As America marks its 250th anniversary this Fourth of July, “World Information Tonight” anchor and managing editor David Muir journeyed to Grand Canyon Nationwide Park in Arizona and Redwood Nationwide and State Parks in Northern California.
ABC is marking America’s 250th anniversary with 24 hours of programming referred to as “Disney Celebrates America” throughout ABC, Disney+, Hulu, ESPN, Nationwide Geographic, FX, Freeform, and ABC Information Dwell.
The multi-platkind broadcast, led by “World Information Tonight” anchor David Muir, will feature protection throughout all 50 states, starting 10 p.m. ET on July 3 and operating through July 4.
Grand Canyon on July 15, 2025 in Arizona.
Scott Olson/Getty Photos
With rock formations that date again almost 2 billion years, the Grand Canyon helps inform the story of the Earth itself. That story is preserved by the indigenous populations who’ve referred to as the huge panorama dwelling for at the very least 12,000 years.
Ed Keable, the superintendent of Grand Canyon Nationwide Park, informed Muir that a part of the great thing about the canyon is the individuals who had been right here first, saying the park “deliberately” works to ensure vacationers be taught in regards to the land’s authentic caretakers.
Amongst these caretakers is the Havasupai Tribe. Havasupai, which implies “Folks of the Blue-Inexperienced Water,” is a sovereign Native American nation situated on the foot of the canyon. For many years, they have fought to assist preserve the canyon pristine and waters clear.
There are 11 federally acknowledged tribes related to the Grand Canyon, with ancestral ties relationship again 1000’s of years. They view the land, which sees thousands and thousands of vacationers yearly, as sacred.
Keable stated that indigenous individuals, each in Nationwide Park Service uniforms and out of doors, work together with guests, sharing their historical past with the park.
“It is their story to inform,” Keable informed Muir.
Carletta Tilousi, a member of the tribe, informed Muir, “We would like America to know that we’re nonetheless right here and we’re nonetheless gonna combat for the safety of the Grand Canyon.”
She famous that the tribe has lived deep inside the canyon for at the very least 800 years.
“It’s part of my historical past, and it’s additionally a part of my ancestors, and it runs by my blood,” she stated.
Farther out west in coastal Northern California are “nature’s skyscrapers,” the towering redwood bushes, rising as much as 380 ft tall — a few of them are greater than 2,000 years previous.
The tallest bushes on the earth, redwoods have grown within the area for at the very least 20 million years.
Muir walked by the breathtaking forest of towering bushes with Ben Blom, the director of stewardship at Save the Redwoods League, remarking on how the bushes are a lot older than the U.S. as a nation.
Redwood bushes are proven in The Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, close to Crescent Metropolis, Calif.
STOCK IMAGE/Getty Photos
“Time is relative. This can be a younger tree, but it surely’s nonetheless older than the US of America,” Blom stated.
“This tree was already massive once we signed the Declaration of Independence, and it was cared for for 1000’s of years by indigenous individuals even earlier than that — and it will reside for a whole lot extra years,” he added.
Redwood Nationwide and State Parks is the ancestral land of the Yurok Tribe, essentially the most populous tribe in California, which is actively concerned in park co-management and land restoration.
In 2024, the Yurok Tribe was returned 125 acres of its authentic land in a landmark settlement signed by the tribe, Save the Redwoods League, the Nationwide Park Service and California State Parks.
Muir spoke with Joseph James, the chairman of the Yurok Tribe, who stated we must always embrace development on America’s 250th anniversary.
“We will not change historical past, however we are able to be taught from it and develop from it. Each particular person grows, regardless of how previous you’re. And it is a rising second, not only for the tribe, not only for the setting, not for this mission. It is for everyone,” he stated.
