Courtesy of ABC News:
President Obama has changed the name of Alaska's Mt. McKinley to Denali, the White House announced Sunday, a day before the president is set to visit the state.
"Denali" is the Alaskan Native name for the mountain, which is North America's tallest - and a site of cultural significance to Alaska's native population.
U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell signed the order renaming the mountain on Friday. Obama will officially rename the peak in Anchorage tomorrow, where he will kick off his presidential visit to the 49th state.
The name change follows a longstanding effort to re-designate the mountain by its Athabascan name. In 1975 Alaska's governor formally requested that the secretary of the interior work to change the name, following a resolution from the Alaska State Legislature.
"For centuries, Alaskans have known this majestic mountain as the 'Great One.' Today we are honored to be able to officially recognize the mountain as Denali," Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, wrote in a statement thanking the president.
Well I'm glad to see that Lisa Murkowski is supporting the name change, because true Alaskans have been arguing for it for decades.
Denali was renamed Mt. McKinley by some white gold prospector and that became the official name back in 1917. And it has been pissing off the Alaska natives ever since.
The name Denali means "the great one" and if you have ever seen it you know that is the name it deserves.
Look, President Obama is already doing great things for Alaska, and he has not even landed here yet. One can only imagine how much he will accomplish in the three days that he is scheduled to be here.
President Obama just renamed Alaska's tallest mountain.
5:37 PM
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