If you’re not from South Dakota, you probably haven’t heard about the little family argument that we’ve been having throughout the spring and summer. It has to do with what we call the highest point in our state. The highest point in our state isn’t far from our home, and although it isn’t exactly like Colorado, where the highest peak is 14,433 feet above sea level, or Wyoming (13,804 ft) or Montana (12,799 ft), our peak at 7,242 feet is higher than any point to the east of it in the United States. We may be east of the mighty Rocky Mountains, but it is all downhill from here! The White Mountains, Appalachian Mountains, Blue Mountains, Smokey Mountains and all the other “mountains” of the eastern half of the continent are lower than our hills.

Sometime after 1889, when South Dakota became a state the same year that General William S. Harney died, the peak was given the name Harney Peak and the name has been the most common moniker for the granite peak since that time. In 1911 a wooden fire tower was constructed on top of the peak as a good place to look for fire, but the weather in the hills being what it is, the fire tower was frequently struck by lightning. The stone fire tower that is now on the top of the peak was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1938 and was in use as a fire tower until 1967.

The peak is an easy climb from the Sylvan Lake parking lot. Trails also lead to the top from Horse Thief Lake and a trailhead on Palmer Creek Road. From the Sylvan Lake parking lot, it is a gentle 7-mile round-trip.

Lakota people have not been big fans of the English name for the mountain. It is fair to say that William Harney was a controversial figure in his time and continues to have a mixed legacy. He was court-martialed four times during his career in the U.S. Army. When commanding Army troops in Oregon territory he ordered a buildup of troops on San Juan Island and nearly sparked armed conflict with Great Britain. He beat a female slave to death at his sister-in-law’s house in 134. During the Civil War he was accused of being disloyal to the Union for his cautious approach toward tensions between secessionists and pro-Union factions in St. Louis. He finally achieved military recognition for his role in protecting settlers from Indian attacks on the Great Plains, but also was known for his fiery temper, profane outbursts and beatings of military subordinates.

One key moment in his career has been remembered by Lakota people. In 1855, Harney was the commander of the US troops at the battle of Ash Hollow in Nebraska. Harney had 600 troops who killed 86 Lakota people. The attack was in retaliation for a Lakota killing of 30 soldiers and a civilian interpreter at the Grattan Fight the previous year. In the battle of Ash Hollow, women and children were also killed. The Lakota gave Harney the name “Woman Killer” after that battle.

Of course no person is completely defined by a single action, even one as terrible as commanding troops that engage in the killing of innocents. The historian George Adams, who wrote a biography of General Harney, says that in later years Harney developed an appreciation for the Lakota people and, in his role as Army administrator of the Great Sioux Reservation, consistently overspent the budget set by Congress in an attempt to keep faith with the promises of treaties that were made.

So the conversation we’ve been having here in South Dakota is about whether or not it is time to change the name of the peak. There are plenty of other things named after General Harney in our region, including streets in our town. It is unlikely that he will be forgotten anytime soon. But the South Dakota Boar on Geographic Names will soon vote on a recommendation to change the name of the peak to “Hinhan Kaga” which means “Making of Owls.” It is unclear whether or not Hinhan Kaga is the original Lakota name for the peak. The name was probably also used to identify the features known as “The Needles.” It wasn’t uncommon for Lakota people to name features that were used as meeting places and to leave other geographic features without specific names.

Two members of our Governor’s cabinet have opposed the name change, citing the difficulty of pronouncing the proposed new name. Quite frankly, it seems to me that their protest says more about the character of the people chosen by our Governor to serve in his cabinet, that they can’t even learn two words of the indigenous language of our state.

There are other features in the hills that I have chosen to refer to by their preferred Lakota names simply because they make more sense to me. Devil’s Tower is a strange name for the feature known by the Lakota as Mato Tipi. Home of the bear makes more sense than giving the place the name of the devil. I don’t think the devil had anything to do with the beautiful and unique feature. Since traditional Lakota spirituality has no personified evil spirit, only a “trickster,” the use of the name devil probably has to do with a misunderstanding of the Lakota concept of spirit. In North Dakota, Spirit Lake was given the name “Devil’s Lake” from a similar misunderstanding. Bear Butte is an accurate translation of the Lakota Paha Mato, but I like the sound of Paha Mato and so often use it when referring to that prominent feature.

I have no plans to testify at the hearing of the state board on geographical names, but I do think I’ll start calling the peak Hinhan Kaga. I like the idea of the making of owls. And using Lakota names makes our corner of the world seem just a little bit more exotic than giving a rocky peak the name of a long-gone general whose military career was, at best, mixed.

I'm not sure that we ought to name mountains after people in the first place. I certainly hope they never decide to name a mountain after me.

I wrote this. If you want to copy it, please ask for permission. There is a contact me button at the bottom of this page. If you want to share my blog a friend, please direct your friend to my web site.