The Forgotten Histories Behind America’s National Monuments

The Overlooked Origins of Bears Ears

Bears Ears National Monument in Utah is breathtaking, with its twin buttes rising over the high desert. But many people don’t realize that this land has been sacred to Native American tribes for thousands of years. The Hopi, Navajo, Ute Mountain Ute, Zuni, and Ute Indian Tribe all trace their ancestry to this area, which is full of ancient cliff dwellings, petroglyphs, and ceremonial sites. In fact, more than 100,000 archaeological sites have been identified within Bears Ears, making it one of the richest cultural landscapes in the United States. The 2016 presidential proclamation that established the monument was the first to recognize tribal input as central to management, yet the monument was reduced by 85% in 2017 before being restored in 2021. The debate over Bears Ears is more than political; it’s about preserving the memory of people who lived and thrived here long before the United States existed.

Statue of Liberty: A Symbol with a Complicated Past

Everyone sees the Statue of Liberty as a beacon of freedom, but few know that its history is woven with controversy and forgotten stories. The statue was a gift from France in 1886, intended to celebrate the end of slavery after the Civil War. Yet, at the time, many Americans were more focused on excluding immigrants than welcoming them. Its construction faced huge financial hurdles, and Joseph Pulitzer famously used his newspaper to rally ordinary people to donate pennies and nickels to finish the pedestal. There were even protests by African American communities who felt that the “land of liberty” still wasn’t free for everyone. The statue’s original meaning was as much about abolition and the idea of justice as it was about welcoming newcomers, a truth that often gets lost in today’s retellings.

Mysterious Messages at Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore is carved into the Black Hills, a sacred place for the Lakota Sioux. To them, the mountain is known as Six Grandfathers, and its transformation into a monument to four American presidents is a deep wound. The land was promised to the Lakota in the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie, but gold discoveries led to the U.S. seizing it instead. Construction of Rushmore began in 1927, with Gutzon Borglum as the sculptor, a man who had ties to the Ku Klux Klan. While millions visit every year, few stop to consider that the faces of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln were blasted into stolen land. The monument has become a flashpoint for Native activism, reminding us that every stone has a story—and not all of them are triumphant.

The Hidden Struggles of Stonewall National Monument

Stonewall National Monument in New York is the first U.S. monument dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights. It commemorates the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, when patrons of a gay bar fought back against police harassment. What’s often forgotten is the ongoing struggle for dignity that preceded and followed those riotous nights. In the months before Stonewall, groups like the Mattachine Society and Daughters of Bilitis risked their safety to protest anti-gay policies. Even after the uprising, it took decades for the LGBTQ+ community to gain broader acceptance, and many activists, especially transgender women of color like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, were sidelined in mainstream narratives. The monument stands in a city park now, but the battle for recognition is still unfolding, as anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and violence persist across the country.

Chaco Culture: Echoes of a Lost Civilization

The ruins of Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico tell the story of a civilization that flourished between 900 and 1150 AD. Chaco Canyon was a center of commerce, astronomy, and ceremony, with roads stretching for miles in every direction. Yet, for centuries, the Chacoans’ achievements were dismissed as impossible for “primitive” peoples. Only recent research has revealed the sophistication of their architecture and their astronomical alignments, which rival those of the ancient Egyptians. Oil and gas drilling now threaten the fragile remains, and in 2023, the Department of the Interior announced new protections for lands within a 10-mile radius of the park. Still, the fight to preserve Chaco shows how easily the achievements of Indigenous peoples can be erased.

Japanese American Memory at Manzanar

Manzanar National Historic Site sits in California’s Owens Valley and was once one of ten camps where more than 120,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II. The site is a stark reminder of how fear and racism can override justice; two-thirds of those imprisoned were U.S. citizens. For decades, the history of Manzanar was ignored or minimized, and the site itself was bulldozed after the war. Activists and survivors worked tirelessly to have it recognized as a national monument in 1992. Even now, recent research and oral histories continue to unearth stories of resilience, like the baseball leagues organized inside the barbed wire, or the gardens built to create beauty amid hardship.

Contested Ground at Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, created in 1996, covers nearly 1.9 million acres of rugged canyons and mesas in southern Utah. Its vast fossil beds have yielded new dinosaur species, making it a paleontologist’s paradise. But the monument’s creation angered local ranchers and politicians, who saw it as federal overreach. In 2017, the monument was cut in half, sparking lawsuits and protests. What’s often forgotten is that these lands are also filled with Native American sites, including ancient rock art and burial grounds. The fight over Grand Staircase is as much about whose history is honored as it is about land management or jobs.

World War II Valor at Pearl Harbor: A Site of Many Stories

The Pearl Harbor National Memorial in Hawaii draws millions of visitors each year, coming to pay their respects to those lost in the 1941 attack. But Pearl Harbor’s history goes beyond the bombing. The site was once home to Native Hawaiians, who called it Wai Momi, or “Waters of Pearl.” It was a thriving fishery and cultural site before being transformed into a naval base. In the aftermath of the attack, suspicion fell on Japanese Americans, leading to their internment. Recent exhibits at the memorial have begun to include these overlooked stories, showing that the history of Pearl Harbor is not just about war, but about community and displacement.

Freedom’s Gate: The Shadow of Slavery at Fort Monroe

Fort Monroe National Monument in Virginia is known as “Freedom’s Fortress.” In 1861, it became a haven for enslaved people who escaped Confederate territory. The fort’s commander, General Benjamin Butler, declared them “contraband of war,” refusing to return them to bondage. This decision marked the beginning of a mass movement of self-emancipation that helped tip the scales in the Civil War. Yet, for years, the monument’s story centered on its military history, overlooking the thousands who found shelter and a new beginning there. Today, Fort Monroe’s interpretation is shifting, drawing on recent scholarship to tell the fuller story of freedom seekers.

The Untold Environmental Sacrifice of Hanford Reach

Hanford Reach National Monument in Washington was once part of the top-secret Manhattan Project. The Hanford Site produced plutonium for the first atomic bombs, including the one dropped on Nagasaki. After the war, the area was left contaminated—today it’s one of the largest environmental cleanup projects in the world. The monument also protects one of the last free-flowing stretches of the Columbia River. Hanford’s wildlife and wildflowers thrive, but the legacy of radioactive waste lingers beneath the surface. New research in 2024 highlighted the health effects on nearby communities, reminding us that national monuments can carry the scars of progress as well as beauty.

Mississippi’s Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home: A Civil Rights Landmark

The Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument in Jackson, Mississippi, was designated in 2020. It preserves the home of civil rights leader Medgar Evers, who was assassinated in his driveway in 1963. The house became a headquarters for the fight against segregation, voter suppression, and violence. For years, the monument was neglected, and the neighborhood suffered from poverty and crime. Recent efforts have restored the home and begun to tell the story of both Medgar and his widow, Myrlie, who continued the work for decades. The home’s preservation is a testament to the ongoing struggle for justice and the power of memory.