
In 1947 Congress re-established the BGN in its current form by public law. President Benjamin Harrison established the BGN by Executive Order in 1890 to resolve conflicts in geographic names. The BGN standardizes and approves geographic names so that geographic references can be used consistently in federal publications and communications. It is a coordinating body made up of representatives from federal departments, agencies, and organizations who receive no additional compensation for this specialized work. Board on Geographic Names is the geographic names authority for the Nation. State and local governments as well as commercial entities generally follow the federal use of geographic names as a matter of efficiency, although there is no law requiring this. The site has retained much of its original Civilian Conservation Corps character, and offers visitors recreation and relaxation in Black Hills National Forest. The new name is now considered official for use in federal maps and publications. Black Hills National Forest Near Keystone, South Dakota (57) Good Coverage Reservation Rules This campground lies beneath a canopy of oak and Ponderosa pine on the banks of Grizzly Creek. For that reason, there was a unanimous decision to change the name of the peak to Black Elk Peak," said Lou Yost, executive secretary of the BGN. "The Board’s understanding was that the name Harney Peak for a traditional sacred site was distressing to Tribal people. However, 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. One of the guiding principles for the BGN is to adopt for official federal use the names found in present-day local usage. Black Elk or Nicholas Black Elk (1863-1950) was a revered Oglala Lakota (Sioux) holy man.

Harney (1800-1889) fought against native peoples in the Black Hills region of South Dakota and in the Seminole Wars in Florida. 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. In making the decision, the federal BGN acknowledged the recommendations by the SDBGN and a number of state legislators to retain the name Harney Peak. Forest Service and the South Dakota Board on Geographic Names (SDBGN), which in turn sought opinions from the county government, numerous local, State, and Tribal organizations, and the general public. The name Black Elk Peak was formally proposed to the BGN in October 2014. The feature is located in the Black Elk Wilderness of Black Hills National Forest in Pennington County in southwestern South Dakota. The summit had been labeled Harney Peak on federal maps since 1896. The mountain is not only the highest point in the state, but is the highest peak east of the Rocky Mountains. This unanimous decision was made August 11 by the U.S. Harney Peak in South Dakota will now be called Black Elk Peak on federal maps.
