Throughout Alaska , there is a movement to document Native place names — to preserve our rich history and heritage .
In some cases , Native place names are officially reclaimed and used .
The highest mountain in North America was known as Mount McKinley for more than a century . Its place name was reclaimed in 2015 . Future generations will know it on maps and in common reference by its Koyukon Athabaskan name : Denali , the Great One .
The people of Utqiagvik , the northernmost city in the United States , reclaimed the name of their community in 2016 . For more than a century , it had been known as Barrow . Now Alaskans know Utqiagvik for its original Iñupiaq name , which references a place for gathering roots . Imagine how important this place name was for generations of Iñupiat living in the harsh conditions north of the Arctic Circle .