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Where is it located?

Joshua Tree National Park is a vast protected area in southern California.

Whose land does it reside upon?

The lands currently managed by Joshua Tree National Park include parts of the traditional homelands of the Maara’yam (Serrano), Nüwü (Chemehuevi), and Kawiya (Cahuilla), and the traditional use area of the Aha Macave (Mohave). Today, these groups are represented by 15 federally-recognized tribal governments:

• Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians
• Augustine Band of Cahuilla Indians
• Cabazon Band of Mission Indians
• Cahuilla Band of Indians
• Chemehuevi Indian Tribe
• Colorado River Indian Tribes
• Fort Mojave Indian Tribe
• Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeño Indians
• Morongo Band of Mission Indians
• Ramona Band of Cahuilla
• Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation
• Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Indians
• Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians
• Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians
• Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians.

When was it established?

October 31, 1994

About this park:

Two distinct desert ecosystems, the Mojave and the Colorado, come together in Joshua Tree National Park. A fascinating variety of plants and animals make their homes in a land sculpted by strong winds and occasional torrents of rain. Dark night skies, a rich cultural history, and surreal geologic features add to the wonder of this vast wilderness in southern California.

Why did we choose these colors?

We were inspired by photos of sunsets at Joshua Tree (like this one) for our colorway: https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery-item.htm?pg=681309&id=f7f887ce-1dd8-b71b-0b3c-0172cb676fe3&gid=F5DD6FE7-1DD8-B71B-0B543C7B6B500E37

For more information:

NPS website: http://nps.gov/jotr/index.htm

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshuatreenps

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JoshuaTreeNPS/

It’s time for the annual National Parks Club! Find out information about participating shops and more here.

Where is it located?

Cuyahoga Valley National Park lies along the Cuyahoga River between the Ohio cities of Cleveland and Akron. 

Whose land does it reside upon?

About 500 generations of native people have made Cuyahoga Valley their home. The first were travelers, following large game across the subarctic landscape at the end of the last Ice Age. Later people lived in seasonal base camps that became more permanent in time. They hunted and gathered food from abundant forests and waterways. Meals were shared around cookfires. They practiced religious rituals along streambanks and on bluffs above the Cuyahoga. As conditions changed, they adapted. There were periods of trade when local flint was exchanged for exotic materials from distant places. There were periods of warfare which ultimately killed or displaced most native people from Ohio by the mid-1800s.

In the 1950s, a relocation program brought about 5,000 individuals from 33 western tribes to Cleveland. Those who live here now work together to preserve and celebrate their cultures.

When was it established?

December 27, 1974

About this park:

Though a short distance from the urban areas of Cleveland and Akron, Cuyahoga Valley National Park seems worlds away. The park is a refuge for native plants and wildlife, and provides routes of discovery for visitors. The winding Cuyahoga River gives way to deep forests, rolling hills, and open farmlands. Walk or ride the Towpath Trail to follow the historic route of the Ohio & Erie Canal.

Why did we choose these colors?

We used the whole gallery of photos we found for this park, especially Fall photos, because Ohio in the Fall is really lovely: https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery-item.htm?pg=6544188&id=5d4c8c1b-155d-4519-3eac-a352b95a5659&gid=5D25FA06-155D-4519-3E9172EA3FEF56F1

For more information:

NPS website: https://www.nps.gov/cuva/index.htm

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cuyahogavalleynps/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CuyahogaValleyNationalPark

It’s time for the annual National Parks Club! Find out information about participating shops and more here.

Where is it located?

Southern Utah

Whose land does it reside upon?

Paiute Indians occupied the area around what is now Bryce Canyon starting around 1200 A.D. The Paunsaugunt Plateau was used for seasonal hunting and gathering activities, but there is no evidence of permanent settlements.

Fremont and Anasazi people occupied the portion of the Colorado Plateau near Bryce Canyon from around 200 A.D. until 1200. The Fremont were more to the north and west, with the Anasazi more to the south and east. There is recently discovered evidence of the mixing of these two cultures on the Kaiparowits Plateau.

Native Americans first occupied the Colorado Plateau 12,000 years ago, but no evidence of their activities has yet been found on the Paunsaugunt Plateau.

When was it established?

February 25, 1928

About this park:

Bryce Canyon is not a single canyon, but a series of natural amphitheaters or bowls, carved into the edge of a high plateau. The most famous of these is the Bryce Amphitheater, which is filled with irregularly eroded spires of rocks called hoodoos.

Hoodoos exist on every continent, but here is the largest concentration found anywhere on Earth. Situated along a high plateau at the top of the Grand Staircase, the park’s high elevations include numerous life communities, fantastic dark skies, and geological wonders that defy description

Why did we choose these colors?

This (and other photos like it) are the inspiration for our Bryce Canyon colorway: https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery-item.htm?pg=5169377&id=635ffaa6-155d-451f-6791-f59cbb53c83a&gid=635FFA08-155D-451F-6708A1F8CB53909B

For more information:

NPS website: https://www.nps.gov/brca/index.htm

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brycecanyonnps_gov

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BryceCanyonnps

It’s time for the annual National Parks Club! Find out information about participating shops and more here.

Where is it located?

Rocky Mountain National Park in northern Colorado spans the Continental Divide.

Whose land does it reside upon?

What is now Rocky Mountain National Park is part of the traditional homeland and territory of many present-day Tribal nations including, the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana; Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, Oklahoma; Comanche Nation, Oklahoma; Eastern Shoshone Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming; Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma, Northern Arapaho Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming; Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, Montana; Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute Reservation, Colorado; Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah & Ouray Reservation, Utah; and Ute Mountain Ute Tribe of the Ute Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah.

