Protecting America’s Historical Record on Public Lands

The Center for American Progress published a three part analysis that examines how federal actions affecting public lands and waters are altering the interpretation and accessibility of American history. The series finds that changes to park exhibits, educational materials, place names, and public access policies have disproportionately affected narratives related to Black Americans, Indigenous peoples, and other historically underrepresented communities.

The first report identified public lands as a key arena in ongoing debates over historical representation, documenting the tactics being used to remove or diminish multicultural and multiracial stories from federally managed sites. 

The Trump Administration Is Erasing American History Told by Public Lands and Waters 

• Public lands and waters are not just places for recreation. They are where Americans encounter the nation's history, including civil rights, Indigenous, immigrant, and other stories that shaped the country.
• The article argues that Trump administration actions, including changes to place names, historical exhibits, and public access, amount to an effort to remove multicultural and multiracial narratives from public spaces.
• Erasing those stories weakens public understanding of American history and undermines the idea that public lands belong to everyone.

The second report focused specifically on the treatment of Black history, highlighting examples where historical interpretation related to slavery, civil rights, and Black achievement was revised, reduced, or removed.

The Trump Administration Is Intentionally Erasing the Black History Told by Public Lands and Waters 

• The article focuses specifically on how Black history is being targeted through the removal, revision, or censorship of historical interpretation at national parks and historic sites.
• It argues that policies presented as restoring "truth" actually remove the historical context necessary to understand slavery, segregation, civil rights, and Black achievement in America.
• Examples include changes to exhibits, educational materials, and public access that diminish the role of Black Americans in the nation's story.

The final report expanded the analysis using a leaked Department of the Interior database, finding that 171 National Park Service sites were flagged for review or revision, including locations containing Black, Indigenous, immigrant, labor, women’s, LGBTQ+, and science-related content. The findings suggest that these actions represent a broader, systematic effort to reshape how American history is presented on federal public lands during the nation’s 250th anniversary period.

Censored: Erasing 250 Years of American History on Public Lands 

• Using a leaked Interior Department database, the article documents what it describes as a systematic effort to review, revise, or remove historical and scientific content across the National Park System.
• The analysis found 171 parks flagged for review, including sites containing Black history, Indigenous history, women's history, immigrant history, labor history, LGBTQ+ history, and scientific information.
• The article argues that the issue is no longer isolated incidents but a coordinated nationwide campaign to sanitize history as the United States marks its 250th anniversary.

Taken together, the reports conclude that public lands and waters serve not only conservation and recreation purposes but also function as essential civic institutions that preserve the nation’s collective memory. Changes to historical interpretation at these sites have significant implications for public education, historical accountability, and Americans’ understanding of the diverse people and events that shaped the United States.