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Two weeks. Seven national parks. The trip of a lifetime.
This summer, I had the opportunity to travel across the country and visit some of the most beautiful destinations I have ever seen. The Badlands, Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Arches, Zion, and the Grand Canyon. In our own backyards, national parks sit as reminders of the beauty of our world. While plenty of tourists and visitors travel to these destinations each year, it feels as though not nearly enough have experienced the wonders that are these parks.
This thought and desire for all people to experience the marvels of our planet, though, also comes with danger. This trip prompted my own self-reflection on the negative impact humans can have, and have had, on our environment. It would be almost comical, were it not so heartbreaking, to compare the pristine waters of Glacier National Park to the muddied Ohio River on which my hometown sits. Certainly, these waters have very different means and uses. However, this comparison is a prime example of the difference between a protected environment such as a national park, versus the heavily-trafficked waters of the Ohio River.
On one hand, I want for everyone to experience these awe-inspiring sights. On the other, I wonder if part of their greatness is thanks to their protection from human recklessness. These thoughts can snowball into all sorts of discussion on interactions between humans and our world: whether we are entitled to take from the Earth for our gain, who is entitled to own or use these resources, etc.
After enjoying the beauties and wonder of our national parks, these questions have become increasingly difficult for me to answer. I hope that other people will have a similar response when visiting these parks, and will take care to respect the surrounding nature. Further, I hope we can all carry this into our own lives and homes in order to do our part in protecting nature’s beauty.
Another thought-provoking aspect of the trip was driving through and interacting with Native American reservations. Specifically, when visiting the amazing Crazy Horse Memorial, we were able to enjoy the performance of a traditional Native American dance. One of our group members commented that while they enjoyed the dance, they were thinking about the commercialization of the Native American population by outsiders. The Crazy Horse Memorial is remarkable, and serves as a testament to the Native American resilience and determination. Our guide at Crazy Horse, though, made clear that the memorial has not taken a single cent from the United States government. This is an independent project: funded by the Native population and its allies, and not to be interfered with by the American government.
In our discussions about the relationship between Native American tribes and the federal government, we considered how, while reservations are a wholly separate entity with governing bodies and protocols, this also limits the assistance they are able to receive from the United States government. It is no wonder that Native American tribes desired this separation when one considers the harm that the federal government has affected on their populations. However, one wonders how the cycles of struggle within the reservations will ever be broken. Without past injustices being corrected, how is a population ever able to lift itself from centuries of abuse?
If anything, I wish our trip could have consisted of more interaction with the various Native American tribes throughout the west. I have no doubt that some of the lands within the national parks were originally Native American lands. I would be most interested to learn more about this population’s current view of our parks, the federal government, and how we can do more to support the Native Americans.
Molly Baldock is a McConnell Scholar alumna, who graduated in the class of 2021. She studied political science at the University of Louisville.