Photo: Alamy
The Trump administration has instructed the National Park Service to review signage and exhibits across hundreds of parks and historic sites, directing staff to flag materials that officials say may “inappropriately disparage Americans.”
According to internal documents reviewed by The New York Times, park employees have identified interpretive materials at 433 locations nationwide for potential revision or removal.
The review stems from a March executive order by President Donald Trump that called for public displays to emphasize “the progress of the American people” and the “grandeur of the American landscape.”
The order instructs parks to highlight uplifting narratives and has prompted scrutiny of existing displays referencing climate change, slavery, and treatment of Native Americans. Among the examples under review are signs linking climate change to sea-level rise at Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina, exhibits on slavery at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia and descriptions of Native American imprisonment at Castillo de San Marcos in Florida.
Park staff were given a deadline last week to label content deemed inappropriate, with the administration aiming to remove such material by Sept. 17. The public has also been invited to report exhibits they believe warrant changes.
Trump’s directive also targets the Smithsonian Institution for what he called “narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive.”
Critics say the effort risks sanitizing U.S. history and erasing contributions from marginalized groups, including women, people of color, and LGBTQ individuals.
“The national parks were established to tell the American story, and we shouldn’t just tell all the things that make us look wonderful,” said Dan Wenk, a former superintendent of Yellowstone National Park. “We have things in our history that we are not proud of anymore.”
Kristen Brengel, senior vice president of government affairs for the National Parks Conservation Association, said some staff feel compelled to follow the directive despite disagreeing with it.
“Park staff are in a bind here,” Brengel told the Times. “If they don’t comply with this directive, they could lose their jobs.”
