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Rapid City Activists Urge Feds to Replace Harney with Black Elk on SD’s Highest Peak

I’m not convinced the federal recognition of Denali as the proper name of Alaska’s (and North America’s!) highest peak signals that the Obama Administration is ready to overrule South Dakota’s Board on Geographic Names and rename Harney Peak. But some of our Rapid City friends are taking their best shot at convincing the feds to act.

John Tsitrian, a blogger somewhat more conservative than I, joins Katrina Wilke, an activist possibly a touch more liberal than I, want to convince the federal Board on Geographic Names that Harney’s name is sufficiently offensive to justify changing the mountain’s name to Black Elk Peak. Tsitrian is open to other names, but he says Harney deserves no such honor:

Harney’s actions against an Indian encampment at Blue Water Creek in Nebraska in 1855 were murderous and treacherous.   There is no good reason to honor Harney by naming the highest point of land between the Rockies and the Pyrenees after him [John Tsitrian, “You Can Help Support The Name Change Of Harney Peak To ‘Black Elk Peak’,” The Constant Commoner, 2015.09.09].

Tsitrian shares this sample letter shared by Wilke, which they are urging everyone to send to the federal Board on Geographic Names (BGNEXEC@usgs.gov) by September 30, the end of the public comment period on the name change:

Dear USBGN:

Please accept this as my strong support for Harney Peak, South Dakota’s name change, to BLACK ELK PEAK.

Harney is highly offensive to me/us and/or all our Indian brothers and sisters who are forced to pray in the Black Hills. This is in the shadow of the highly derogatory meaning of the name Harney and the atrocious military acts that are associated with his name on that sacred, but desecrated peak.

Thank you for doing what is right in the spirit of reconciliation for all Americans, by removing his name for a more appropriate name [sample letter, forwarded by Katrina Wilke on Facebook; cited in Tsitrian, 2015.09.09].

I think Black Elk Peak would be a cool name, although I am open to the argument from folks more Native than I that Black Elk himself would not have wanted his name on a mountain.

However, the guidebook on domestic names for the federal Board on Geographic Names lays out five key principles, one of which bears notably on the Harney/Black Elk conversation:

Principle II: Names in Local Usage—The underlying principle of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names for establishing official geographic names and their applications is recognition of present- day local usage or preferences. Exceptions occur when local spoken or written usage is in conflict with specific Board policy. In cases where local usage is conflicting or weak, well- established documented names and names with historical significance are given strong consideration (see Domestic Names Decisions) [Donald J. Orth and Roger L. Payne, “Principles, Policies, and Procedures: Domestic Geographic Names,” United States Board on Geographic Names, 1997].

The Board does make exceptions to the local-usage principle to change derogatory names under Policy V. But they make that exception sparingly:

The Board, however, is conservative in this matter and prefers to interfere as little as possible within the use of names in everyday language because attitudes and perceptions of words considered to be pejorative vary between individuals and can change connotation from one generation to another. Geographic names are part of the historical record of the United States, and that record may be either distorted or disrupted by the elimination of names associated with particular groups of Americans. Such unwarranted action by the Board could, in time, be a disservice to the people the process is meant to protect [Orth and Payne/USBGN, 1997].

Policy X encourages the official use of geographic names derived from Native American languages (USBGN might prefer Hehaka Sapa, Black Elk’s Lakota name.) But Section 3 of this policy says the Board treads carefully when asked to change a long-standing European name to a Native name:

Proposals to change widely known, long-published geographic names derived from non-Native American languages for major (primary) features within, or partly within, areas of Native American tribal jurisdiction rarely will be considered by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names unless such changes have extensive public support and are approved by appropriate State and tribal authorities [Orth and Payne/USBGN, 1997].

That section specifies that even on land controlled by tribes, the Board needs to see “extensive public support” plus backing from state and tribal authorities. Harney Peak and the Black Hills aren’t under official tribal jurisdiction, so this policy implies that the Board will be even more hesitant to change a long-standing European name with backing from many members of the public and the state’s geographical naming authority.

The federal Board on Geographic Names seems unlikely to change the name of South Dakota’s peak until we build more awareness consensus on the need for change. But Wilke and Tsitrian’s effort to involve more South Dakotans in the public comment period is part of building that awareness and consensus. Keep it up, John and Katrina!

Related Reading: Neihardt.com offers a photo essay about Black Elk, including a photo of the Lakota holy man on the peak in question itself in 1931.

8 Comments

  1. mike from iowa 2015-09-10 07:06

    If you want to prevent abortions,you must absolutely change the name of the Grand Tetons!

  2. Curt 2015-09-10 07:32

    There are 3 Tetons, one of which is known as the ‘Grand Teton.’ Now, might we please stay on topic? This issue is actually quite significant.
    Thanks, Cory for adding the Neihardt context.

  3. Craig 2015-09-10 10:29

    If there is any risk whatsoever that Black Elk wouldn’t have wanted the peak named after him, then perhaps they should just pick a neutral name as opposed to simply people for a slightly different reason.

    “The Peak” has a nice ring to it.

  4. Deb Geelsdottir 2015-09-10 16:12

    Ms. Wilke’s letter appears to be well done, with one quibble: “forced to pray in the Black Hills.” No force is involved that I am aware of. Is she referring to the name? As in, they are forced to pray in ancestral lands renamed the Black Hills?

    As I said, it’s a quibble. In the meantime, best of luck with getting it changed. From the information Cory has provided, it looks like a long, difficult haul.

  5. Spike 2015-09-10 16:51

    In researching Harney I learned he murdered a female slave he “owned” because she lost his keys. By torturing her. He narrowly missed being killed by a mob over this. His politically powerful family saved him in a trial. This is not my hearsay but what the historic record of the incident reflects. Great guy ol Harney was. Nothing like shooting women n children hiding in a cave. Of course the West River republican party members don’t want it changed. Heck they would probably elect him to office.

  6. leslie 2015-09-11 06:04

    sadly, our state board, w/a member “representing” the state historical society, did not understand Harney’s provable history.

    that history has become associated with the sacred peak in the center of the Great Sioux Nation. This is derogatory to the deep spiritual symbolism of the peak to the sky. This makes it “highly offensive to a particular racial or ethic group or religious group”. Thus, prayers in the “church” of our Indian brothers and sisters, our neighbors, are “forced” to be in the shadow of the stolen and misnamed peak.

    CHANGE THE NAME TO BLACK ELK PEAK.

    bgnexec@usgs.gov

    do it by 9.30.2015

  7. Katrina Wilke 2015-09-11 11:31

    Just to clarify, I did not write the letter. A friend of mine sent me an email with the excerpt asking for my support. I did not give proper credit in my FB post!

  8. caheidelberger Post author | 2015-09-13 14:45

    Thanks for that clarification, Katrina! I’ll edit above. Does the original writer want a citation here?

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