The Lesser Known History of National Parks

National parks. Most everyone knows Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon, but few of us are aware of the history of these lands, and it is more complex than one may think.

The national parks were established by President Wilson in 1916, following the work of John Muir and previous presidents and thinkers to preserve the American outdoors (history.com). Prior to this, other forms of preservation and parks existed, with Yellowstone notably being the first national park (loc.gov), but under Wilson they were consolidated for easier management (nps.gov). Despite efforts by President Trump to dismantle some of them (americanprogress.org, npca.org, the national parks still exist today, and you can view lists of all of them here and here.

However, the legacy of America’s national parks is far more complicated than executive power battles and conservation initiatives. The myth of the American west, and the country in general, being void of human life prior to the arrival of colonists, was only further fueled by the establishment of these institutions. Many indigenous tribes were removed from their land, dispossessed of it, or forced to give it up by signing treaties to create a wilderness in which national parks could exist (culturalsurvival.org, time.com). In the early stages of establishing this “wilderness”, many even lost their lives (culturalsurvival.org, theatlantic.com). As the parks progressed, indigenous activities on their own land were further and further restricted, while the government agencies in charge of the parks allowed for forestry and hunting/fishing activities by visitors and other government groups (time.com). While Yellowstone is the most prominently discussed example of this legacy, you can learn about others here. This continues to be a problem today, and the harm caused to indigenous communities both then and now has far reaching impacts on their livelihood (theatlantic.com, timeline.com, smea.uw.edu). The National Park Service does not fully acknowledge the dark origins of their organization (nps.gov), and there is ultimately so much that would have to be done to even begin to make the national parks something that are of benefit to all who live in this country, most notably and especially Native Americans.

I am not an expert on this topic, but I think it is important to acknowledge the racist and genocidal history of a national institution that many environmentalists unquestioningly praise. I encourage you to read the articles linked in the third paragraph of this post, and to listen to indigenous voices on this issue.