National Parks Ask Guests To Report "Negative" Historical Info

National Park Service arrowhead insignia on a beautiful sunny winter day with blue sky

Visitors to national parks across the United States are now encountering new signage. Installed following an instruction by the Department of the Interior, the signs ask guests for their feedback on information or displays that depict American history and landscapes in a negative way. Additionally, all parks across the country must complete an audit of public-facing content, such as exhibits, plaques, and visitor films, to vet any disparaging notions by July 18.

The signs, which have already gone up in many national parks, feature a QR for patrons to flag “any signs or information that are negative about either past or living Americans or that fail to emphasize the beauty, grandeur, and abundance of landscapes and other natural features,” as well as reporting areas that need repair or services that need improvement amid a staffing crunch that has hit national parks ahead of the busy summer season.

“This order reaffirms the NPS mission by emphasizing the importance of accuracy in how we tell stories of American history,” Rachel Pawlitz, spokesperson for the NPS, told NPR. “Our visitors come to national parks to celebrate the beauty, abundance, and grandeur of America's landscapes and extraordinary multicultural heritage. This allows them to personally connect with these special places, free of any partisan ideology.”

The order to post these signs was sent to regional directors by National Park Service (NPS) comptroller Jessica Bowron, giving a June 13 deadline to have them ready. These actions follow a March executive order by President Donald Trump called “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” This order dictates federal sites, such as the Smithsonian, must review interpretive materials to highlight achievement and unity—a vision that Organization of American Historians describes as a “glorified narrative that downplays or disappears elements of America’s history.”

While many associate national parks with nature, there is much more at play. According to the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), more than two-thirds of the 433 national park sites are dedicated to preserving and interpreting the nation’s history and culture. For example, the Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota, known for its bison and rugged terrain, is credited for inspiring the former president's conservation efforts. Drawing from this, park rangers offer nuanced explanations of the site's historical importance, featuring the consequences of expansion and clashes with Native tribes in the region.

The directive has also raised concerns among former NPS directors, as well as NPCA president and CEO Theresa Pierno. “The signs are asking people to contradict crucial scientific and historical facts that have been vetted for accuracy by experts at the National Park Service,” Pierno says via a statement. “These signs are the latest in a long line of disturbing administration efforts to rewrite American history and undermine the Park Service. Forcing rangers to post these signs is an outrage and shows deep contempt for their work to preserve and tell all American stories.”

Pierno also praised how rangers have brought American history to life for over a century. This has long earned them the admiration and reverence of the American people, regardless of whether the teachings are uplifting or sobering. “Rangers should be able to talk about the history of Japanese American incarceration at Amache, or the history of slavery at Fort Monroe, without looking over their shoulders in fear,” says the NPCA director. “If our country erases the darker chapters of our history, we will never learn from our mistakes.”