Yellowstone

    

Something I saw this week was the introductory video on Yellowstone National Park. This video was just a four-minute preview of some of the features of Yellowstone. Even so, I found it quite interesting, and overall lovely to see what goes on in the park. A lot of it was wildlife, which I especially enjoyed. Included is a photo (not from the video) of Yellowstone. This is an especially striking image because of all of the different colors included, which is hard to find in a natural setting at times. 

    Something I learned today is that the term "Native American" isn't that great to use nowadays. I had already known that "Indians" was not the proper word to use when talking about them. I have never been taught that, in fact, the term "indigenous people" is the best term when describing multiple tribes. It was also good to be reminded that you should always refer to each tribe by its specific name whenever possible. While this one is a bit more straightforward and more obvious, it is still a nice thing to remember. Another thing I learned about, well, was a lot about Yellowstone! I have heard about Yellowstone in the past, but I have never taken the time to visit or learn about the park. I found it quite cool that it was a photographer--William Henry Jackson--that brought up the idea to the government to make it a national park. It was also fun to hear about how the American government at the time did not consider this much of a big decision, or one that would set a trend. Obviously, it did set a trend - a good one! 

    A connection I made was one about the working class and parks, and how that connects to my pillars English class. I took ENG 299, Writing from the Workers. I was reminded in some of our discussions this week that the working class is in need of these parks. Without them, there would not as easily be an outlet for their everyday life. Not only that but these working-class people were being taken advantage of by the people wanting to industrialize and commercialize Yellowstone National Park--AKA the Yellowstone Park Improvement Company.