Latino History & Culture in Parks

National parks are powerful places to honor and celebrate Latino histories and stories.

NPF's Latino Heritage Fund

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 through 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 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. NPF and NPS 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 importance 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, and originally called the American Latino Heritage Fund, NPF’s Latino Heritage Fund preserves, reflects, and engages the diverse stories and communities of Latinos throughout American history for future generations.

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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.
Program
ParkVentures
NPF’s ParkVentures program helps engage historically excluded communities through outdoor recreation in national parks by supporting projects that focus on representation, accessibility, and interpretation.
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.

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.

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Program
Service Corps
NPF works with national parks and other partner organizations to engage diverse youth and young adults to address priority projects in parks.
Program
Inclusive Storytelling
Established in 2023, NPF’s Inclusive Storytelling program supports projects that help parks share more inclusive and comprehensive narratives. Grants enable work that documents, preserves, and shares the voices and actions of people who are not often recognized as having shaped our history or for whom the struggle for social, racial, and environmental justice continues.