When was it established?

January 26, 1915

About this park:

Rocky Mountain National Park’s 415 square miles (265,807 acres) encompasses a spectacular range of mountain environments. From meadows found in the montane life zone to glistening alpine lakes and up to the towering mountain peaks, there is something for everyone to discover. Along the way explore over 300 miles of hiking trails and incredible wildlife viewing.

Why did we choose these colors?

We scrolled the photos on the parks page and put scenery and sunset photos together for our lovely Rocky Mountain NP colorway: https://www.nps.gov/romo/learn/photosmultimedia/photogallery.htm

For more information:

NPS website: https://www.nps.gov/romo/index.htm

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rockynps

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RockyNPS

It’s time for the annual National Parks Club! Find out information about participating shops and more here.

Where is it located?

Acadia National Park is a 47,000-acre Atlantic coast recreation area primarily on Maine’s Mount Desert Island.

Whose land does it reside upon?

Native American peoples have inhabited the land we now call Maine since time immemorial. Today people from the four tribes—the Maliseet, Micmac, Passamaquoddy and Penobscot—collectively known as the Wabanaki, or “People of the Dawnland” live throughout the state of Maine. Tribal governments have a government-to-government relationship with Acadia National Park.

When was it established?

July 8, 1916

About this park:

Acadia National Park protects the natural beauty of the highest rocky headlands along the Atlantic coastline of the United States, an abundance of habitats, and a rich cultural heritage. At 4 million visits a year, it’s one of the top 10 most-visited national parks in the United States. Visitors enjoy 27 miles of historic motor roads, 158 miles of hiking trails, and 45 miles of carriage roads.

Why did we choose these colors?

This park is so stunning! So many photos were used for inspiration, but most particularly this one: https://www.nps.gov/acad/learn/historyculture/wabanaki.htm

For more information:

NPS website: https://www.nps.gov/acad/index.htm

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/AcadiaNPS

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AcadiaNPS

It’s time for the annual National Parks Club! Find out information about participating shops and more here.

Where is it located?

Arches National Park lies north of Moab in the state of Utah and is bordered by the Colorado River in the southeast.

Whose land does it reside upon?

People have come to the area that is now Arches National Park for thousands of years. The earliest visitors weren’t just sight-seeing, though. Hunter-gatherers migrated into the area about 10,000 years ago at the end of an Ice Age. As they explored Courthouse Wash and the Salt Valley area, they found pockets of chert and chalcedony: two forms of microcrystalline quartz perfect for making stone tools. Chipping or knapping these rocks into dart points, knives, and scrapers, they created debris piles that are still visible to the trained eye.

Then, roughly two thousand years ago, the nomadic hunters and gatherers began cultivating certain plants and settled the Four Corners region. These early agriculturalists, known as ancestral Puebloans, raised domesticated maize, beans, and squash, and lived in villages like those preserved at Mesa Verde National Park. Evidence shows that farming climaxed between 500 CE and 1300 CE. A change in climate that made farming more difficult may have been a driving factor in a decline in farming

When was it established?

April 12, 1929

About this park:

Discover a landscape of contrasting colors, land forms, and textures unlike any other. The park has over 2,000 natural stone arches, hundreds of soaring pinnacles, massive rock fins, and giant balanced rocks. This red-rock wonderland will amaze you with its formations, refresh you with its trails, and inspire you with its sunsets.

Why did we choose these colors?

Flip through any of the photos of the arches in Arches, and you’ll see why we chose to dye the yarn this way: https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery.htm?pg=5802680&id=221F3BB7-155D-451F-6738DBB434CFBF5E

For more information:

NPS website: https://www.nps.gov/arch/index.htm

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ArchesNPS

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArchesNPS

It’s time for the annual National Parks Club! Find out information about participating shops and more here.

Where is it located?

Canyon de Chelly National Monument is a vast park in northeastern Arizona, on Navajo tribal lands.

Whose land does it reside upon?

The Ancient Puebloans found the canyons an ideal place to plant crops and raise families. The first settlers built pit houses that were then replaced with more sophisticated homes as more families migrated to the area. More homes were built in alcoves to take advantage of the sunlight and natural protection. People thrived until the mid-1300’s when the Puebloans left the canyons to seek better farmlands.

Descendants of the Puebloans, the Hopi migrated into the canyons to plant fields of corn and orchards of peaches. Although the Hopi left this area to permanently settle on the mesa tops to the west, the Hopi still hold on to many of their traditions that are evident from their homes and kivas.

Related to the Athabaskan people of Northern Canada and Alaska, the Navajo settled the Southwest between the four sacred mountains. The Navajo, or Dine’ as they call themselves, continue to raise families and plant crops just as the “Ancient Ones” had. The farms, livestock and hogans of the Dine’ are visible from the canyon rims.

When was it established?

April 1, 1931

About this park:

This canyon is home to Dine’ families who raise livestock, farm lands, and live here. People have lived in these canyons for nearly 5,000 years, which is longer than anyone has lived continuously on the Colorado Plateau. In this place called Tsegi, their homes and images tell us their stories. Today, the park and Navajo Nation work together to manage the rich cultural and natural resources.

Why did we choose these colors?

We were inspired by the heading image on this page for our Canyon de Chelly colorway: https://www.nps.gov/cach/index.htm

For more information:

NPS website: https://www.nps.gov/cach/index.htm

Instagram: n/a

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/canyondechellyNPS/