African-American Buffalo Soldiers, the Original National Park Rangers

African-American Buffalo Soldiers, the Original National Park Rangers

By The Admin on December 27, 2011

When people think of National Parks they often think in terms of natural history, but there is a rich cultural history waiting to be told as well. People have no doubt heard of park rangers, but few have heard of Buffalo Soldiers.

Park rangers serve to patrol and protect parks, but before the National Park system was formally established in 1916, and before the term park ranger was even coined, African-American Army regiments called Buffalo Soldiers served as park protectors in federally protected lands like Glacier National Park and Kings Canyon in the West.

As early as 1866, Buffalo Soldiers policed the land, maintained trails, roads, and did minor construction, according to Alan Spears, legislative representative for the National Parks Conservation Association. The legacy of Buffalo Soldiers’ service to National Parks is not as broadly known or understood as it should be, he said. (The Epoch Times)

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