Renaming a Place to Destroy an Identity

Place is a powerful thing.  Place is not just a dot on a map or a green street sign, place is a force that shapes people and cultures.  It dictates what clothes you wear and what foods you eat.  Our modern world has overcome the constrictions of place with our advance transportation networks, however this was not always the case.  Societies were defined by the land they lived on.  It was who they were as a people.  Many cultures saw themselves as living with the land, not just on it.  Where these people lived was part of their cultural identity.  When the European explorers first came to this continent they drew their maps and labeled the places they saw.  They paid no heed to the fact that these paces already had names, for they did not care.  The people living there were seen as uncivilized and savages, hardly worth noting.  Slowly, the Europeans began to change the Place.  With these changes new names were laid upon the land and its features.  The bitter fruits of their labors still scar the land as the place names we see on our maps.  At first it was done out of ignorance or possibly indifference to the native cultures, but later Europeans would use place names as part of their campaign of genocide against the native peoples.

McKinley vs Denali 

The fight over place names is literally sky high, as in 20,000 feet into the sky.  The tallest peak in North America has gone by many names.  The natives who lived in the area had many names for the peak, depending on what side of the mountain you lived on.  The Russians who explored the area had a different name for it, but it was based on the local languages spoken by the natives.  The name Mount McKinley would be hung on the mountain by a gold prospector being interviewed by the New York Sun in 1893.  The name gained permanence with the assassination of McKinley.

“I don’t like the name of Denali. It is not descriptive. Everybody in the United States knows of Mt. McKinley and the various efforts made to climb it. In consequence, both Mr. Yard and I think that the name McKinley should stick.” –Thomas Riggs Alaska Engineering Commission  1916

NPS Photo / Kent Miller

Riggs could have helped pass a law that would have reverted the name back to Denali, but his opposition caused the mountain to be named after a man who had no connection to Alaska.  The name controversy would simmer until 1975 when a bill was introduced in Congress to change the name back to Denali.  This attempt was blocked by the Congressional delegation from Ohio, McKinley’s home state.   They did not wish to have that tribute removed from the maps.  The delegation was successful for 40 years.  President Obama and Secretary of the Interior Jewell were able to put the Denali name back on the mountain.  President Trump nearly rekindled the controversy when he proposed undoing the name change.  He was talked out of it by the Senators from Alaska.

This tale illustrates how the history of the continent is ignored until the Europeans show up.  There were people living on this land for 10-15,000 years before Columbus’ boats showed up but to the Europeans that didn’t matter.  They came with the intention of exploiting the land and its people.  The renaming of places was in part to show people who was in charge of this land.

The Devil is in the Details

How do you find places in the United States that were sacred to the original inhabitants of the land?  Look for the devil.  Besides plastering European names on places in the Americas, the Europeans actively destroyed native culture by changing names of places.  Near Death Valley is a cave that is fed by an underground spring.  This area was sacred to the Timbisha People.  It was christened Devils Hole by the Europeans who came to the area.  Why would you call an important oasis “Devils Hole”?  The answer is, to destroy it’s non-Christian divinity.  Through it’s association with the devil, the newly Christian converts would no longer worship at their once sacred sight.   This process was repeated in many locations around the country.  Probably the most iconic example is Bear’s Lodge, or as it is known on the map, Devils Tower.

A sacred land to 6 different tribes.  Courtesy JT Sleeter Photography

Devils Tower is located in North Eastern Wyoming.  It is an unusual geological formation.  It rises over 1200 feet but it stands by itself.  there are no other peaks or neat it.  It was a sacred place to many of the tribes in the area and they all tell a story about the formation’s origin.   The common thread of the stories is that the rock was created by the spirits/ nature/ a god to save people from a bear attack.  When Christianity was

Different tribes had different names for it, but the most common was Bear’s Lodge. Courtesy JT Sleeter Photography.

brought to the area the formation was renamed Devils Tower to break the mystical connection the natives had with this area.  This was not a unique event, there are many more examples of this patter all over the country; almost every state has a Devils Lake, you can visit the Devils River in Texas, and Georgia is home to the Devils Valley.  All renamed in an attempt to force subjugated people to accept the religion of their European conquerors.

4 Replies to “Renaming a Place to Destroy an Identity”

  1. I feel that your entry is very relevant to the Misplaced Massacre book that we are reading, as the exploitation and negligence towards indigenous peoples is spread throughout our history, both on this continent and beyond. I’d never taken much note of the name “Devil’s ______” being attached to sacred Native locations, but now that it’s put plainly, I can see the awful trend.

  2. I guess you learn something new every day. This is so crazy to me. As Glory said, it is relevant to the Misplaced Massacre. Throughout the history of the United States, we have seen evidence of exploitation and this is just another form that is probably not even common knowledge. This calls me to think about if this is similar to other countries because in Germany there is a place called Devil’s Table, however, I do not know the history of the nomenclature or German History for that matter. I’m definitely intrigued and inspired to do my own research about this

  3. This is honestly a really spooky practice. It didn’t even begin in the colonial period. I’m sure you’re all familiar with the fact that during the Early-Christian period, multiple holidays, locales and religious practices of Pagan origin were either corrupted, banned and marked evil, or assimilated piecemeal. This practice continued for over a thousand years, well into the Imperialist age with the renaming of monuments of religious significance all over the world.
    There are cases of particular natural monuments carrying the name ‘Devil’ for completely innocent reasons, but that’s generally not the case. Also, how is the name McKinley more descriptive than Denali? It would just make me think, ‘Ah… this mountain is Irish or Scottish, what’s it doing in the Pacific northwest?’

  4. Scott thank you so much for this post, it was a very enlightening read. One of the things I love about this program is my classmates. Not only does everyone bring something unique to the table in terms of experience and knowledge, but it’s also deeply empowering to be around a group of people that care about bringing these hidden stories to life. Throughout history there has been undisputed hegemony over indigenous people and minority groups. Using the practice of renaming sacred places words like “Devil” is atrocious. Thank you for bringing this issue to light.

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