Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about a century- long dispute. A hundred years plus, there has been a dispute about the Federal designation of North America's tallest mountain. It is a pretty majestic picture, but it does nothing to really convey the amazing grandeur of Denali. It is majestic. It is breathtaking. It is something that as Alaskans and as a lifelong Alaskan, there is not a day when I am able to see Denali and just say--just kind of breathe deep, because it is that extraordinary.

And in my hometown of Anchorage, we are about 250 miles away from Denali, and on clear days, when you are on the road, just about a mile from my house, just a little bit of elevation, you can see the mountain.

And we talk about it that way. We say: She is out. The mountain is out today. The big one is out today.

It is an extraordinary gift from God, really. Snow-blanketed crevasses, the ridges are just gleaming in the sun. How this mountain connects earth to sky beyond, it is just extraordinary.

And, again, this picture is beautiful--obviously, on a summer day. There is never a time when she is not covered in snow, but Denali can also be one of the coldest, most treacherous places on Earth.

It has storms in the middle of winter. You expect that. But it has storms in the middle of July that obey no rules. It has its own rules. Denali creates its own weather. It literally creates its own weather.

I had an opportunity to go up on Ruth Glacier on my birthday. My birthday happens to be the end of May. It was going to be an extraordinary big-ticket item--it was a big-ticket item, but we were chased off that mountain after about 40 minutes because the weather which, when we had arrived at the mountain, was pretty great, and in 40 minutes, she was shutting down, and we were either going to be spending the night there, which was not prime condition to do, or we were getting off in order to get out safely. You respect her.

But it is a place where you respect the nature around you because what can be that perfect day can descend with wind and snow into chaos. It falls on you so quickly, you can't see your own footprints in the snow.

The lives that have been lost and the legends of the stories told remain, but no matter what happens with the weather, as transitory as all that is, Denali stands resilient and true.

For centuries, the Koyukon Athabascans have lived, they have hunted, they have foraged, they have loved, they have died, they have survived in the shadow of this great mountain.

They have been on the waterways, in the valleys, on the hills, and in the ridges. Alaska Natives have persevered in one of the most challenging climates, and they have done so in harmony with the food supply and the surroundings around them.

Denali is Koyukon for ``the Great One,'' for ``the Great One.'' This is how Native people have always known it, and as the great witness of untold stories from their ancestors.

The very first-ever map to label the mountain read ``Tenada,'' and this is a transcription of Denali--again, the Great One.

The first mountaineers to summit the peak called it Denali. It is interesting to note that the first individual to actually summit was not the mountaineers who had paid for the climb, but it was the Alaskan Native guide who took them safely and successfully to the top. But it is the same Native people, those same mountaineers that were baffled that anyone would dare to modify the original Native name.

And yet, in 1917, the mountain was not named Denali. And there is a fair amount of legend that comes with that as well, that there was a trapper who came out of the woods--this was during the early days of the President McKinley administration--and he said: Out of respect, let's honor the new President.

But much like Native lands, health, and culture, you just don't come in and say we are going to disregard, we are going to disrespect the rightful name, the name that had been in place for generations, for thousands of years.

And so since that time in 1917, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names has received over 20,000 letters and signatures, most of them--the vast majority of them calling for the name Denali to be restored.

This massive mountain commands a reverent name, a steadfast name--not the name of an individual, a person who comes and goes, who may have had an impact for a brief moment in time.

But this is ageless, timeless. The Great One, 20,310 feet tall, the tallest mountain in North America. So when you have something that is that significant, that is that connected as part of the land in ways that are beyond just a mere name--but, again, a reverence with which you speak of this piece of land, this geography.

When Alaskans leave our home State and boast to outsiders, whether spinning a globe or just talking about it, we say: That is Denali. That is the Great One. She is out today.

So that is why today I have introduced legislation that would officially restore the federally recognized name of this quintessential mountain as Denali.

Now, this is not the first time I have done this. This is actually the fourth Congress that I have introduced this legislation. Maybe I am persistent; I think Alaskans are just very resilient, and we will continue to be. We will continue to be because this magnificent mountain is something that each of us holds in our hearts, that we hold dear. For these last 100 years or so, we have continued to call our great mountain Denali, regardless, and will continue to do that 100 years going forward. Denali existed before any person, and it will remain long after we are dust.

So I share this with my colleagues today, letting you know that we put this legislation out there. My introduction follows on the actions of the Alaska State Legislature--both the house and the senate have moved a resolution urging us in Congress to move forward with this and officially restore the federally recognized name, and so I am pleased to be able to begin that process today. ______

By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. Daines, Mr. Schumer, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Young, and Mr. Padilla):

S. 579. A bill to amend the National Quantum Initiative Act to provide for a research, development, and demonstration program, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

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