Congressman halts attempt to rename Mount Rushmore

One of the country’s most famous landmarks probably will keep its name, despite a recent attempt to rename it.

A California resident in July proposed renaming Mount Rushmore to Igmu Tanka Paha, a Lakota Sioux name that means Cougar Mountain, according to the federal Board on Geographic Names.

Anyone can submit a proposal to rename a geographic feature, but the board tends to be conservative when considering such requests, said Jennifer Runyon, a senior researcher with the board. A national landmark like Mount Rushmore introduces additional complications, and a name change would likely require overwhelming public support.

Additionally, the board only has the power to rename the mountain itself — not the national monument that shares its name.

“We had to remind him, fair enough, you want to propose a change to Mt. Rushmore,” Runyon said. “We’re not talking about the national (memorial).”

All these factors meant a name change was unlikely, but U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, a Republican from South Dakota, didn’t want to take any chances.

Days after the proposal, Johnson introduced a bill formally designating the mountain as Mount Rushmore.

“The overwhelming number of South Dakotans, probably well above 90%, want to keep Mount Rushmore the way it is,” Johnson said.

An act of Congress can overrule any decision by the Board on Geographic Names.

Even if it never receives a vote, Johnson’s vote puts the kibosh on any renaming efforts, at least temporarily.

The board does not act on any names currently under consideration in Congress, Runyon said.

In 2016 the board renamed Harney Peak — South Dakota’s highest point — to Black Elk Peak. Black Elk was a renowned Lakota medicine man who died in 1950.

Johnson said Black Elk Peak is a good name, but he doesn’t like the way the process was handled, and wanted to prevent the same thing happening to Mount Rushmore.

“I though it was odd that people with no connection to South Dakota should be dictating to us what we should call local geographic places,” he said.

Mount Rushmore is named for Charles Rushmore, a lawyer and businessman who spent a lot of time in the region while working with mining companies in the late 1800s, according to the National Park Service.

The mountain is on land originally belonging to Lakota Indians. They have two names for the mountain: Igmu Tanka Paha (Cougar Mountain) and Tunkasila Sakpe Paha (Six-Grandfathers Mountain), according to the Board on Geographic Names.

Johnson’s bill to keep Rushmore’s name is his second piece of legislation devoted to preserving the mountain. In June he introduced he Mount Rushmore Protection Act, which would prohibit federal funds from being used to change or destroy the monument.

“We do see quite a push nationally, and all over, to do things like take down statues, sometimes with violence and sometimes with a more deliberate process,” he said.

Some have called for the removal of the presidential faces on Mount Rushmore, he said.

George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt were not perfect men, he said, but he believes the monument stands for the nation’s highest ideals.

“Mount Rushmore does represent our country’s attempts to get better,” he said. “It is focused on equality, and what brings our country together rather than what divides us.”