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Yosemite Indians and the National Park Ideal, 1916–1969

Mark David Spence

in Dispossessing the Wilderness: Indian Removal and the Making of the National Parks

This chapter discusses the creation of the National Park Service in 1916, which fulfilled preservationists' long-held dreams for a strong federal commitment to the preservation and enhancement of all ... More

This chapter discusses the creation of the National Park Service in 1916, which fulfilled preservationists' long-held dreams for a strong federal commitment to the preservation and enhancement of all national parks. However, the creation of the National Park Service only perpetuated the same struggle between preservationists and development interests that plagued the management of Yosemite in the 1880s. Like those earlier debates before the California State Assembly, this struggle would also carry over to the new agency's relationship with the Yosemite Indians. In the same year that the park service was established, Yosemite officials and concessionaires inaugurated the Indian Field Days, a festivity designed to “revive and maintain the interest of Indians in their own games and industries, particularly basketry and bead work.”Less

Post-Darwinian Visions of Divine Creation

John Gatta

in Making Nature Sacred: Literature, Religion, and the Environment in America from the Puritans to the Present

Beginning in the latter half of the nineteenth century, Darwinism had a varied impact on American sensibilities. John Muir, for example, studied science and accepted the transmutative premise of ... More

Beginning in the latter half of the nineteenth century, Darwinism had a varied impact on American sensibilities. John Muir, for example, studied science and accepted the transmutative premise of evolutionary theory--but retained a biblically colored piety that saw God’s presence inscribed “in magnificent capitals” at places like Yosemite. During this extended period, writings by Mary Austin and Black Elk reflect their encounters with versions of naturalistic piety lying outside Euro-American ethnic traditions. Still, the written form in which Black Elk expressed his ecological vision of holiness, as imaged in the great hoop of the Lakota nation, was decidedly influenced by his contact with non-Indian culture. Although Rachel Carson was a committed scientist whose work presupposed belief in organic evolution, her writing also reflects a robust spirituality founded upon reverence for life and for the mystery of things unseen.Less

The Uses of the Valley

Robert W. Righter

in The Battle Over Hetch Hetchy: America's Most Controversial Dam and the Birth of Modern Environmentalism

Miwok Indians from the Central Valley and Piute Indians from east of the Sierra Nevada were the first peoples to inhabit the Hetch Hetchy Valley. They were transient inhabitants, spending the summer ... More

Miwok Indians from the Central Valley and Piute Indians from east of the Sierra Nevada were the first peoples to inhabit the Hetch Hetchy Valley. They were transient inhabitants, spending the summer and fall hunting and fishing, and harvesting acorns and grasses. The first Euro-Americans to see the valley were associated with the California Gold Rush. They found no gold, but a rather lush, long meadow useful for sheep grazing. But the beauty of the valley attracted naturalists such as John Muir, painters, and explorers. However, compared to its sister valley, Yosemite, in 1900 Hetch Hetchy was virtually unknown.Less

The Imperial City and Water

Robert W. Righter

in The Battle Over Hetch Hetchy: America's Most Controversial Dam and the Birth of Modern Environmentalism

During the second half of the 19th century, San Francisco grew from a village to a major city. Located on a peninsula, the city faced a perpetual water problem. Mayor James Phelan realized that if ... More

During the second half of the 19th century, San Francisco grew from a village to a major city. Located on a peninsula, the city faced a perpetual water problem. Mayor James Phelan realized that if the city was ever to reach its full potential, it needed an abundant and pure water supply from the Sierra Nevada. After studying a number of different sites, the Tuolumne River and the Hetch Hetchy Valley emerged as the preferred location. But the valley lay within the newly-established (1890) Yosemite National Park. Yet San Francisco continued its quest, purchasing land within the valley and seeking legislation to allow reservoir development.Less

Vertical History: Using Mountains to Measure Men

John P. Herron

in Science and the Social Good: Nature, Culture, and Community, 1865-1965

This chapter continues the discussion of the life of Clarence King. King's search for natural truths bore the imprint of John Ruskin, but his obsession with masculine science and adventure as a means ... More

This chapter continues the discussion of the life of Clarence King. King's search for natural truths bore the imprint of John Ruskin, but his obsession with masculine science and adventure as a means of social integration and improvement originated with John Tyndall. He embraced nature as a microcosm of American society. As one of the many geologists who moved through the physical world, he was supposed to uncover mineral resources. Yet he saw his science as one way to impose a grid of order on contemporary America.Less

Politics of Nature

Bernard Debarbieux, Gilles Rudaz, and Martin F. Price

in The Mountain: A Political History from the Enlightenment to the Present

The shift in scale, from local to national, which accompagnied the building of modern nation-state and the triumph of governmentality conditioned the adoption of new conceptions of the mountain and ... More

