Out of Many, One

Guadalupe River, 2005, Tracy Donner
Guadalupe River, 2005, Tracy Donner

Visiting National Parks and local heritage sites is an American tradition. National Parks and local heritage sites assist in rooting individuals within familial, local, and national traditions. These traditions, and the places themselves, work to construct identity among individuals and within groups. Identity is the conscious and unconscious creation of an individual, group, or nation. Individual identity is formed when an eighteen year old goes on a trip across the nation to the crest of the Rocky Mountains as a child, but comes back as an adult with a newfound perspective on life. When a group of strangers go on an adventure through Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and return as a group of friends, they forge a new group identity. In America’s hallowed places, such as Mt. Rushmore and the National Mall, people connect with and give meaning to their national identity. Through the unique adventures and life changing experiences within National Park Service sites, Americans bond, grow, and forge lasting identities as a nation, region, and group.