The South Dakota Board on Geographic Names came up with a doozie of a recommendation following a recent series of five public hearings on a proposed name change for Harney Peak. One of those public meetings was held April 28, at the Custer County Annex. Black Elk Peak and Harmony Peak were two of the names recommended at the Custer meeting.
Remarkably, the board came up with a proposed name change of Harney Peak to Hinhan Kaga, which supposedly translates to Making of Owls. This reportedly is the name originally referred to the peak by native people.
We never heard of that before. Maybe this name came up at one of the other public hearings.
We can understand why the board passed on the proposed name of Black Elk Peak because Harney Peak is located in the Black Elk Wilderness Area and would be too confusing. Harmony Peak sounds too much like Harney Peak and would also be confusing. Come to think of it, just about any name change to Harney Peak would be confusing for years to come.
The state Board of Geographic Names “was created by the 2009 Legislature to recommend replacements for offensive names for geographic features and to process requests from the public regarding names for geographic features,” according to the state’s website. When the board received a recent request from a Native American to change the name of Harney Peak because he said Indians found it offensive, the public hearing wheels were set in motion.
Harney Peak, the highest geographical point east of the Rocky Mountains, is located in southern Pennington County in the Black Elk Wilderness Area of the Black Hills National Forest. Before all this name change business came along, we doubt that anyone knew anything about the man behind the name of the geographic landmark.
The peak was named by Lt. Gouverneur K. Warren in honor of his commanding officer Gen. William S. Harney, who led military troops in the Black Hills area in the late 1870s. Some Native Americans now claim that Harney does not deserve to have his name on the peak because of his leadership role in the Sept. 3, 1855, Battle of Ash Hollow.
Harney led a force of 600 soldiers who attacked 250 Sioux warriors, killing 86 of them, along with some women and children. The soldiers lost 27 killed in what has been called the First Sioux War.
The military attack was in retaliation for the killing of 29 soldiers and a civilian interpreter by Indians the previous year in Wyoming.
There were no saints on either side of these numerous encounters between the military and the Native Americans. Atrocities were committed by both sides. Harney was following orders from the War Department and carried them out as any soldier is expected to do.
The Board of Geographic Names will take another vote at its June 29 meeting following a 30-day comment period, ending on June 20. It will then send its recommendation to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names for a final decision.
We don’t need to change the name of this historic landmark just for the sake of change or political correctness, just because somebody is offended. It would only lead to confusion. If the name Harney is offensive, which name is next, Custer? Where will this end?
Again, we say there is no compelling reason to change the name of Harney Peak, which is a hiking and horseback riding destination for so many area residents and visitors.
Comments on this issuecan be sent to the South Dakota Board on Geographic Names at sdbgn.sd.gov or emailed to David.Reiss@state.sd.us until June 20.