Trump Executive Order Removes Slavery and Massacre References From U.S. National Park Displays

A sweeping set of changes to public history displays at U.S. national parks and related sites has drawn backlash after President Donald Trump’s March 2025 executive order directed the Department of the Interior to “take action” against public content that “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living.”

“An outdoor exhibition detailing the history of slavery in the United States was dismantled in a historic Philadelphia neighborhood, the Philadelphia City Council president said on Friday, January 23—the cradle of American democracy”

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In Grand Teton National Park, CNN reported that when tourists see a statue of Gustavus Cheyney Doane, a 19th-century explorer, at a visitor center this spring, a marker beneath it that used to be there will now be missing.

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The marker had asked visitors: “How do we acknowledge the good and bad of a figure?” and pointed out that Doane’s expedition led to the designation of the first national park but also that he helped lead a massacre of at least 173 members of the Piegan Blackfeet, an act he “bragged about throughout his life.”

CNN said the removal was cited in a lawsuit against the Department of the Interior as one of many changes wrought by the executive order.

CNN also reported that the removal of the words at Grand Teton is one of at least 45 changes carried out under the order, according to Save Our Signs, an advocacy group that tracks changes to National Park Service displays.

The Interior Department told CNN that at Fort Sumter National Monument it “acted to replace materials that were not grounded in real science with information that is accurate, evidence-based, and aligned with how the world actually works.”

In Washington, DC, CNN reported that a display on George Mason removed references to him “paradoxically” owning slaves despite being a champion of “individual rights.”

The dispute over how U.S. history is presented has also played out in Philadelphia, where multiple outlets reported that an outdoor exhibition on slavery was dismantled after a Trump administration decree in March.

RTBF reported that an exhibition recounting this chapter of American history was dismantled in Philadelphia following the signing of a decree by Donald Trump in March to restore the truth, and it said the city council president and Democratic officials expressed outrage at the “attempted rewrite of history.”

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RTBF identified the exhibition as “Liberty and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation,” and said it had been on display since 2010 at the President’s House in Philadelphia, the first official residence of the U.S. president when the federal capital was in that city of Pennsylvania.

Le Parisien added that the outdoor exhibition was dismantled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Friday, and it said that on Thursday around 3 p.m. a park employee, followed by three others armed with keys and crowbars, came to remove the illustrated panels and loaded them into a van, removing “everything” in an hour and a half.

Le Devoir reported that a federal judge ordered the National Park Service to restore an exhibit on slavery in Philadelphia, and it said the installation had been dismantled last month in the wake of a Donald Trump decree aimed at erasing historical realities he deems incompatible with the ideological regime of his new administration.

Le Devoir said Judge Cynthia Rufe issued the order and wrote in a 40-page ruling that “All history was a palimpsest, erased and rewritten as many times as necessary,” quoting Orwell’s novel 1984.

Noovo Info reported that the Trump administration would appeal the decision to reinstate the exhibit, and it said the Department of Justice argued that only the administration can decide which narratives are told on National Park Service properties.

The Philadelphia slavery exhibit became a focal point in federal court after Judge Cynthia Rufe cited Orwell’s 1984 and ordered the National Park Service to restore the exhibit elements.

“By Kaanita Iyer, Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, Aleena Fayaz, CNN (CNN) — When tourists see a statue of Gustavus Cheyney Doane, a 19th-century explorer, at a Grand Teton National Park visitor center this spring, a marker beneath it that used to be there will now be missing”

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Le Devoir said the judge ordered the restoration by citing George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984, and it described the installation as recounting the life of enslaved people in the city’s former presidential residence.

Le Devoir said Judge Cynthia Rufe prohibited the government from modifying or damaging the exhibit, siding with the municipality’s arguments after the city and other stakeholders challenged the removal in court.

