Are you ready to celebrate National Park Week? Remember to take along your copies of America's Holy Ground & Sacred Sites.
One of America’s core principles has been the freedom of religion. American lore celebrates religiously oppressed refugees colonizing North America. Our smallest state, Rhode Island, plays a big role in this story. When the Puritan-run Massachusetts colony exiled Roger Williams for advocating the return of occupied land to Native population, he found shelter among the Wampanoag tribe, who allowed him to create a new settlement that became Providence. That was almost 390 years ago, but religious freedom—and the long-cherished separation of church and state—is endangered by contemporary politics. Roger Williams National Memorial, honoring one of America’s first social justice crusaders, is a good place to contemplate our struggle to balance where one person’s freedom impinges on the freedom of another.
Is there any better example of adventure than joining a gold rush? The 1896 discovery of gold in the frigid Arctic reaches spurred tens of thousands to head north: sailing from Seattle, debarking in the Alaskan boomtown of Skagway, up and over the Chilkoot and White Pass trails into Canada, and on to the gold fields. Other than the few who found their fortunes, the most anybody got out of their adventures was a legendary story. That story is preserved in part by Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park- in Alaska and Washington.
Canoeing into Big Bend National Park's Boquillas Canyon (NPS photo)
Diversity, development, and community. These are things that are evident in the story of Tuzigoot National Monument, a Sinaqua people that lived together on a site outside of modern day Clarksville, Arizona. From the record they have left behind we see how living together allowed for diverse tasks, which gave rise to the arts, wide ranging skill development and the possibility of trade. By welcoming others who passed through their territory, they were enriched with stories, ideas, and beauty they might have missed.
Burrowing owls return to Wind Cave National Park each spring to raise their chicks in abandoned burrows. They appear to tolerate their prairie dog neighbors pretty well, too. (NPS/Claire Visconti)
Like our Facebook page to get our regular updates in your News Feed.
Look for a new post almost every day. Regular features include:
- A new National Park photo each Monday;
- National Park birthdays;
- News stories from the communities that love and protect their neighborhood national parks;
- National news stories that affect our parks and the people who care for them;
- Tidbits about acquisitions or fun stories on National Park Service units that may not be national parks;
- Articles about environmental or ecological changes, both natural and humanmade, that are changing our parks;
- Stories of where people find inspiration in national parks, whether it’s personal revelations, career choices, or the idea to create a new National Parks font.
There are times when not everything is so rosy (see: federal shutdowns), but we work to keep it upbeat, because we know how incredibly awesome America’s national parks are!
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