Obama Visits Alaska: Itinerary, Events For President's Trip Addressing Climate Change

President Barack Obama is set to travel to Alaska Monday for a three-day trip largely focused on addressing climate change. Obama is expected to speak with a number of Native Alaskans and address a major conference in his first day in Anchorage.

Obama was scheduled to leave on a flight from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland Monday at about 10:40 a.m. EDT, according to the White House. The president was scheduled to land at Anchorage's Elmendorf Air Force Base about seven hours later. He'll then participate in a roundtable discussion with Alaska Natives at a convention center. Obama was scheduled to cap his day by speaking around 5 p.m. local time (9 p.m. EDT) at the conference on Global Leadership in the Arctic: Cooperation, Innovation, Engagement and Resilience -- commonly called the GLACIER conference -- and was to address climate change issues.

The meeting with Alaska Native leaders Monday will include people who have been affected by rising sea levels, reports KTUU in Anchorage. That discussion is a prelude to the GLACIER conference, which will feature Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Secretary of State John Kerry. Prior to Obama's keynote speech, local leaders are expected to address the effects of climate change on their lives and the role of indigenous people in Alaskan culture, according to the Alaska Dispatch News. Some 400 people are expected at the conference, with about one-third of the attendees being Alaskans.

But Obama's first move will likely be officially announcing the renaming of Mount McKinley, the highest mountain in the country, named after President William McKinley, a decision that sparked perhaps unexpected controversy, according to CNN. The new name, Denali, means "the high one" in the local Koyukon language and will be a nod to local culture. Indigenous people and locals have called the mountain Denali for years, despite it officially being named Mount McKinley on federal documents.

"With our own sense of reverence for this place, we are officially renaming the mountain Denali in recognition of the traditions of Alaska Natives and the strong support of the people of Alaska," said Jewell, according to the Associated Press. Some Republicans, especially from McKinley's native Ohio, have criticized the renaming as an abuse of government power.

Later in his Alaska trip, Obama was scheduled to meet with more locals to discuss climate change, visit a national park and even film an episode of a television show with famous survivalist Bear Grylls.