Letter to Interior Sectetary Burgum Calling For the Rescission of Interior Order 3431: “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History”

Aug 22

Written By Gerry Seavo James

The Honorable

Doug Burgum

Department of the Interior

1849 C Street, N.W.

Washington DC 20240

Dear Secretary Burgum,

We write to express our strong opposition to Secretarial Order 3431: Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History, and to call for its full and immediate rescission. This order undermines the Department of the Interior’s responsibility to steward not only the landscapes we all share but also the layered histories embedded within them. As part of that responsibility, the Department entrusts the National Park Service, one of the nation’s leading storytellers and its other agencies, to interpret and present those histories with honesty, depth, and care. Through exhibits, signage, ranger talks, and digital resources, our national parks and historic sites preserve our collective memory. They help us understand who we are and who we have been. In recent years, new monuments and sites have reflected a broader, more honest accounting of our past, reflecting a growing recognition that America is strong enough to confront its past and tell the truth about it.

Sites like Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, Camp Nelson National Monument, and Manzanar National Historic Site embody that mission. They do not shy away from hard truths. They meet them head-on. Tuskegee honors the first Black military aviators who trained under segregation to serve a country that denied them full rights. Camp Nelson preserves the story of African Americans who fought for their freedom and served in the Union Army. Manzanar confronts the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. These sites do not divide us. They educate us. They remind us that telling the full story of America is a public service and a patriotic duty.

At Muir Woods National Monument in California, the 2021 “History Under Construction” exhibit, which acknowledged Coast Miwok stewardship and the role of women in protecting the site, has been slated for removal under your order. This appears to be the first documented case of interpretive content being taken down, setting a troubling precedent for other sites. Although the exhibit focused on Indigenous history and stewardship, no consultation took place with appropriate parties. This exclusion raises serious concerns about compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act and the federal government’s trust responsibility to Tribal Nations, which requires engaging Tribal governments as sovereign partners, especially in decisions involving public lands, interpretation, and cultural heritage.

Your approach reverses decades of work by park staff, Tribal Nations, educators, and community partners who have helped ensure our public lands reflect the richness and complexity of American history. It silences stories that deserve to be seen and heard and disconnects people from the very places meant to bring us together.

We call on the Department of the Interior to:

Fully rescind Secretarial Order 3431 and halt all implementation.
Ensure that site-based interpreters, historians, Tribal Nations, community partners, and staff, working in partnership, have the authority to shape and protect accurate and complete storytelling on public lands.

Shared public lands are America’s common ground. The stories they tell must reflect all of us. Every visitor should have the opportunity to see themselves, their ancestors, and their communities represented with dignity and accuracy. That is how we build understanding. That is how we build trust.

This letter is supported by more than 100 organizations nationwide; environmental organizations, outdoor and recreation groups, history and preservation advocates, cultural institutions, and community-based organizations. Together, we represent the breadth of people and places committed to protecting history, culture, and access to the outdoors.

Letter to Interior Sectetary Burgum Calling For the Rescission of Interior Order 3431: “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History”

CORE Condemns Secretarial Order 3431: A Dangerous Attempt to Whitewash Public Memory on Federal Lands