Innisfree McKinnon of the University of Wisconsin-Stout is the author.
The PresidentThere has been much debate over Donald Trump’s executive order to rename Alaska’s Denali, the nation’s tallest peak, and the Gulf of Mexico. In the United States, there is an official process for renaming places, and that process is treated seriously, even though some people may view it as less significant than the major issues the nation faces.
The government typically uses official, agreed-upon nomenclature to avoid confusion. The U.S. Board on Geographic Names, a division of the U.S. Geological Survey, the organization responsible for creating maps, is responsible for standardizing place names in the United States.
In his executive order, Trump requests that the Board on Geographic Names modify its policies and procedures to highlight the achievements of patriotic and imaginative Americans.
Renaming a place usually begins locally. A name change is proposed and supported by the people in the county or state. Every state has a different procedure.
The biggest lake in Minneapolis is Lake Bde Maka Ska, which was once Lake Calhoun. E+/YinYang through GettyE+/YinYang through Getty
How to change a place name
The Minneapolis Park Board explained that the Dakota name for the lake, which has been passed down orally for many years, is Bde Maka Ska, which Minnesota just altered the name of a huge lake in Minneapolis.
The county commissioners were consulted after the board decided to change the name. The request became official for Minnesota after the county approved it and it was forwarded to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. It became official for the entire United States after the state of Minnesota submitted the request to the Board on Geographic Names.
For something that seems so insignificant, there is a lot of paperwork involved, but place names evoke strong emotions in individuals.Renaming Denali from the late 19th-century name Mount McKinley took forty years.
The Board on Geographic Names did not act upon the state of Alaska’s 1975 request for a name change. President William McKinley, who was from Ohio, and other members of the Ohio congressional delegation had long opposed calls to rename the mountain, but the board had taken no action.
The secretary of the Interior Department is appointed by the president. The Board on Geographic Names is appointed by the secretary in consultation with the heads of relevant agencies. According to the committee’s current policy, input is actively sought from local governments, tribal governments, land management organizations, and state geographic names authorities.
President Barack Obama appointed Sally Jewell as the Department of the Interior’s new head in 2015. In accordance with a provision that permits the secretary of the interior to alter a name if the board does not take action on the proposal within a reasonable timeframe, Jewell made the name change official just before Obama traveled to Alaska in late August 2015.
Change to President Obama’s DenaliX
According to Jewell, this name change acknowledges Denali’s sacred status for many Alaska Natives. More significantly, the mountain has been recognized as Denali for many generations, even though the State of Alaska has officially used the term since 1975. As part of our personal respect for this location, we are formally renaming the mountain Denali to honor Alaska Native customs and the enthusiastic support of the state’s citizens.
The Gulf of America is not shown on any map. Moment/Sean Gladwell via GettyMoment/Sean Gladwell via Getty
A person who opposes to a name change may approach the courts to decide whether the change was lawful. Returning to Bde Maka Ska, some residents challenged the state natural resources agency in court because they didn’t like the name being changed from Lake Calhoun. The Minnesota Supreme Court ultimately decided that the name change was appropriate.
Prominent state leaders and Alaska’s two U.S. senators have vigorously opposed Trump’s name proposal.
How not to change a place name
However, renaming a geographic location inside the boundaries of the United States is not the same as renaming the Gulf of Mexico.
The gulf is outside of US territory. The first 12 miles off the coast are regarded as belonging to that nation; beyond that, international waterways are involved.
There is no worldwide organization that oversees place names, however the organization on Geographic Names could alter the name to Gulf of America on official U.S. maps. The names of places are chosen by each nation. Furthermore, the United States has no formal authority to force other nations to alter their names.
The United States may formally request that other nations change the name, or it may even apply sanctions against noncompliant nations.
The government would use the new names in official papers, signage, and maps if the names were formally altered in the United States. Official names are often used by all individuals and organizations who create maps worldwide. However, if they thought a particular name was more well-known, there is nothing that would compel them to.
The U.S. Department of the Interior released a statement regarding the name changes on January 24, 2025:
With work already under way, the Department of the Interior is pleased to announce the implementation of name restorations that reflect the history of American greatness in compliance with President Donald J. Trump’s recent executive order.
The highest mountain in North America will once again be called Mount McKinley, and the Gulf of Mexico will henceforth be formally known as the Gulf of America, per the President’s directive.Under the Department of the Interior’s jurisdiction, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names is working quickly to amend the Geographic Names Information System’s official federal nomenclature to reflect these changes, which will take effect immediately for government use.
The Conversation has republished this article under a Creative Commons license. Go to https://theconversation.com/can-trump-just-order-new-names-for-denali-and-the-gulf-of-mexico-a-geographer-explains-who-decides-what-goes-on-the-map-248112 to read the original article.
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