Denali panoramic

Mount McKinley is also commonly known as Denali, which means "the great one" in the Dena'ina language, and which is also the official name currently recognized by the State of Alaska. In 1897 the Mountain was officially named Mount McKinley, after the popular U.S. president William McKinley. As the decades progressed Indian-rights activists began increasingly to view this renaming as colonial and disrespectful. Denali is also the name preferred by the mountaineering community.

When Denali National Park and Preserve was established by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, December 2, 1980, the Alaska Board of Geographic Names changed the name of the mountain back to "Denali." However, the U.S. Board of Geographic Names maintains "McKinley". Alaskans tend to use "Denali" and rely on context to distinguish between the park and the mountain. There have been several campaigns to officially switch the federally recognized name of the mountain back to "Denali". However, the name "McKinley" is well-known and has support as well. The name "McKinley" also allows visitors to differentiate between the mountain and Denali National Park, in which the mountain is located. In particular, at the first session of each Congress, Ralph Regula, the congressman from President McKinley's district, introduces legislation "to provide for the retention of the name of Mount McKinley," which effectively blocks any effort at a name change.

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