Acknowledging the Full History of the National Park Service
Today, August 25th, is the 103rd anniversary of the establishment of the National Park Service. While it’s important to recognize the beauty, grander, and value that NPS adds to many of our lives, let’s not forget to acknowledge that this beauty and grandeur has come at a cost, particularly to the indigenous people who were displaced from their homelands and sacred lands to form these parks and the marginalization and exclusion that many folks still experience around access to these national resources. Check out some of these articles for more information:
The Forgotten History of “Violent Displacement” that helped Create the National Parks, by Julian Brave NoiseCat, Guest Writer of the Huffington Post
For African Americans, Park Access Is About More Than Just Proximity, by Brentic Mock, CityLab
The Urgent Need to Show Up, Youth Outside #DifficultTerrain blog
Blackfeet Interpretations of Glacier National Park, by Brad Hall
Wondering how to teach about this history? The Wilderness Society and Avarna Group has you covered. Check out Public Lands in the United States: A Curriculum.
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