Peak on ridge above Juneau gets its Tlingit name officially restored

Alaska Dispatch

JUNEAU -- A point on a Tongass National Forest ridge just outside Juneau has become the first geographic feature with a federally recognized name in the Native language of Tlingit — concluding a process begun a decade ago, when a respected former state transportation official, Jon Scribner, was killed in a fall from another mountain.

The newly recognized 3,610-foot peak is Tlax̱satanjín*, a name used by the Tlingit people for 400 years that loosely translates to “the hands are at rest.” The traditional name, with its diacritical marks, was approved last month by a federal board based on an application from an Alaska Native languages professor, Lance Twitchell,

Twitchell’s application followed a separate request from some of Scribner’s former colleagues to name the feature for their friend.

The Scribner naming proposal was withdrawn at the request of his family after they learned of the plan to give the mountain its indigenous name, which they said they never intended to replace.

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http://www.adn.com/article/20150412/peak-ridge-above-juneau-gets-its-tlingit-name-officially-restored


*My phone wouldn't show me the name w/ proper diacritical mark