EADS, Colo. (KOAA) — On May 20, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum ordered all public land bureaus, including the National Park Service (NPS), to remove content that “inappropriately disparage[s] Americans past or living.”
That directive came in response to President Trump issuing an initial Executive Order in March titled “Restoring Truth And Sanity To American History,” an effort to push a more positive view of U.S. history.
The orders triggered backlash across the country as National Park and history advocates voiced concern it would bring about a whitewashing and revisionist history.
The darker chapters of the United States, such as slavery and, in Colorado, the Sand Creek Massacre and Amache Japanese incarceration camp sites appeared at risk of alteration.
Secretary Burgum’s order gave 120 days for each land management bureau to remove any content meeting the “negative” criteria about past or living Americans. That 120 day deadline hit last week, but some sources with knowledge of the deadline said it seemed to be "flexible."
A letter signed by more than 80 U.S. House Representatives was sent to the acting director of the NPS. It asks for more transparency from the park service.
In Colorado, those visiting National Park sites might not notice any changes as of yet, but park advocates say they’re not out of the woods.
“We are very much not in the clear and I will say that in Colorado, we're asking the public to please stay vigilant,” said Tracy Coppola, Colorado senior program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA).
Coppola said behind the scenes, the parks are scrambling to report and make sure they aren’t targeted by the Trump administration.
“If you go to some of these sites, you may not yet see the impacts of the administration's directive, but it is still very much a live threat,” she said.
Those with fears of whitewashing history are seeing those concerns come to fruition.
Last week, the Washington Post broke the news, and other outlets later confirmed, that multiple national parks on the East Coast have been directed to remove signage and imagery related to slavery and Native Americans.
One such removal included the well-known 1863 photograph of a formerly enslaved man with scars on his back titled the “Scourged Back” at Fort Pulaski National Monument in Georgia, according to the New York Times.
“Great countries don’t hide from their history. We learn from the past and confront it when necessary. The ‘Scourged Back’ photograph shocked the nation and the world with its honest depiction of the vicious nature of slavery,” said Alan Spears, Senior Director of Cultural Resources with the NPCA, in a statement. “The decision to remove this photograph from the interpretive displays at national parks is as shameful as it is wrong.”
KOAA reached out to the Department of the Interior asking what, if anything, had been reviewed, altered, or removed from Colorado’s NPS sites. Their response didn’t indicate any content in Colorado had been removed or altered just yet.
“The Department of the Interior is implementing Secretary’s Order 3431 to carry out the President’s Executive Order on ‘Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.’ As the President has stated, federal historic sites and institutions should present history that is accurate, honest and reflective of shared national values,” said Elizabeth Peace, Department of the Interior spokesperson.
“Interpretive materials that focus solely on challenging aspects of U.S. history, without acknowledging broader context or national progress, may unintentionally provide an incomplete understanding rather than enrich it. Reviews are site-specific, not sweeping. Each site will be reviewed individually,” said Peace.
According to sources familiar with how the nationwide review is unfolding, the DOI and NPS are starting on the East Coast as they move west. It’s unclear when the review might reach Colorado’s sites.
In late July, KOAA interviewed Fred Mosqueda, a tribal representative for the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site. Mosqueda is the outreach specialist for the Arapaho Language and Culture Program for Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes.
Mosqueda revealed he and other descendants of the massacre had apparently seen some of the proposed changes being considered for the Sand Creek site and that they were supportive of what they saw back in July.
“What they did is they redone pictures and they redone some of the parts of the story to update, they said, their pictures and such that they're gonna put out to the public,” said Mosqueda. “And they did a very, very good job.”
Mosqueda acknowledged it remains to be seen whether or not the Department of the Interior would accept and approve those changes.
“I'd like for the Department of Interior to really consider telling the truth,” he said. “You can change the wording, even if you want to, as long as you don't change the basis of history. That must be told.”
Email Senior Reporter Brett Forrest at brett.forrest@koaa.com. Follow @brettforrestTV on X and Brett Forrest News on Facebook.
Brett can also communicate via encrypted apps like Signal. Due to the sensitive nature of ongoing reporting from federal actions, he is willing to take steps to protect identities.
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