Ahead of America’s 250th, Historians, Conservationists, and Advocates Warn Interior Against Erasing History, Urge Rescission of Order 3431

WASHINGTON, D.C.

The Coalition for Outdoor Renaming and Education, or CORE, has released a national sign-on letter opposing Secretarial Order 3431, “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” The letter calls for the order’s immediate rescission, warning that it undermines the Department of the Interior’s responsibility to present the full complexity of American history across national parks, historic sites and public lands.

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

“The way we tell history on our public lands, parks and historic sites has always evolved. Over time, interpretation has grown to expand and include voices and experiences once left out, creating a fuller picture of who we are. As we approach America’s 250th anniversary, this is not the moment to turn back,” said Gerry Seavo James, deputy director of the Sierra Club’s Outdoors for All campaign and policy chair for CORE’s steering committee. “Protecting our public lands means protecting that progress, and ensuring these places tell the truth that connects us across communities and generations.”

See full letter and list of organization signatories here.

Voices from CORE Coalition Members and aligned signatories

Dr. Nancy Dawson, Friends of Cherokee State Historic Park

“It is crucial that young people here in America and around the world learn from primary history. I use the word primary because there are efforts underway to eradicate primary sources, and with them the struggles and triumphs they reveal. Our national parks are more than landscapes; they bear witness to the people and events that shaped this country. The Tuskegee Airmen were real human beings! They faced racism at home even as they fought for their country abroad. Don’t their struggles and triumphs deserve to be remembered and commemorated?”

Amanda Podmore, Grand Canyon Director, Grand Canyon Trust

“Parks like Grand Canyon National Park have come a long way in recognizing the hard truth of Indigenous removal. We owe it to original stewards of the land to share their histories and elevate their voices. Nothing but harm can come from orders like Interior Order 3431.”

Cindy Heitzman, Executive Director, California Preservation Foundation

“Our historic sites tell stories of resilience, struggle, and achievement across generations and cultures. Telling the whole story—triumphs and hard truths alike—is essential to honoring our past, strengthening democracy, and ensuring all communities see themselves reflected in the American story. Yet Secretarial Order 3431 threatens to narrow that history just as we must be broadening it. The California Preservation Foundation believes that preserving historic places means preserving the full breadth of our shared history. Erasing these narratives undermines preservation itself: safeguarding the places and histories that shape our national identity.” 

 Dr. Valerie Grussing, Executive Director, National Association of Tribal Preservation Officers

"No one benefits from sanitized history. We can only truly do justice to American history by telling the full story, instead of erasing evidence of the pain and suffering Indigenous peoples experienced at the hands of the United States Government and other colonial powers. NATHPO calls on the Administration to rescind this order, restore signage in any place where erasure has already occurred, and work with Tribal Nations and any other descendent communities to ensure we tell this nation's history in its entirety."

Judith Le Blanc, Executive Director, Native Organizers Alliance Action Fund

"We strongly oppose Secretarial Order 3431, which seeks to distort the lived and complex history of the land. These lands have been home to our ancestors since time immemorial, and their stories cannot be erased or rewritten to fit political convenience. We call on federal leadership to reject the order and instead commit to telling the full and honest story of this land, one that acknowledges historical truths and affirms our sacred responsibility to protect these lands for generations to come."