National Parks narration: With all its complexity and its abundance of life. I can't believe that, you know, this country actually came together and did this thing and set aside these lands!” Hunte: And I do remember, like, watching, being like, “This is so great. National Parks narration: The realization is coming that perhaps our greatest national heritage is nature itself … Hunte: … National Parks documentary, years ago. National Parks narration: Our national heritage is richer than just scenic features. Hunte: So it was this idea that we should preserve some of these areas so that future generations of Americans-like you and I-can cram our ungrateful kids into the back of a car and make them go see it. Treuer: The original mythology of national parks is very much one of these really concerned, brilliant white guys-like Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir and George Bird Grinnell-saw that America’s sacred spaces, its mountains and its majesty, was being quickly eroded by an unruly, acquisitive Republic, and they needed to be preserved and protected from us so that we could continue to enjoy them, and that these are places we could go to as though they were places of worship. (The montage fades out, as does the music, to be replaced by a quiet, reverent hum.) And that we preserve them for future generations … They are for everyone, and not just for the few. Ken Burns: It was the best idea we’ve ever had, and almost … President Barack Obama: Maybe America’s best idea! Hunte: He was at Yellowstone because he wanted to interrogate what’s often called “America’s best idea.” Treuer: “Nature’s tripping balls, man.” -which is not how he usually talks, but it was pretty funny. ( Suddenly, the music slumps, lurching into a trippy, half-speed version of itself.) Treuer: And we’re standing, looking at one of these prismatic pools, and my 13-year-old, he’s like. His kids were with him for some of it, and they stopped in Yellowstone, where there are these huge, colorful pools steaming out of the ground. Hunte: Last summer, while researching an article for The Atlantic, he went on a road trip to visit several national parks. Treuer: And I’m also a professor of English and a writer of books. Treuer: I’m Ojibwe, from the Leech Lake Reservation in northern Minnesota. Longoria: Tracie Hunte is a correspondent for The Experiment, and in anticipation of her big trip to the Grand Canyon, she talked to one of The Atlantic’s writers about visiting our national parks.ĭavid Treuer: It’s grand, right? There’s some great views and some interesting, crazy stuff. Hunte: Well, you know what? Maybe there is something about being an adult and, like, being old, or getting older, and witnessing the magnificence of a beautiful park. ( The melody grows more complex as the instrumentation grows more resonant.) I remember my little sister being like-I think she was like 5 years old when we went to Yosemite, and we would hike to the top and she’d be like, “We have witnessed its magnificence, and now we can go home.” She was such a precocious little kid. ( Repetitive, breathy keyboard music plays.) Hunte: And I’m like, “No! We’re going to the Grand Canyon!” ( Laughs.) She’s like, “Can’t I just come to New York?” Hunte: ( Laughingly.) Oh, yeah! No, she is not excited about going to the Grand Canyon. It’s, like, the kids whining in the back, like, "Are we there yet?” and then. And, you know, it’s such a classic American road trip kind of thing. And I’m super excited because this is my first time going to a national park as an adult. Hunte: So, I’m super pumped because this summer, me and my niece and my niece’s mom, we are going to the Grand Canyon. Longoria: What are you go- Hi! What are you going to do this summer? Suddenly, the audio winds down and back.) ( The sounds of geese honking, then a cacophony of other animals cooing and roaring and screeching over organ music. Additional audio from National Geographic, WNYC, PBS, and C-SPAN.Ī transcript of this episode is presented below: Additional music by John Charles Schroeder and Ross Taggart Garren (“Mournful Blues”) and Ken Anderson and Rebecca Ruth Hall (“Calliope - Underscore”). Music by Laundry (“ Films”), Parish Council (“ Socks Before Trousers” and “ Heatherside Stores”), h hunt (“ 11e” and “ Journeys”), and naran ratan (“ Trees etc.”), provided by Tasty Morsels. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at episode was produced by Tracie Hunte and Gabrielle Berbey, with editing by Matt Collette and Katherine Wells. This episode of The Experiment originally ran on Ap.īe part of The Experiment. The national-park system has been touted as “ America’s best idea.” David Treuer, an Ojibwe historian and the author of The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America From 1890 to the Present, says we can make that idea even better-by giving national parks back to Native Americans.
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