Letter: I don’t care what Ohioans think — keep it Denali

Recently, a letter (“Alaskans should vote on McKinley vs. Denali,” Dec. 31) suggesting Alaskans vote on the re-renaming of our tallest mountain was printed. I am surprised at the inconsequential things that divide us. There appears to be some deep psychic wound, I was unaware of, that has occurred by naming our tallest peak Denali that can only be solved by lining everyone up to see what side they stand on. As additional evidence in support, importance is given to the “great insult” the name change was considered by Ohioans. I don’t care what Ohioans think.

If there is anything in my short time here that I have begun to understand, it’s that Alaska is an example of what coming together might look like. Whether it is the generosity of the Tlingit, the pride in their homeland of the Athabascan, the storytelling of the Haida or the spirit of negotiation and compromise of the Eyak, we are all influenced by the people who were here before us. Alaskans are connected to each other, and to the land, by influences that have been centuries in the making. Let this be the lesson for how unity is pulled off.

After reading the letter I walked out to a beautiful Anchorage day and looked across the Coastal Trail at the lustrous pink reflection of Denali in the low-lying sun. I remembered that Denali, in Athabaskan, also means “the great one,” and was relieved that there is no pressing need to make Denali great, again.

— Nick Wieder, Anchorage

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