The shift in scale, from local to national, which accompagnied the building of modern nation-state and the triumph of governmentality conditioned the adoption of new conceptions of the mountain and new modes of intervention. Within a few decades, Western nation-states readily made the mountain a major natural resource, a remarkable scenic landscape, a wild component of their territory, an ecological asset, even a preserve for unusual species. A special focus is made on the aggressive policies conducted by the modern state in forest management from France to the other countries of Western and Southern Europe and to the US. A symmetric movement is followed for nature protection, from the US to other former British colonies and Western Europe. Through these policies, mountain communities experienced a dramatic disqualification of their knowledge and modes of environmental management.Less

Introduction: From Common Ground

Mark David Spence

in Dispossessing the Wilderness: Indian Removal and the Making of the National Parks

The idealization of uninhabited landscapes and establishment of the first national parks reflect important developments in late-nineteenth-century Indian policy. Although the creation of the first ... More

The idealization of uninhabited landscapes and establishment of the first national parks reflect important developments in late-nineteenth-century Indian policy. Although the creation of the first national parks coincided with efforts to restrict Indians to reservations and assimilate them into American society, native use and occupancy of park lands often continued unabated. This book argues that uninhabited wilderness had to be created before it could be preserved, and this type of landscape became reified in the first national parks. It also focuses on the policies of Indian removal developed at Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Glacier national parks from the 1870s to the 1930s.Less

The Wild West, or Toward Separate Islands

Mark David Spence

in Dispossessing the Wilderness: Indian Removal and the Making of the National Parks

This chapter examines the movement that lead to the creation of the first national parks. President Lincoln's 1864 signing of the Yosemite Park Act, which set aside fifteen square miles of the public ... More

This chapter examines the movement that lead to the creation of the first national parks. President Lincoln's 1864 signing of the Yosemite Park Act, which set aside fifteen square miles of the public domain and placed it under the protection and management of the state of California, created an important precedent for the preservation of larger areas in the coming decades. Congress also drew up legislation that provided for the “preservation” of Yellowstone in its “natural condition.” Passed into law on March 1, 1972, the Yellowstone Park Act removed two million acres of public domain from “settlement, occupancy, or sale.”Less

The Heart of the Sierras, 1864–1916

Mark David Spence

in Dispossessing the Wilderness: Indian Removal and the Making of the National Parks

This chapter demonstrates that Yosemite Valley remained home to a permanent, relatively autonomous Indian village. While native residence in the valley stands in the marked contrast to other early ... More

This chapter demonstrates that Yosemite Valley remained home to a permanent, relatively autonomous Indian village. While native residence in the valley stands in the marked contrast to other early parks, it also presents an important comparison with the experiences of Indian peoples at Yellowstone and Glacier. Such differences shed important light on Yosemite's unique history and reveal the processes by which this park was eventually made to fit the standards of the national park ideal.Less

Protecting the Land

David Vogel

in California Greenin': How the Golden State Became an Environmental Leader

This chapter discusses the efforts to protect Yosemite and the sequoias in the Sierras in the nineteenth century and then turns to the more heated conflicts over the fate of the coastal redwoods. The ... More

This chapter discusses the efforts to protect Yosemite and the sequoias in the Sierras in the nineteenth century and then turns to the more heated conflicts over the fate of the coastal redwoods. The roots of California's tradition of civic mobilization lie in nature protection. This tradition began with the efforts of a few prominent individuals—including John Muir, Horace Greeley, and Frederick Olmsted—and then became institutionalized in the upper-middle-class Sierra and Sempervirens clubs and the predominantly upper-class Save-the-Redwoods League. Broader grassroots citizen mobilization played a critical role in campaigns to return control of Yosemite to the federal government, expand the size of and increase the funding for state parks, and protect endangered sequoias in the Sierras. The state's administrative capacity to protect California's scenic environment was initially limited, paralleling its inability to regulate hydraulic mining during the mid-nineteenth century. However, this capacity subsequently expanded through the establishment of institutions such as the State Board of Agriculture, the State Forestry Commission, and the State Parks Commission.Less

“Come Suck Sequoia and Be Saved”

Mark I. Wallace

in When God Was a Bird: Christianity, Animism, and the Re-Enchantment of the World

Chapter 4 keys on John Muir’s ecstatic wilderness religion as a paradigm of the dialectic between Christianity and animism at the center of this book, namely, Christianimism. Muir’s nature evangelism ... More

Chapter 4 keys on John Muir’s ecstatic wilderness religion as a paradigm of the dialectic between Christianity and animism at the center of this book, namely, Christianimism. Muir’s nature evangelism came at the price of rhetorically abetting the forced removal of Native Americans from their homes within the fledgling national parks movement. Notwithstanding this stain on Muir’s legacy, his thought is notable for rethinking the full arc of Jesus’ life—John the Baptist, departure into wilderness, temple money-changers, and crucifixion—in deeply personal terms that are environmental and biblically sonorous. Muir advocates a two bookstheology in which the Bible and the Earth are equally compelling revelatory “texts.” His Yosemite spirituality reaches its apogee in his 1870 “woody gospel letter,” a paean to a homophilic, orgasmic religion of sensual delight: “Come suck Sequoia and be saved.” In Muir’s spirit, the chapter concludes that Christianity is still not Christianity because of its erstwhile hostility to embodied existence.Less

