. 14