Harney Peak name to change

By Carrie Moore Nearly two years after the original request was made, the decision to rename Harney Peak is now a reality. During its regular monthly meeting on Thursday, Aug. 11, the U.S. Board of Geographic Names (BGN) made the unanimous decision to rename Harney Peak— the highest peak east of the Rockies—to Black Elk Peak. The summit has been named Harney Peak on federal maps since 1896, having been named in 1864 or 1865. “The current name is painful and distressing to the tribal people,” said a member of the BGN during the lengthy deliberation. During the meeting, BGN members determined the name Harney Peak was subject to Policy V of its Principles, Policies and Procedures, which reads: “The guiding principle of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names for the names of places, features, and areas in the United States and its territories is to adopt for official Federal use the names found in present-day local usage. An exception to this principle occurs when a name is shown to be highly offensive or derogatory to a particular racial or ethnic group, gender, or religious group. In such instances, the Board does not approve use of the names for federal maps, charts, and other publications.” According to Louis Yost, executive secretary for the BGN, the board typically considers 200 to 250 name changes or requests to name unnamed places each year. The decision will change Harney Peak to Black Elk Peak on all maps and publications at a federal level. However, the state has no obligation to honor the decision and there is no legal authority that requires a state to change its own maps, signs or literature. The push for the name change started in September 2014, when Basil Brave Heart, an Oglala Lakota tribal member from Pine Ridge, sent a letter requesting that the name be changed from Harney Peak to Black Elk Peak. The request was forwarded to the South Dakota Board of Geographic Names (SDBGN). From the end of April to May 7, 2015, the SDBGN held public input meetings in Martin, Custer, Rapid City, Flandreau and Pierre as a way for people to testify and voice their opinion for and against the name change. Hundreds of people submitted their written comments on the topic, as well as suggested numerous alternatives to the “Black Elk” and “Harney” names. On May 7, the SDBGN preliminarily voted to change the name of Harney Peak to “Hinhan Kaga,” the traditional Lakota name for the peak, translated to “Making of Owls.” Another public input period was opened, with hundreds of angry letters flooding into the SDBGN, against the new name. The board then voted 4-1 to recommend Harney Peak be retained as the peak’s name. The recommendation was sent on to the U.S. BGN for the ultimate say. After the decision, the SDBGN said there were more supporters of keeping the Harney Peak name than changing it. “There is undeniably, a very strong desire among almost all Native American commenters as well as some non-natives that the name of this peak should be changed—that due to Harney’s very troubling record of involvement with native peoples and shared comments stated that it is inappropriate that the highest peak in the Black Hills (sacred to Native American people) bear his name,” the statement read. “However, the SDBGN found no public consensus as to any single replacement name. In particular, our decision was informed by a communication from (the BGN staff) on June 26, 2015, directing our attention to the issue of the specific name, ‘Black Elk Peak,’ as submitted to your office by Mr. Braveheart. While that proposal had some support, other testimony from native people at our public input meetings indicated that such an individual commemoration was really not consistent with Native American traditions. Therefore, while there was some support for Black Elk Peak as a replacement name, this proposal was ultimately rejected by the SDBGN.” Black Elk Peak was one of the names considered by the BGN, with Thunder Peak as the other name that was unsuccessfully voted on. The name Black Elk Peak was selected in honor of Nicholas Black Elk, a revered Oglala Lakota holy man. In his book, “Black Elk Speaks,” Black Elk said that when he was 9 years old and sick for 12 days, he had a vision, which included traveling to the top of the summit. Black Elk described the peak as the “center of the world.” “Round about beneath me was the whole hoop of the world. And while I stood there I saw more than I can tell and I understood more than I saw,” he said in the book. Black Elk’s teaching has inspired many Lakota and non-Lakota to take up traditional ceremonies, as well as take a spiritual journey to the top of the peak. The summit is also one of the most holy sites of the Lakota. Early each spring at the summit, the Lakota hold ceremonies known as Yate Iwakicipi, “welcoming back the thunders,” in which they pray for rain, help and strength. Proponents of the name change believe the summit is