Birds of Incarceration
On an air-conditioned bus to Tule Lake, we fold shimmering sheets of colored paper into delicate, mystical birds. The weight of the shared ritual makes my fingers fumble. It’s been decades since I made origami with my immigrant mother, and I feel pressure to reprise...
Beyond Bears Ears
This piece appeared in the March 2018 issue of Outside Magazine The last time I visited Yosemite National Park, I made the jaunt to Glacier Point. Standing at the edge of the drop-off, I tried to imagine myself taking in the magnificent vista while discussing...
Japanese American Exclusion
When the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial was little more than a clearing in a forest on Puget Sound, among its first visitors was a cacophonous murder of crows. On March 30, 2002, about 750 people came to mark the 60th anniversary of the...
An Urban Initiative for NPS
Using small-unit nimbleness to attack national parks’ big-picture diversity issue By Glenn Nelson White, male and “midcareer,” Seattle’s Charles Beall in a lot of ways is the face of the National Park Service that turns 100 on Aug. 25. He also may be the best...