#blmhistory

[monkeyssalad-blog]

The Oregon National Historic Trail in Wyoming - Poster by Bureau of Land Management Via Flickr: National historic trails can take us back, returning us literally and symbolically to a point of departure in geography and time. Who among us has not wondered what it was like for America’s pioneers to lie on the open ground of the western high plains on a starlit night and to hear wolves howl in the distance? To walk in the footsteps of these men and women today is to glimpse their experience and to feel their purpose and courage. National historic trails help us recreate this unique chapter in American history when, starting more than 170 years ago, some 500,000 emigrants made their way overland to the far western edge of the continent. Their determination resulted in 12 new states joining the Republic between 1840 and 1890, all west of the Mississippi River. Congress designates national historic trails “to protect historic landscapes and inform our curiosity about the past.” Visitors to the Oregon National Historic Trail have more than 350 miles to explore on Wyoming public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). One pristine stretch extends a full 35 miles entirely on BLM lands—farther than most emigrant parties could walk in a single day. (This poster depicts a portion of that area.) Thanks to the foresight and dedication of preservation-minded citizens and volunteers, the Oregon, Mormon Pioneer, California, and Pony Express routes are all managed as national historic trails. BLM-managed sections are part of the National Landscape Conservation System. The BLM is proud to interpret the great westward migration, and other significant aspects of American history, as caretaker of more miles of national historic trails than any other federal agency. A limited number of vintage posters are available at BLM state offices in both postcard and poster formats. Requests for paper posters can also be sent to [email protected]. Please include the word POSTER in the subject line and provide your name, mailing address, and the number and type of poster. Requests are limited to five posters per recipient.

[mypubliclands]

Step Back in Time on the Oregon Trail!

#DYK that the Oregon Trail passes through land managed by the Bureau of Land Management? The Oregon Trail was a wagon road stretching 2170 miles from Missouri to Oregon's Willamette Valley. It was not a road in any modern sense, only parallel ruts leading across endless prairie, sagebrush desert, and mountains. From the 1840s through the 1880s, thousands trekked westward, carrying only a few belonging and supplies for the journey, and settling on the western frontier, forever changing the American West.

The National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center in Oregon offers living history demonstrations, interpretive programs, exhibits, multi-media presentations, special events, and more than four miles of interpretive trails.  Using life-size displays, films and live theater presentations, this Center tells the story  of Oregon Trail pioneers, explorers, miners and settlers of the frontier west. The 500 acre site includes remnants of the historic Flagstaff Gold Mine, actual ruts carved by pioneer wagons, and magnificent vistas of the historic trail route.

Check out the Smithsonian Magazine’s guide to the Oregon Trail here, and follow BLM Oregon, Wyoming, and Idaho on social media for more photos and information about the Oregon trail and the history of the American West. 

[blmhistory]

But don’t All Lives Matter?

Link to full video: https://youtu.be/pM-HpZQWKT4 🍄

[blmhistory]

Conclusions

Racism exists. Of that, there is no debate. Yes, form and apparency has changed over the years, but it has ultimately not ceased to exist and maybe never will. A quote from the movie adaptation of Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give explains it well, “You don’t have to use the N-word or use a firehose on black people to be racist.”  

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[blmhistory]

What We Know

The foundation of policing in America is inherently racist and has created a subculture of violence targeted at people of color from the beginning. For this to change we need to rebuild a better foundation that involves education and less violent tactics. We need to not only demand justice for black police related deaths but prevent them from happening.  

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[blmhistory]

Change. Policy

With this education there also needs to be change in policies and police tactics.

->how they handle warrants

->where to shoot & if shooting is necessary at all

->handling mentally ill people

->accountability 

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[blmhistory]

Change. Education

If ignorance leads to prejudice and education extinguishes prejudice, we need more education in the world and especially the police force.

->teaching police history

->explaining racial profiling and black PRCD rates

->understanding where all of this comes from 

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[blmhistory]

Question to Ask

What can we do to change the outcome of a lethal practice that has been normalized for so long?