“Shall This Destruction Proceed?”: Wilderness Preservation

Richard J. Orsi

in Sunset Limited: The Southern Pacific Railroad and the Development of the American West, 1850-1930

This chapter discusses the Southern Pacific's interest in conservation, particularly the preservation of the wilderness. It examines the effect of the construction and operation of these rail lines ... More

This chapter discusses the Southern Pacific's interest in conservation, particularly the preservation of the wilderness. It examines the effect of the construction and operation of these rail lines on the natural ecological systems present in California and the western regions. The chapter shows the participation of Southern Pacific leaders in resource conservation programs and the environmental policies of the Southern Pacific. It then moves on to examine the partnership of the Southern Pacific with John Muir, in order to build the Yosemite National Park. The discussion considers the various obstacles they faced, as well as the other national parks that they built, such as the Sequoia National Park.Less

Figs

Joel Sachs

in Henry Cowell: A Man Made of Music

This chapter focuses on Henry Cowell's life and career in the late 1940s. In April 1945, Henry completed the periodic follow-up form for Lewis M. Terman's gifted program. That spring his wife Sidney ... More

This chapter focuses on Henry Cowell's life and career in the late 1940s. In April 1945, Henry completed the periodic follow-up form for Lewis M. Terman's gifted program. That spring his wife Sidney went to California to care for her stepmother. After spending the rest of the semester teaching and composing, Henry went west, where he and Sidney planned to spend most of their time. Life in the ranch was hardly idyllic, but Henry had no complaints, telling Lou Harrison that he was being creative while raising a million figs a year. Meanwhile, he remained in touch with the world of music. In November, he wrote Richard Franko Goldman that he was testing figs and writing band pieces. The Cowells stayed at the ranch until the middle of January 1946, when Henry was committed to teach at The New School for Social Research. They returned to Fresno in April, remaining through the fall. In October 1947, Henry and Sidney spent their sixth wedding anniversary in Yosemite.Less

The Creation of Yosemite and Yellowstone

Adam Wesley Dean

in An Agrarian Republic: Farming, Antislavery Politics, and Nature Parks in the Civil War Era

This chapter investigates the creation of Yosemite State Park in 1864 and Yellowstone National Park in 1872. The story of these parks has often been told in the realm of environmental history, with ... More

This chapter investigates the creation of Yosemite State Park in 1864 and Yellowstone National Park in 1872. The story of these parks has often been told in the realm of environmental history, with scholars presenting their early history as a parable about the virtues of preservation overcoming human tendencies toward use and exploitation. Yet, both parks had their origins as pieces of legislation crafted by the Republican Party and debated within that party. Park backers believed that experiencing natural beauty would “civilize” the average person and improve his or her intellectual abilities. Supporters also argued that America should follow its republican principles by making scenes of natural beauty accessible to everyone, not just the wealthy. Finally, they claimed that the government’s ability to establish parks in the midst of a bloody civil war showed the strength of the Union.Less

Yosemite National Park: The Spirit of Complexity

Kerry Mitchell

in Spirituality and the State: Managing Nature and Experience in America's National Parks

This chapter examines the visitors, volunteers, and rangers in Yosemite National Park. It discusses how the environment is managed to create the impression of harmony between nature and culture. It ... More

This chapter examines the visitors, volunteers, and rangers in Yosemite National Park. It discusses how the environment is managed to create the impression of harmony between nature and culture. It explores the historical roots of this trend, as well as its persistence in park management in the present. Through interviews with park visitors, the chapter demonstrates that their attitudes towards nature shape their understanding of the spiritual and/or religious significance of their experience. Contrary to the hikers who were interviewed in Chapter 2, visitors to Yosemite demonstrate a different religious aspect of recreation, one in which “nature” is both more civilized and more consistently ascribed with religious value. This chapter demonstrates how park rangers appreciate this diversity within the visitor population, and how the trope of spirituality allows them to cater to a wide range of visitors.Less

The New River Updated: Charles Ives and the Disappearing River Gods

Timothy J. Cooley (ed.)

in Cultural Sustainabilities: Music, Media, Language, Advocacy

In 1911 Charles Ives wrote “The New River,” a song unique among his works for its outspoken environmentalist stance. Composed in direct response to the diversion of waters from Ives's beloved ... More

In 1911 Charles Ives wrote “The New River,” a song unique among his works for its outspoken environmentalist stance. Composed in direct response to the diversion of waters from Ives's beloved Housatonic River to feed New York City reservoirs and plans for constructing a dam, the song also captured widespread national outrage over the Hetch Hetchy Dam being built at the same time through Yosemite National Park. Combining transcendentalist understandings of nature with more contemporary arguments to save Hetch Hetchy published by Robert Underwood Johnson and John Muir, Ives's song sounds his belief “the fabric of life weaves itself whole.”Less

Mountains

Robert Wyss

in The Man Who Built the Sierra Club: A Life of David Brower

Brower’s childhood is difficult, in his twenties he becomes a world class mountain climber, establishes friendships that will last a lifetime but that will be sorely tested.