The United States Senate has passed legislation introduced by U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) proposing a theme study on the peopling of America. The Peopling of America Theme Study Act of 2000 (S. 2478) 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.
S. 2478 encourages development of preservation and education strategies to capture elements of our national culture and history such as immigration, migration, ethnicity, family, gender, health, 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.
"The prehistory and the history of this nation are inextricably linked to the mosaic of migrations, immigrations and cultures that has resulted in the peopling of America," Akaka noted. Americans are travelers from other regions, continents and islands. We need a better understanding and appreciation of this coherent and unifying theme in America. This is the source of our nation's greatness and strength.
"We embody the cultures and traditions that our forebears brought from other places and shores, as well as the new traditions and cultures that we adopted or created anew upon arrival. S. 2478 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. In recent years Congress has mandated other theme studies, including the Underground Railroad, landmark theme study on Japanese American wartime relocation sites, and a desegregation theme study. The theme study may recommend to Congress potential new National Park units relative to the peopling of America.
The Secretary would identify potential new national historic landmarks and national historic places as part of the theme study. The bill also 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.
" Whether we were brought into America as native peoples, or came to this country as English colonists or African slaves, 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.
A companion measure, H.R. 5263, introduced by Representatives Mark Souder (R-IN) and Neil Abercrombie (D-HI), is pending in the House of Representatives.