desecrated by the name of General William S. Harney, who fought American Indians early in his military career. Particular objection is raised about his role in the Battle of Ash Hollow in September 1855. A year earlier, a small contingent of soldiers led by Lt. John Lawrence Grattan was killed by a group of Lakota after an escalated negotiation over a slaughtered cow. Harney’s attack was sent in retaliation, where the men were reportedly “brutal in their attack,” killing women and children. This isn’t the first time the Harney Peak name has come under fire. In 1970, a proposal was submitted to the BGN by two residents of California, who asked the peak be renamed to Black Elk Peak. At the time, the BGN did not take actions, stating that the name had “historical significance” and there were no “compelling reasons to warrant consideration of the proposal.” A second proposal to change the name was submitted in 1973, with the BGN once again declining to take action, citing that Harney Peak was a “well established name” and they believed “there would not be local or state support for the change.” In making the decision, the BGN acknowledged the recommendations by the SDBGN and a number of state legislators to retain the name Harney Peak. However, the BGN also recognized “the wishes of native peoples and many non-native South Dakotans that a new geographic name should be given to this feature that is regarded as a sacred site by several tribes.” Both South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard and Sen. John Thune both released statements in opposition of the renaming. “I am surprised by this decision, as I have heard very little support in South Dakota for renaming Harney Peak,” Daugaard said. “This federal decision will cause unnecessary expense and confusion. I suspect very few people know the history of either Harney or Black Elk.” “I’m surprised and upset by the (BGN’s) unilateral decision to rename Harney Peak, one of South Dakota’s most well-known landmarks,” Thune said. “The national board’s choice to reject the state’s recommendation to leave the name as-is defies logic, since it was state officials who so carefully solicited public feedback and ultimately came to their decision.” Thune also added that he is “disappointed the board grossly misled (his) office with respect to the timeline of its decision,” which he said “wasn’t expected until next year.”   The change comes after many South Dakota organizations recommended not changing the name of Harney Peak, including the South Dakota Department of Tourism, the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks and the SDBGN. Also voicing their opposition were the Pennington and Custer County commissions. “I’m disappointed the board was pressured into doing it,” said Phil Lampert, Custer County commissioner. “The locals will always know it as Harney Peak. You can change all the signs in the world, but the people who grew up knowing it will always call it Harney Peak.” “It’s just too bad we have to go about changing history just for the sake of political correctness. It’s not fair to the majority of the people who lived here and developed the country and called it Harney Peak,” said David Hazeltine, former Custer County commissioner and Custer resident. “I feel like this is not their place to change (the name). Think of the thousands and thousands of people who have climbed Harney Peak.” Hazeltine’s father, Byron, was the second person to serve as the Harney Peak lookout in 1942. During that time, the family spent their summers up there, working and exploring the area. He also gave out “squirrel cards,” small green cards that were signed at the top of the peak, signifying that climbers made it to the top. The card also meant membership into the “ancient and honorable order of squirrels.” “I just think of all those people who have those cards and now they mean nothing,” he said. “That’s what happens when we change history.” Gary Enright, director of the 1881 Courthouse Museum, said the significance and history of Harney Peak is at a risk of being lost with the name change. “To me, to create a name change to be ‘PC’ is a little foolish. (Harney Peak) has more historical significance because it has become a national landmark,” he said. “It’s like saying we don’t like George Washington, so we should call it ‘something or other monument.’ I think it’s a waste of time and we should get on with what’s really important.” Enright added that the significance and history of the peak, fire lookout tower and building, as well as the entire Black Hills — “good, bad or indifferent” — doesn’t need to be changed 100 years later. Custer resident Steve Baldwin has spent countless hours on Harney Peak and its trails leading up there, both as a member of Custer County Search & Rescue and for personal enjoyment. “I would estimate that we have been to that area a couple of hundred times for searches and rescues over the past few decades, sometimes for a few hours and sometimes for days,” he said. “For personal enjoyment and exercise, I’m sure I’ve been up there several dozen times including in my early years when they had jeep and horse rides to the top.” When Baldwin’s best friend worked up there as a seasonal fire lookout, he rode his motorcycle all the way to the cabin, which was before it became a wilderness. “Some people say Harney Peak is a holy place for them and I don’t doubt that at all, as I get a spiritual experience most times when I have been up there as well. The sunsets and sunrises are spectacular from the top,” he said. “To be up there in the middle of a winter storm or summer thunderstorm is like no other experience. No one culture has a lock on that place spiritually.” While Baldwin says he is sensitive to the Native American dislike of the name, he argues that history cannot be changed and therefore, does not support the name change. “If we are going to change the names of geographic locations just because some person or organization has personal or cultural problems with the existing name, where will it all stop? Custer, Custer State Park, Custer County, Devils Tower, Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, etc. What about America, named after the first European to discover the continent?” he said. “I can understand  changing names that are common slang or swear words—that is just not right and never should have been. But just because (the place is named after) some person (someone) doesn’t like personally, it doesn’t make sense.” Baldwin said the switch will make thousands of books, maps and hiking guides out of date, with new publications having to be made to correct the name, as well as possibly refer to it as “the former Harney Peak.” Not only could it be costly, but also confusing. “For myself, and most other residents of this area, it will always be Harney Peak,” he said. “Don’t come from elsewhere and tell us what we have to  call ‘our’ mountain.” “I think the decision to rename Harney Peak to Black Elk Peak is both ridiculous and pointless,” said Nichole Barnes, who has hiked the mountain a handful of times. “If we rename one thing to please a small group, where does it end? Are we going to begin renaming other landmarks when a small group decides they don’t like the current name?” Barnes said she fears the whole situation is being turned into more of a race issue than it needs to be. “Personally, my disappointment over the name change has to do with the ‘if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.’ It’s been Harney Peak and changing its name is doing nothing more than wasting time and money that could be better spent doing something much more useful to benefit the people,” she said. “There is no doubt that a lot of awful things happened in history, but how do we move forward if we keep dwelling on the past and nitpicking at things that are as unimportant as the name of a peak?” While many seem to be against the name change, some are speaking out in favor of the change. “I understand why we would want to preserve the name Harney, because it’s a part of history, but I also understand how it could be offensive,” said Stefanie Adam, who has hiked Harney five times since moving to the Black Hills in 2014. “In the end, regardless of the name, we all know the hike and summit is beautiful. I think our focus should be on that.” Denise Thompson, an avid hiker of Harney Peak, said she is in favor of the “Black Elk” name. “I read ‘Black Elk Speaks’ before I moved to the Black Hills and it really made me excited to live out here,” she said. “I think Black Elk Peak is a great name. Better than using a language not many people understand. I think it’s a great compromise.” Many groups and organizations were in favor of changing the name, including the Friends of the Norbeck, a group of individuals who work to protect the Norbeck Wildlife Preserve, The Prairie Hills Audubon Society and the U.S. Forest Service, which recognized that any replacement name should come from a federally recognized tribe with an interest in the feature. “We defer to the Area Tribal Council on the final selection of one Native American name for this peak, and will therefore take a neutral stance on the proposals and counter-proposals brought before the BGN individually,” a statement from the Forest Service read. According to Scott Jacobson, public affair officer for the Black Hills National Forest (BHNF), the BHNF is obliged to proceed with the process of changing Harney Peak to Black Elk, based on the BGN’s decision. The name change will appear on all materials, including maps, signage, brochures, websites and more as the products are reproduced or replaced. In the coming weeks, the Forest Service will be reviewing its next steps to begin phasing the name change in. “We just need some time to digest the change,” he said. “What needs to be done, such as signs, maps, brochures, etc. We’ll do our staff work to implement the change. It