National Parks

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Where is it located?

Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, at Moton Field in Tuskegee, Alabama, commemorates the contributions of African-American airmen in World War II.

Whose land does it reside upon?

The Tuskegee Indians were a civilized people that had their own customs and ways of life. They lived not to far from were the Tuskegee Army Airfield was constructed. The Creek nations along with the Tuskegee Indians were forced from their homeland during the white man’s expansion in the 1830’s and 1840’s

When was it established?

1998

About this park:

The Tuskegee Airmen gained notice and respect as the result of a test conducted by the U.S. Army Air Corps (Army Air Forces) to determine if African Americans had the mental and physical abilities to lead, fly military aircraft, and courage to fight in war.

The Airmen were not just pilots. They were technicians, radio operators, medical personnel, quartermasters, parachute riggers, mechanics, bombardiers, navigators, meteorologists, control tower operators, dispatchers, cooks, and others. Also included were Caucasian officers, Native Americans, Caribbean islanders, Latinos, and people of mixed racial heritage.

The women of the “Tuskegee Experience” worked alongside male counterparts as mechanics, gate guards, control tower operators, aircraft fuselage technicians, secretaries, and clerks. There were three permanent female parachute riggers who were responsible for training hundreds of cadets in the correct procedures for packing and maintaining parachutes. Gertrude Anderson served as assistant to G.L. Washington at Kennedy Field where Tuskegee’s Civilian Pilot Training Program was based. She assumed responsibility for continued operation of the airfield when Washington was transferred to Tuskegee Army Air Field.

Why did we choose these colors?

The Tuskegee Airmen’s planes had red tails, and our colorway is inspired by photos and videos of these planes.

For more information:

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

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

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

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

Where is it located?

San Juan Island National Historical Park, also known as American and English Camps, San Juan Island, is a U.S. National Historical Park owned and operated by the National Park Service on San Juan Island in the state of Washington.

Whose land does it reside upon?

For thousands of years, the Northern Straits region has been home to Coast Salish peoples. The temperate climate, rich soil, abundant timber, and the bounty of the sea fostered an advanced civilization that continues to thrive in our region. These resources and the way the Tribes transformed our landscape to be even more abundant is what also attracted Europeans to the islands

When was it established?

1966

About this park:

San Juan Island is well known for its splendid vistas, saltwater shores, quiet woodlands, orca whales and one of the last remaining native prairies in the Puget Sound/Northern Straits region. But it was also here in 1859 that the United States and Great Britain nearly went to war over possession of the island, the crisis ignited by the death of a pig. It was real dumb, especially since both countries were equally colonial, but cooler heads eventually prevailed. We chose this park because the islands are stunning and gorgeous, not necessarily because of the armed forces/colonial aspect of the historic site itself. 

The park website encourages folks to get “beyond the bacon” and delve into other histories of the land, as well as the abundant natural resources and beauty it contains.

Why did we choose these colors?

We used an image of the Lime Kiln Lighthouse at sunset for our colorway inspiration.

For more information:

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

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

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

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

Where is it located?

The Ice Age Trail is a National Scenic Trail stretching 1,200 miles in the state of Wisconsin.

Whose land does it reside upon?

The Menominee, Ojibwe (Chippewa), Potawatomi, and Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) peoples are among the original inhabitants of Wisconsin.

When was it established?

1980

About this park:

15,000 years ago during the Ice Age, much of North America lay under a huge glacier. Mammoths, saber tooth cats and cave lions roamed the earth. Some of the best evidence of this glacier is found in Wisconsin such as the state’s many lakes, river valleys, gently rolling hills, and ridges. The nearly 1,200 mile Ice Age National Scenic Trail, established in 1980, traces the glacier’s edge.

The Ice Age National Scenic Trail is not your ‘typical’ park. The trail is primarily built and maintained by volunteers. When completed, the trail will be more than 1,200 miles long and cross the state of Wisconsin north to south and east to west.

Why did we choose these colors?

We used the stunning photo of an opening in oak trees in the Kettle Moraine State Forest overlooking a kettle lake for our colorway inspiration.

For more information:

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

Instagram: n/a

Facebook: n/a

It’s time for the annual National Parks Club/KAL!

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

Where is it located?

Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument is located on the headwaters of the Gila River in southwest New Mexico.

Whose land does it reside upon / About this park:

For thousands of years, nomadic groups of Indigenous people used the caves above Cliff Dweller Creek as temporary shelter. In the late 1200s, people of the agricultural Mogollon (Southern Ancestral Pueblo) culture made it a home. They built rooms, crafted pottery and raised children in the cliff dwellings for one or two generations. By approximately 1300, the Mogollon had moved on, leaving the walls behind.

Until white colonialism disrupted life all over what is now North America, people from the Apache tribes occasionally entered Cliff Dweller Canyon, but apparently—and for reasons not adequately developed in the anthropological literature—they did not seem inclined to disturb prehistoric pueblo site. That all changed when white folks started to move West, and within a very short period of time, the abandoned dwellings were thoroughly pilfered. Honestly, the only reason the site is as preserved as it is is because of its remoteness.

When was it established?

November 16, 1907

Why did we choose these colors?

Our inspiration for the Gila Cliff Dwellings colorway revolves around the animals that make this place a home, instead of the people that once did. We chose this image of a Photograph of a Black-tailed Rattlesnake taken near the trail to the Cliff Dwellings (https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery-item.htm?pg=1910553&id=F20DEED8-155D-451F-67796B463DC48DFD&gid=F20DEE78-155D-451F-676515110ABF1623) as our inspiration. 

For more information:

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

Instagram: n/a

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

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

Where is it located?

Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is a United States National Preserve located in the Flint Hills region of Kansas, north of Strong City.

Whose land does it reside upon?

