Trails pocketed with natural deposits of marble, limestones, and quartz, also feature mortar holes, knapping sites, and pictographs. This juxtaposition washes away the mythology that these lands were untouched and unpopulated prior to their designation as National Parks. Entrance gates, overflowing parking lots, Aramark run cafeterias, and gift shops full of souvenirs, are reminders that the National Parks are manufactured; their borders are contrived, and imply the violence of their construction and continued maintenance.
I recognize the parks as the result of the forced removal of Indigenous people, eminent domain, and colonial ideas around land ownership. The longer I ramble in these places, the more I am confronted by this dark history. Yet year after year, I continue to return; for the beauty of this land is enchanting and the importance of these places is undeniable.
In 2025, The United States government proposed to strip millions of dollars from the National Parks and to expand mining in protected areas. There is a deep uncertainty about the future of the National Parks, and legitimate fears that this land will be privatized.
This seems to be the inevitable trajectory of segregating out what land is worthy of our protection and conservation, and reducing our relationships to a transactional visit akin to an amusement park vacation. Yet, the National Parks are a critical resistance to corporate overreach, climate disaster, species extinction, and the loss of all public green spaces.
This project is a quiet contemplation on our societal relationship with nature, the boundaries we create around it, and a deep admiration for the beauty of this land.
