![]() Board of Geographic Names' unilateral decision to rename Harney Peak, one of South Dakota's most well-known landmarks," Thune said in a statement. Senator John Thune, Republican, also decried the decision. I suspect very few people know the history of either Harney or Black Elk." "This federal decision will cause unnecessary expense and confusion. Dennis Daugaard, a Republican, said in a statement. "I am surprised by this decision, as I have heard very little support in South Dakota for renaming Harney Peak," Gov. Harney, all of whom favored the change.īut South Dakota politicians were perturbed. It also reviewed letters from descendants of Black Elk and descendants of Gen. The board received letters supporting the name change from members of Sioux and Arapaho tribes, and from American Indian schoolchildren, Yost said. The 2,993-foot-high peak is in the Black Elk Wilderness Area, in the Black Hills National Forest, on federal land. The board said it usually refrains from changing names of geographical features for which the local name has been commonly used and longstanding, except "when a name is shown to be highly offensive or derogatory to a particular racial or ethnic group, gender, or religious group." ![]() "For that reason, there was a unanimous decision to change the name of the peak to Black Elk Peak." "The Board's understanding was that the name Harney Peak for a traditional sacred site was distressing to tribal people," board member Lou Yost said in a statement. Board exercised its authority Thursday, announcing that the peak will henceforth be known as Black Elk Peak - as recommended by Brave Heart in his original petition. "It is better to leave the name as-is than to recommend a name that is not overwhelmingly endorsed by the public."īut the South Dakota board's decision was only a recommendation to the U.S. "I feel that without a clear mandate from the public to change the name, the board should not support a name change at this time," Chairwoman June Hansen said at the board's June 2015 meeting. South Dakota's board voted to recommend changing the name in May of 2015, then reversed its decision a month later, citing public opposition from South Dakota residents. William Harney, who led an 1855 attack on a Lakota village, killing 86 Sioux, capturing 70 women and children and looting and burning the village's tipis, according to the Nebraska State Historical Society. ![]() (CN) - The highest point in South Dakota, Harney Peak, has been renamed Black Elk Peak, a federal board's response to criticism that the former name was insensitive to the state's Native Americans.ĭiscussion began in September 2014, when Lakota elder Basil Brave Heart petitioned the South Dakota Board of Geographic Names to change the name out of respect to the state's native population. ![]()
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