Writing National Parks History: Review of the 2016 IMAX documentary National Parks Adventure
Exploring how we think about national parks in Canada and the United States
Welcome to another new series: Writing National Parks History. In this first post, I review the 2016 IMAX documentary National Parks Adventure. When I first saw the documentary at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC, I was inspired to plan more national parks trips. I was also intrigued by how the documentary presents national parks and their history and cultural importance, and I want to explore that in this series. The documentary is available on Netflix for those who want to watch it. Please subscribe to see the rest of the series and follow me on Twitter for updates on the newsletter.
The 2016 IMAX documentary National Parks Adventure, directed by nature documentarian Greg MacGillivray, begins with a sweeping vista of sun lit mountains and lakes in early morning shadow. Birds chirp and insects sound. As the camera pans across the lakes, narrator actor Robert Redford begins:
“The Native Americans who first came and set eyes on these lakes and mountains encountered a vast wilderness, an entire continent that still lay wild and free. These Native Americans believed that the greatest natural wonders belonged to no one, they belong to all.”
The camera continues to pan, as if flying over low clouds in a green forest, a brown and dry desert canyon, a mountain lake with crystal clear water. Redford continues:
“Over a hundred years ago, these treasured places were protected for eternity, for everyone, and the national parks were born.”
And that, essentially, is the thesis statement of National Parks Adventure, that America’s natural wonders were set aside as national parks for everyone to enjoy, as emphasized by liberal use of Bruce Springsteen’s version of the American folk song “This Land Is Your Land.”
The documentary only focuses on American national parks - and Canadians might grow tired of its heavy use of Americana - but it opens an exciting and engaging window into how we think about national parks on both sides of the border.
National parks are our sacred spaces. People pick up garbage, smile and say “hi.” Our wilderness, symbolized by our national parks systems, separates us from the rest of the world, makes Canada and the United States unique nations. That said, there are, of course, differences between how Canadians and Americans view wilderness, nature, and parks. I want to write about them in this series. I want to explore the way we think about national parks, the way we enjoy them, and the assumptions and myths we believe about them.
National Parks Adventure reveals five themes in particular that I want to discuss in this series:
The documentary begins with Native Americans encountering a vast wilderness. It goes on to celebrate the healing powers of wilderness. But what is wilderness? We tend to think we know what wilderness is when we see it, mainly, the absence of human activity. Are national parks, heavily managed protected areas, wilderness? Are humans part of wilderness? In particular, I’m interested in how conceptions of nature and wilderness, and how they should be managed and used by humans, has and continues to change over time.
The opening scene also raises another interesting question, what is the place of Indigenous people national parks? In recent years, national parks have put increasing effort into bringing Indigenous groups into park management and interpretive programs, but that is not reflected in the documentary.
Native Americans are included in National Parks Adventure. We learn that Devil’s Tower in Wyoming is a sacred place to the Lakota Sioux, it’s distinctive “claw marks” said to be made by a giant bear. We learn that rivers are “the highways of the Native Americans.” At Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, were the remains of a Chaco Culture city can be found, “if you listen, you can still hear their voices.”
But Native Americans appear disconnected from the present. They used rivers as highways. They used to live at Chaco Canyon. We don’t learn that they still have a place in national parks or park management. Nor is the fact that Indigenous people were excluded from many national parks in the past, that parks are located on former Indigenous land, that conservation and wilderness protection were and are closely linked to colonialism, discussed.
Along those lines, what is the history of national parks? The documentary traces their founding to a trip to the Yosemite valley in 1903. Naturalist John Muir and President Theodore Roosevelt camped for three days. “Their camping trip saved America’s natural wonders,” Redford tells us. Roosevelt, who retreated into the wilderness after the death of his mother and wife, and Muir “crystallized a sweeping vision, the first unified system of national parks anywhere on earth.”
But what else happened to facilitate the creation of protected spaces. In Canada, it was the discovery of Cave and Basin Hot Springs by a railway worker that led to the founding of Rocky Mountains Park, now Banff National Park, in 1887, with the Canadian government using Yellowstone National Park as a model. What kind of parks did these early founders envision? How did that reflect the way that Canadians and Americans viewed nature and wilderness?
How do we tell stories about national parks? The central story of National Parks Adventure focuses on a perpetual road trip. National Parks Ambassador Conrad Anker, his stepson adventure photographer Max Lowe, and artist Rachel Pohl travel the country during university breaks, visiting America’s national parks. They climb Devil’s Tower, visit the redwood forests in California, and climb frozen waterfalls in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. We learn that Conrad and Max are better climbers than Rachel, but she’s trying. We learn that Conrad is a hero, that he saved lives on Mount Everest, that he supported Max after his father died. National parks are presented as places for adventure, healing, bravery, and family. I want to explore why we tell stories about national parks in this way.
How do national parks fit into national, local, and personal identities? In National Parks Adventure, parks are presented as a key part of being American. Natural wonders across the United States are important representatives of their regions. Conrad, Max, and Rachel have powerful personal and family connections to national parks. In Canada, national parks are a significant part of our identity as “the true north strong and free.” They are what attract foreign tourists to our shores. They are where we go to spend time with our friends and family. I want to understand what makes national parks and protected spaces such an important part of our identity, our history, and our personal experiences.
National Parks Adventure ends by noting that “it is said that national parks are America’s best idea,” in reference to the 2009 Ken Burns documentary series. Many Canadians might say the same thing about Canada’s national parks. In future posts, we’ll look at why that is and what that means.
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Have you seen the documentary? What did you think?