Latino History & Culture in Parks

National parks are powerful places to honor and celebrate Latino history.

Reflecting Our Past

Latino history is a vibrant part of U.S. history. More than 500 years of Hispanic and Latino history and heritage can be found in hundreds of national parks across the country.
Inspiring the Future

National parks are powerful places to honor and celebrate Latino history. They help us share the history, heritage, and contributions of Hispanic and Latino people, past and present, through a unique lens.
NPF's Commitment

The National Park Foundation’s Latino Heritage Fund has helped preserve Latino history and elevate Latino stories and contributions throughs national parks for over a decade. Working in collaboration with the National Park Service and other partners, the Latino Heritage Fund recognizes and celebrates Latino histories and stories, past and present, in our parks.

Celebrating Diverse Histories

Many national parks reflect America’s natural beauty. Others show another type of American beauty – the cultures and traditions of people from every walk of life. National parks honor our different experiences and united histories. Latino culture is a vibrant part of this cultural mix.

Carmel Benavides was possibly the first Hispano to cross the Santa Fe Trail. Ynes Enriquetta Julietta Mexia was a botanist and conservationist who fought to preserve the Northern Californian redwood forest. Emma Tenayuca was a labor organizer and civil rights activist during the Great Depression. José Sarria was a WWII veteran and LGBTQ+ activist in San Francisco. The stories and contributions of Hispanic and Latino people in America are diverse and continue to impact our lives today. These histories help us explore a broader range of individuals and communities – each with their own story to share – and invite us to imagine our future together.

The National Park Foundation (NPF)’s work in history and culture supports educational programs, professional development opportunities, and the rehabilitation and preservation of historic sites and artifacts in national parks across the country. NPS and NPF are working to expand storytelling in parks to share a more comprehensive history of the U.S. so we can all gain a greater understanding of parks’ history.

NPF uses the terms Latino and Hispanic. While the intent is to honor inclusivity and be representative of various ways that people identify, we recognize that this language does not account for all identities. We also recognize the important and need of specificity in reference to distinct communities.

NPF's Work in This Space

NPF supports national parks, programs, and projects that highlight the stories of Hispanic and Latino people in the U.S.

Program

Latino Heritage Fund

Established in 2011, NPF’s Latino Heritage Fund supports projects that help park visitors recognize and celebrate the vital importance of Latino history to American history, as well as projects that connect Latinos to our parks.

Learn More

Program
Cultural Landscape Apprenticeships
NPF’s Cultural Landscape Apprenticeships program helps connect young people to careers in historic preservation and natural resource management at San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.
Area of Work
History & Culture
NPF’s History & Culture programs support dynamic educational programs, professional development opportunities, rehabilitation of historic sites, and the preservation of artifacts and places that help us better understand America today by fully reflecting our past.
Project
NPS Theme Study
In 2013, NPF’s Latino Heritage Fund sponsored a theme study for the National Park Service. The study, “American Latinos and the Making of the United States,” provides a framework for NPS to continue their work to identify, preserve, and interpret places that tell stories of Latinos in the U.S.