National Parks Are America’s Greatest Idea—and Biggest Problem

Unpacked by AFAR

When you think of America’s national parks, what comes to mind? For many of us—myself included—it’s the sense of openness, freedom, and awe that places like the Grand Canyon and Yosemite can spark. And yet, as we’ll learn in today’s episode, that’s not the whole story.

Hundreds of years ago, Indigenous communities throughout the United States lived on and cared for much of the land that makes up America’s 400-plus national parks and other protected lands under the National Park Service (NPS). Then settlers arrived and an ugly chapter in our national history unfolded, one that included the forced removal of Native peoples from that very land. In recent years, however, there’s been a growing movement to return that land—or at the very least, to work with Native communities to co-manage it.

Associate editor Mae Hamilton is taking us on a journey into that movement. She speaks with our current director of national parks, Charles F. “Chuck” Sams III—the first person of Native descent to hold the position—about his connection to the parks and his efforts to bring tribe members into the conversation. She also speaks to two tribe members who have worked closely with the NPS and are cautiously optimistic about the new chapter currently unfolding.

Meet this week’s guests

• Mae Hamilton, AFAR associate editor
• Charles F. “Chuck” Sams III, director of the National Park System
• Hanford McCloud, a member of the Nisqually Tribal Council
• Tracie Revis, director of advocacy, cultural preservation and conservation of the Ocmulgee River

Resources

• Read this episode’s show notes, including a full transcript of the episode.
• Learn more about Joint Secretarial Order 3403 and what it could mean for the national parks and Native communities.