U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) today introduced legislation proposing a theme study on the peopling of America. The Peopling of America Theme Study Act of 2001 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to identify regions, areas, districts, structures and cultures that illustrate and commemorate key events or decisions in the peopling of America, and which can provide a basis for the preservation and interpretation of the peopling of America. The bill is identical to legislation (S. 2478) offered by Senator Akaka in the 106th Congress which passed the Senate last year.
The bill encourages development of preservation and education strategies to capture elements of our national culture and history such as immigration, migration, ethnicity, family, neighborhood, and community. The study will make recommendations regarding National Historic Landmark designations and National Register of Historic Places nominations. The study will also facilitate the development of cooperative programs with educational institutions, public history organizations, state and local governments, and groups knowledgeable about the peopling of America.
"Whether we were included in America as native peoples, or came to this country as English colonists or Africans brought in slavery, Portuguese fishermen or Chinese merchants, the process by which our nation was peopled transformed us from strangers into neighbors unified in our diversity," Akaka observed. It is essential for us to understand this process, not only to understand who and where we are, but also to help us understand who we wish to be and where we should be headed as a nation. As the caretaker of some of our most important cultural and historical resources, the National Park Service is in a unique position to conduct a study that can offer guidance on this fundamental subject."
The bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to prepare and submit to Congress a theme study on the Peopling of America. The theme study will be carried out by the National Park Service. The theme study may recommend to Congress potential new National Park units appropriate to the peopling of America.
The bill also directs the Secretary to identify potential new national historic landmarks and national historic places as part of the theme study. It provides for continuing authority for the Secretary to identify and designate national historic landmarks and historic places to commemorate the peopling of America. It authorizes public education and research efforts to link regions, groups of people, and units of the Park system, in order to maximize opportunities for public education and scholarly research on the peopling of America. Local and national organizations and educational and professional groups can enter into cooperative arrangements with the Park Service to participate in conducting the study.
The legislation underscores and broadens the official NPS thematic framework that "the Secretary shall ensure that the full diversity of American history and prehistory are represented" in the identification and interpretation by the National Park Service.
