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Senate panel adopts working draft urging federal preservation of Denali name
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Summary
The Senate State Affairs Committee on Jan. 28 adopted a committee substitute as its working document for Senate Joint Resolution 7, which urges federal officials and Alaska's congressional delegation to preserve "Denali" as the mountain's official name and requests outreach to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names and the Secretary of the Interior.
The Alaska Senate State Affairs Committee on Jan. 28 adopted a committee substitute as its working document for Senate Joint Resolution 7, a measure urging federal officials to preserve Denali as the mountain's official name.
Representative Maxine Deibert, who introduced the House companion, told the committee Denali "has been known by its true name for thousands of years" and said the Koyukon Athabaskan name means "the tall 1." "Denali is more than a mountain," Deibert said. "It is a cornerstone of Alaska's history, a tribute to our diverse culture, and a testament to the people who have cherished this land for millennia."
The committee substitute incorporates new historic and outreach language, staff told the panel. Sally Rafson, staff for Senator Kawasaki, summarized edits that add a historic reference to Walter Harper's June 7, 1913, ascent, new language acknowledging the heritage and continuing importance of the mountain to Alaska Native communities, and requests that Alaska's congressional delegation and the United States Board on Geographic Names advocate to preserve Denali as the official name. The substitute also replaces a prior generic reference to the U.S. secretary of the interior with a named acting secretary for drafting purposes and lists specific members of the congressional delegation by name.
Senator Bjorkman moved to adopt the committee substitute (work draft 34-LS-0443\N). With no objections, Chair Kawasaki announced the substitute would be used as the committee's working document for SJR 7. Representative Deibert said the resolution will be taken up when the House companion is before the committee.
Committee members asked procedural questions about the federal naming process. Sarah Snowberger, chief of staff to Representative Deibert, explained the naming process under an executive order creating a geographic naming board and said that the board can consider proposals from many entities; she also noted that congressional legislation can preempt the board's actions. Senator Willikowski and others asked whether Alaska has previously adopted a state-level designation; members requested staff provide a statutory citation.
Two members of the public testified: Ed Martin Jr. of the Kenai Peninsula said he grew up using the name McKinley and urged that any change be "done properly," while others on the committee expressed personal connections to the name Denali. The committee set SJR 7 aside to await the House companion and indicated it would take it up again when the House resolution reaches the committee.
The committee's action was procedural: adoption of the committee substitute as the working document and setting the resolution aside pending the House companion.