won’t happen overnight, but we’ll get it done.” Many area federally-recognized tribes — including the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River Reservation, the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe of the Crow Creek Reservation, the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe of the Lower Brule Reservation, the Oglala Sioux Tribe, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud Indian Reservation, the Santee Sioux Nation and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North and South Dakota — were reached out to, with all supporting the name change. However, all of the tribes differed on the new name. However, the biggest supporter of all is Paul Stover Soderman, Harney’s first cousin, seven times removed. Soderman spoke at a number of preliminary hearings, as well as to the BGN on removing his ancestor’s name from the peak. He has stated he has no preference for a new name. In her letter of opposition for the Harney Peak name, one commentator said, “If the descendant of Gen. Harney doesn’t want his grandfather’s name (sic) used anymore to designate a geographical feature, it shouldn’t matter what the…SDBGN wishes—he has revoked his permission to use his family’s name. (Furthermore), a name is like a trademark.” Many opponents and supporters took to Facebook once the news broke. On Thursday evening and throughout the weekend, the Harney Peak renaming was a trending topic on Facebook. One commentator on the Chronicle’s Facebook said that the name of Harney Peak isn’t really changing, instead it will just be referenced differently in maps, websites and documents. “(The board) only determined that federal references will cite Black Elk rather than Harney. It’s up to the state and locals what they want to use. Sure, state and locals normally follow the USBGN’s guidelines, but they are not required to,” said Hearth Log, who used to be involved in the process before she retired. “The same process is used for names on state and local land also, not just federal. People really misunderstand the whole role of BGN and what has occurred. If anyone else wants to keep using Harney Peak, it’s totally up to them.” Log said she thinks the reason for changing the Harney name — which was named for a man “that shouldn’t be honored,” she said — outweighs the reason for keeping (“It’s always been ‘Harney Peak’”). “The BGN has also been changing geographic names that reference (derogatory words). Sure, it’s inconvenient, but why should that outweigh doing what is right?” she said. Log also argued that the cost for re-printing maps won’t cost a lot of money, as federal, state and local agencies often share mapping data and databases. “The change will come with time; no one has to rush out and publish new maps or anything right now and state/local databases can reference whatever they want,” she said. “When I re-did the Black Hills maps, we didn’t do a full edit very often at all, but once in a while when there were enough cumulative updates to warrant a revision we’d try to include all the name changes from BGN and publish new maps. Now that a lot of our data is digital, we'll see changes more quickly, but the state and whoever wants can still keep and use the name Harney Peak. People really are getting more upset than they need to be over this.” According to Jennifer Runyon, research staff for the BGN, there is essentially no expense for the federal board. She also echoed the statements of Log. “Changing the name in the official names database takes barely a minute and it’s very rare for a topographic, park or forest map or brochure to be republished for a name correction. Most updates are made simply when the maps are next revised, i.e.

as the existing stock is running low,” she said. “Ditto, signs on federal land; they’re usually only replaced after normal wear and tear.” Runyon said the BGN notifies mapping center

s of any decisions they made, which are then filed along with other corrections to elevation figures, contour lines, roads, building names, etc. “A map editor is trained to look for updates when a new product is published,” she said. “It could be months or even years later.” While Runyon can’t speak for changes at the state or local level, she said there may be pressure to update tourist maps and signs. “Certainly, a prominent landmark on a highway sign ought to be replaced when feasible, and there might be pressure to update tourist maps, etc., but the state and local govern

ments very likely use the same procedures

we do. And with most folks relying on digital files, i.e. GPS these days, that’s a very easy fix,” she said. “Bottom line, a decision whether to approve a new name or name change should not be made based on potential costs. It should be done because it’s the right thing to do. And of course, name decisions should not be taken lightly so that they’re not challenged later and those maps and signs don’t have to be updated a second time.”