The National Park Service race to rewrite history becomes a slog

The agency is considering hundreds of changes to exhibits at parks. It’s been an overwhelming task.

Exhibits discussing slavery and the Founding Fathers' ownership of enslaved people are seen at the President's House at Independence National Historic Park on Aug. 9, 2025, in Philadelphia. The National Park Service in January took down the exhibit to comply with an order by President Donald Trump, although it was later partially reinstalled. | Matthew Hatcher/AFP via Getty Images

The Trump administration’s campaign to remove National Park Service exhibits that “inappropriately disparage” historical figures is bogged down more than nine months after Interior Secretary Doug Burgum set it in motion.

The sheer volume of park signs, panels and museum exhibits flagged by park rangers because they mentioned topics like slavery, climate change or violence against Native Americans overwhelmed the Trump administration from the beginning, said three people familiar with the process used to evaluate potential changes, granted anonymity because they feared retribution.

“They bit off way more than they could chew,” one of those people said.

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