In its account of the judge’s reasoning, Le Devoir quoted the judge’s Orwell reference to “Ignorance is strength,” and it said the judge wrote: “As if the Ministry of Truth from George Orwell's 1984 actually existed, with its motto 'Ignorance is strength,' this Court is today called upon to determine whether the federal government possesses the power it claims to have: the power to conceal and deconstruct historical truths when it exerts influence over historical facts. That power is not theirs.”

Le Devoir also quoted the judge’s 1984 passage about rewriting history, and it said the judge’s 40-page ruling included that “All history was a palimpsest, erased and rewritten as many times as necessary.”

Noovo Info reported that on Monday Judge Cynthia M. Rufe issued an injunction ordering reinstatement of the exhibit elements during the proceedings and barring Trump administration officials from creating new interpretations of the site’s history.

Noovo Info said that on Tuesday the Trump administration filed a notice of appeal with the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and it said the Department of Justice argued that only the administration can decide which narratives are told on National Park Service properties.

Critics of the Trump administration’s changes to national park and related displays have framed the removals as erasing history, and they have used language that links the policy to Orwell’s dystopia.

CNN quoted Tom Rodgers, a member of the Blackfeet Nation known as One Who Rides His Horse East, saying, “We are killing them all over again,” referring to victims of the massacre he called one of the “most despicable historical experiences” for Native Americans.

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CNN also quoted Rodgers saying, “I think we’re at a point in our country where people think that if you tell half the truth, you’ve told all the truth, and that in itself, is a lie,” and he added, “It’s Orwellian.”

In Philadelphia, RTBF reported that Kenyatta Johnson wrote on X that it was “totally unacceptable that the National Park Service, under the leadership of President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, has dismantled an exhibition on slavery,” and Johnson said the removal was “an attempt to rewrite American history at the detriment of Black people.”

RTBF also quoted Johnson saying, “We cannot erase history simply because it is disturbing,” and it said Philadelphia filed a complaint against the National Park Service.

Le Devoir reported that Cherelle Parker protested, saying, “We cannot erase our history,” and she added, “Admittedly, it is imperfect. Admittedly, it is incomplete, but it also relates the experiences and histories lived by people who endured immense suffering so that America could fulfill its promises.”

Le Devoir also quoted then-Governor Josh Shapiro saying, “Donald Trump will spare no opportunity to rewrite and whitewash our history, but he targeted the wrong city and the wrong state,” and it said Shapiro added, “In Pennsylvania, we learn from our history, even when it is painful. We do not erase it, and we do not pretend it never happened.”

The administration’s rationale for the removals is that the changes are meant to ensure displays are “balanced” and “factual,” and CNN reported that the Interior Department told it the directive strengthens public trust.

“Spectacular, brutal, chaotic: Donald Trump’s civilizational project appears to be unfolding with unstoppable momentum”

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CNN quoted the Interior Department saying, “This effort is not about removing history. It is about ensuring taxpayer-funded displays present history in a balanced, factual and appropriate manner that reflects America’s full story, including its extraordinary achievements and its challenges.”

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CNN also reported that the Interior Department ordered a review of content such as exhibits, films, pamphlets and signs at national parks after Trump’s executive order, and it said the department directed NPS to encourage visitors to submit comments on signs, including whether they notice any “negative” messaging about “either past or living Americans.”

CNN said that if an item was deemed to be “inconsistent” with Trump’s executive order, it could be removed or replaced, and it reported that an internal NPS database seen by CNN indicated hundreds of displays were flagged for review.

CNN’s reporting listed items marked for review, including books for sale about slavery, displays about the forced internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, and a film about 19th century mill workers in Massachusetts.

In parallel, Noovo Info reported that the Trump administration filed a notice of appeal with the Third Circuit Court of Appeals after Judge Cynthia M. Rufe issued an injunction, and it said the Department of Justice argued that only the administration can decide which narratives are told on National Park Service properties.

Le Devoir reported that the populist administration is expected to appeal the ruling, and it said Judge Cynthia Rufe found the federal government had not honored its agreement with the City and had violated rules set by Congress on collective memory by targeting the exhibit.