Human activity in the Kansas Flint Hills can be traced back about 12,000 years.

By A.D.1500 – 1825, efficient horticultural activity was combined with increased bison hunting, almost certainly due to acquisition of the horse by Native Americans. This transition on the Great Plains has clear association with specific Native American peoples. In the preserve area, these included the Wichita, Kansa, Osage, and Pawnee. 

When was it established?

November 12, 1996

About this park:

Tallgrass prairie once covered 170 million acres of North America, but within a generation most of it had been transformed into farms, cities, and towns. Today less than 4% remains intact, mostly in the Kansas Flint Hills. Established on November 12, 1996, the preserve protects a nationally significant remnant of the once vast tallgrass prairie ecosystem. Here the tallgrass makes its last stand.

Why did we choose these colors?

We used this photo of purple lovegrass on the prairie as our inspiration: https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery-item.htm?pg=902503&id=9d8af5cd-422e-4b72-aca4-d1897044f2e1&gid=5A64DCF4-5AAF-4472-B7CA-C8D24736144C

For more information:

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

Instagram: n/a

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NPS.TallgrassPrairie

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

Where is it located?

Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve is a protected area in the northern Siskiyou Mountains of southwestern Oregon.

Whose land does it reside upon?

The Takelma (also Dagelma) are a Native American people who originally lived in the Rogue Valley of interior southwestern Oregon.

Most of their villages were sited along the Rogue River. The name Takelma means “(Those) Along the River”.

When was it established?

July 12, 1909

About this park:

Deep within the Siskiyou Mountains are dark, twisting passages that await your discovery.  Eons of acidic water seeping into marble rock created and decorated the wondrous “Marble Halls of Oregon.”

Why did we choose these colors?

We used the first two photos shown on this page, under “Cave Tours,” as the inspiration for our colorway: https://www.nps.gov/orca/planyourvisit/cave-tours.htm

For more information:

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

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

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

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

Where is it located?

Fire Island National Seashore is in Suffolk County, New York.

Whose land does it reside upon?

Since long before the arrival of European colonizers, Indigenous Long Islanders of the Unkechaug, Secatogue, and Shinnecock tribes have shaped the historical, cultural, and natural landscape we all continue to enjoy today. For many centuries sites at Fire Island National Seashore, including the barrier beach and the William Floyd Estate, have played a critical role in indigenous life. Whether as sites for the harvesting of natural resources, seasonal settlement, or sacred grounds, these places were, and continue to be, the ancestral home of many Americans.

Though centuries of colonization and outright repression have disposed many Indigenous Long Islanders of their land, many continue to act as stewards of Fire Island and Long Island’s rich natural and cultural history.

The ancient settlement “Poospatuck ,”meaning “a little river that flows into tidal waters,” was established by ancestral Unkechaug along Poospatuck Creek, which flows into the Forge River and out into Moriches Bay. Now the site of the Unkechaug reservation, the location gave Native people easy access to fish, shellfish, waterfowl, and sea mammals including seals and whales. Poospatuck’s location along the Forge River provides easy access to the Great South Bay and to Fire Island. Today Poospatuck remains the ancestral home of the Unkechaug people. It is among the oldest Native American reservations in the United States and is formally recognized by New York State

When was it established?

September 11, 1964

About this park:

Immerse yourself in an enchanting collage of coastal life and history. Rhythmic waves, high dunes, ancient maritime forests, historic landmarks and glimpses of wildlife, Fire Island has been a special place for diverse plants, animals and people for centuries. Far from the pressure of nearby big-city life, dynamic barrier island beaches offer solitude, camaraderie, and spiritual renewal.

The island has been referred to as America’s first gay and lesbian town and served since the 1920s and 1930s as a refuge for vacationers and others who desired the more liberal attitude the island’s occupants allowed.

Why did we choose these colors?

We used the photo shown here, of the forest canopy against the backdrop of the sky, as our inspiration: https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery-item.htm?pg=3525532&id=C4002981-155D-451F-67EF19749C92C5C3&gid=C42F7BE1-155D-451F-67737691FD110CAE.

For more information:

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

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

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

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

Where is it located?

Bandelier National Monument is located near Los Alamos in Sandoval and Los Alamos counties, New Mexico.

Whose land does it reside upon?

The Ancestral Pueblo people lived here from approximately 1150 CE to 1550 CE. They built homes carved from the volcanic tuff and planted crops in mesa top fields. Corn, beans, and squash were central to their diet, supplemented by native plants and meat from deer, rabbit, and squirrel. Domesticated turkeys were used for both their feathers and meat while dogs assisted in hunting and provided companionship.

By 1550, the Ancestral Pueblo people had moved from this area to pueblos along the Rio Grande. After over 400 years the land here could no longer support the people and a severe drought added to what were already becoming difficult times. Oral traditions tell us where the people went and who their descendants are. The people of Cochiti Pueblo, located just south and east along the Rio Grande, are the most direct descendants of the Ancestral Pueblo people who built homes in Frijoles Canyon. Likewise, San Ildefonso is most closely linked to Tsankawi.

There is also a list of Indigenous tribes that have ties to Bandelier on the National Parks website, found here. 

When was it established?

February 11, 1916

About this park:

Bandelier National Monument protects over 33,000 acres of rugged but beautiful canyon and mesa country as well as evidence of a human presence here going back over 11,000 years.  Petroglyphs, dwellings carved into the soft rock cliffs, and standing masonry walls pay tribute to the early days of a culture that still survives in the surrounding communities.

Why did we choose these colors?

We used the photo shown over the heading marked Land Acknowledgement on this page (https://www.nps.gov/band/index.htm) as our inspiration for the Bandelier colorway. The brightly-colored regalia was such an inspiration.  

For more information:

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

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

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