Obama Administration Renames North America’s Highest Mountain Denali, Alaska Indigenous Groups React

For 119 years, William McKinley’s name was used for the highest mountain in North America, but the Obama administration renamed it Denali on Sunday, a gesture to Indigenous communities.

“Ohio is 6,400 kilometers from Alaska”

EL PAÍS

The mountain is nearly 6,200 meters tall and plays a central role in the history of Alaska’s Indigenous people in the far northwest corner of the continent, and the White House said Denali means "the elevated one" in the Athabascan language.

EL PAÍS

The Department of the Interior formalized the change, arguing it reflects "the wish of the majority of Alaska's residents" for a name authentically Alaskan and recognizes Denali’s "sacred status" for generations of Indigenous people.

Ohio lawmakers resisted the renaming, and the Speaker of the House, Republican John Boehner, said he was "deeply disappointed" by the change, citing McKinley’s Civil War service and Spanish-American War leadership.

The article also notes that until Sunday, Denali was the name of the national park in which the mountain stands, but not of the mountain itself, while McKinley never set foot in Alaska.

Following its Juneteenth opening, the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago embraced a permanent display titled "Acknowledging Indigenous Peoples' Land and Territory" near the Obama statue and museum tower.

During Thursday's dedication ceremony, Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett opened proceedings by acknowledging the American Indian tribes who originally inhabited the land where the center now stands, and the sign states the foundation acknowledges "the sovereign Indigenous peoples who have, since time immemorial, inhabited and stewarded the lands many of us call home."

Fox News

The Fox News report says the display also includes a 2009 Obama quote: "Treaties were violated. Promises were broken," and it describes critics who mock land acknowledgments as performative exercises tied to the view that America was built on "stolen land."

Outside the Center, Illinois GOP Chair Bob Grogan told Fox News Digital that visitors would hear the land was stolen from Native Americans, but "underneath, you should all be reading into this, that it was actually stolen from the citizens of Illinois, not from the Native Americans."

The dispute described by Fox News centers on a 99-year agreement for 19.3 acres of Jackson Park public land transferred to the Obama Foundation for a one-time $10 payment, with Grogan arguing the land was created after the Great Chicago Fire through landfill and public works projects.

As the country ramped up for its annual Fourth of July celebration and Trump vowed to go big this year for America’s 250th anniversary, Bill Maher told Democrats to stop "partisan sulking" and join the festivities.

“Bill Maher, host of HBO’s “Real Time,” had a message for Democrats looking to spoil the upcoming America 250 celebration over their distaste for President Donald Trump: Don’t be so petty”

New York Post

Maher, host of HBO’s “Real Time,” argued that Democrats should not spoil the America 250 celebration over their distaste for President Donald Trump, saying, "Go to the party. It’s a big celebration," and adding, "You probably won’t run into him."

The New York Post report ties Maher’s remarks to a Reuters/Ipsos survey conducted June 12–15 among 1,537 U.S. adults, finding 64% of Republicans would display an American flag or flag bunting outside their home this July 4 compared with just 27% of Democrats.

Maher also framed the political stakes in terms of authoritarians, saying, "That’s what wannabe authoritarians do," and urging Democrats to focus on the country for the upcoming Fourth of July.

In his closing commentary on Friday, Maher said, "The message that most threatens authoritarians isn’t 'America sucks.' It’s 'America is ours too,'" as he urged Democrats to remember patriotism beyond the convention.