PBS Untold Stories Project - Assignment Example

PBS Untold Stories Project Yosemite Buffalo Soldiers: One hundred years ago this summer, a group of U.S. Army cavalry soldiers left the Presidio in San Francisco, and made the hot dusty trek across the San Joaquin Valley to both Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. Veterans of the Spanish American War, were charged with protecting the new national parks from poachers, timber thieves, and with building park infrastructure. They were in essence Americas first park rangers. But the members of the 9th and 10th cavalry werent ordinary troops. They were African Americans, members of four segregated regiments known as "Buffalo Soldiers." For years, their role in the parks early history was largely forgotten. "Theres nothing more powerful than hearing the story of people who look like you, who sound like you.” Says the Ranger Shelton Johnson.The Buffalo Soldiers served in Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks between 1891 and 1913. They built what is considered the first museum in a national park, built the first usable road to the Giant Forest in Sequoia and the first trail to the top of Mount Whitney. But somehow, their story had faded away. As background, the U.S. Army served as the official administrator of Yosemite and Sequoia national parks between 1891 and 1913, and, in that capacity, it helped create a model for park management as we know it today. These army troops were garrisoned at the Presidio of San Francisco during the winter months and served in the Sierra only during the summer months. This arrangement was an unusual duty for troops and greatly prized by army men with one army officer referring to the Sierra Nevada as the "Cavalrymans Paradise." Commanding officers became acting military superintendents for these national parks with two troops of cavalry, normally, assigned to each park. Even though the Buffalo Soldiers wore the uniform of the U.S. Army, their ethnicity combined with the racial prejudice of the time made the performance of their duties quite challenging. In the early 1900s, African-Americans were routinely abused, or even killed, for the slightest perceived offense. They occupied one of the lowest rungs of the social ladder; a fact which served to undercut the authority of any black man who served in any position of power. Johnson, who is the parks only African American ranger, has dedicated his career to telling the stories of those early African Americans who played a critical role during the early days of the parks. Mount Rushmore, Telling America’s Stories: The sculpture of the national heroes at Mount Rushmore is a remembrance of the Native American Indian’s lands which they have lost for the US governments decision. These American Indian people have been uprooted from the black hill which was ranged from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and reaching into Wyoming. It was their motherland. The American Indian heroes like the Lakotas and the Cheyennes fought against the federals of the US Government till their last breath. But their fighting went all in vein; they could not be able to raise their heads through their continuous fighting for their land. This story was unspoken. The US government, Later established a national park in Mount Rushmore and with the reference of a historian naming Doanne Robinson the Idea of carving Faces at that rocky mountain wall actually begun. Sculptor Borglum who was appointed for that task had completely different idea about it. He had less liking for the regional heroes other than the national heroes. With reference of his liking he sculpted four of the famous US national heroes namely, Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. Every year millions of American Indians break into tears when they visit this place. They remember about the cruelty the US government made with their sacred land just after discovering gold that is lying under this place. Even the Government tried to bribe the Lakotas 6million for their land, but it was the love for their very own land which made the barrier to sale it to the government. This heart full courage of declining the government summoned the war of little Bighorn. Though this battle the Lakotas and the other tribes achieved unmitigated victory for that time being. But later those tribes came under control of the American federal and that sacred black hill was completely lost for them. In 2004 Superintendent Gerard Baker has been appointed as the first superintendent of the Indian American community. After declaring the Mount Rushmore’s sculptures area as a national park of US, it was quite Tragedy for the Indian American origin people that what oppression had made The US got upon them. Later, Superintendent Gerard Baker took this very situation as challenge to introduce this place to the tourist. It is a shame to them that The US government paid the utmost honor to the national instead of the regional heroes who actually had taken the courage to fight against the US federal. He was in charge of the National park, and the duty was to attract tourist for this place. But the tourists who mostly come from the Indian American Origin every year always get emotional at the site of this place. But he wanted this unspoken story to be told without dishonoring those national heroes. Now days the Tourists do not want to listen to the old stories that had been taken place along time back. So Baker came with an idea of an Audio tour which will be audible not only in European languages, but also in the very own language of Lakota tribe. It also represented the tribal cultural phenomena of that ancient time. It resulted magically by pulling in most of the tourist through this program. Manzanar, Never Again: On December 7, 1941, the Japanese Air Force strike upon the American Naval base in Pearl Harbor which is a lagoon harbor (locked by land) on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. At this sudden attack, The American Authority lost their patience upon the Japanese and arrested all Japanese within the nightfall of that very unfortunate incident. The Japanese Immigrants were oppressed and got the experience of brutality of America’s authority. Their children who were born in the territory of America was moved from their homes, their schools, in one word, Uprooted from their own land. Within one month the Japanese American immigrants started to live at the west coast of the America. Their children were taken from them and relocated to internment centers, known informally as “camps.” More than 120,000 Japanese American who was American citizens pushed into 10 camps to reside in there. On February 19, 1992, the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066, the Bill was brought forward in the House and got a roll-call vote of 400 to 13-a Resoundingly supportive endorsement and for the Japanese Americans it was the overwhelming matter that their dream has become true at last. Manzanar, where one of the camp was then situated, Sue Kunitomi Embrey was also moved to this camp grew up as a leader later. Manzanar located at 212 miles northeast of Los Angeles on the site of a former Spanish settlement in Inyo County. At its peak 10000 evacuees were placed inhumanly. They were forced to reside in small areas according to the family sizes. The temperature used to fall in the night to the peak of its extent and at the day time it used rise above 110 degrees. Though the Japanese even made this place just like their past homes by organizing school, gardening etc. The untold story behind the addition of Manzanar to the national park program came into the light to the younger’s interest when The manzanar committee Introduced a program naming manzanar at dusk in 1997. Thus the Manzanar became a remembrance being a national park and also being a homeland to the Japanese American from that day on. References: Mount Rushmore., (No date).Carving History. Retrieved from: http://www.nps.gov/moru/historyculture/carving-history.htm . Read More