ACR 143, as introduced, Bigelow. Buffalo Soldiers: Yosemite National Park.
This measure would recognize the legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers and would honor the important role they played in the history of our national parks.
Fiscal committee: no.
P1 1WHEREAS, In 1866, Congress created six segregated regiments
2that were ultimately consolidated into four Black regiments: the
39th and 10th Cavalry and the 24th and 25th Infantry; and
4WHEREAS, African American army regiments that had been
5dispatched westward fought in the Indian Wars and these soldiers
6were eventually given the name Buffalo Soldiers by the Cheyenne
7and other Plains Indians; and
8WHEREAS, Although historians have recorded the service of
9these Buffalo Soldiers on the western frontier, their service in some
10national parks has been nearly forgotten; and
11WHEREAS, The United States Army served as the official
12administrator of Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks between
P2 11891 and 1913. In that capacity, it helped create a model for park
2management as we know it today; and
3WHEREAS, Buffalo Soldiers were among the first park rangers
4and backcountry rangers patrolling parts of the west; and
5WHEREAS, Approximately 500 Buffalo Soldiers, mainly from
6the 24th Infantry and 9th Cavalry, served in Yosemite National
7Park and Sequoia National Park. Their duties ranged from evicting
8poachers and timber thieves to extinguishing forest fires. They
9also oversaw the construction of roads, trails, and other
10infrastructure; and
11WHEREAS, Commanding officers of the United States Army
12became acting military superintendents for these national parks
13with two troops of cavalry assigned to each park. Each troop would
14be made up of approximately 60 men; and
15WHEREAS, The presence of these troops invigorated the local
16economy and the soldiers acting as official stewards of park lands
17brought a sense of law and order to the mountain wilderness; and
18WHEREAS, Among their many accomplishments, the troops
19assigned to Yosemite National Park oversaw the building of an
20arboretum near the south fork of the Merced River in 1904. One
21scholar considered the area to contain the first marked nature trail
22in the United States’ national park system; now, therefore, be it
23Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
24thereof concurring, That the Legislature recognizes the legacy of
25the Buffalo Soldiers and honors the important role they played in
26the history of our national parks; and be it further
27Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
28of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
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