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Contact: Amy Genke, 402-223-3514
| National Genealogical Society Awards Homestead National Historical Park BEATRICE, Neb. – Homestead National Historical Park was awarded a Genealogy Tourism Award by the National Genealogical Society at their 2023 annual conference in Richmond, Virginia. The award recognizes leaders in the promotion of genealogical research. In 2019 the park received digital assets from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln – Center of Great Plains Study about six black homesteading communities to share on the National Park Service website. In the years that have followed, the Black Homesteaders Project has grown into an innovative collaborative effort between Homestead National Historical Park and descendants of homesteaders, researchers, genealogists, and volunteers. Genealogy tourism refers to the form of travel (physically and online) that people undertake to trace their ancestral family lineage and settlement. Homestead NHP has been working to connect citizens to homestead history through the Black Homesteaders Project. The project works to research and understand how black citizens, many who had stepped out of enslavement, utilized the Homestead Act of 1862 to become land owners. Race was not included on homestead Land Entry Case Files protected at the National Archives in Washington D.C., which makes researching black homesteaders challenging. Many descendants of homesteaders do not know their connection to the law and its impact on their family and ultimately, the nation. The park aims to inspire people to ask the question, “Could my family be connected to this history?” In this pursuit, the park has located and worked with many new found descendants who have become genealogical tourists of their own lives. Homestead provides the knowledge about how to start research which has taken descendants on travels across the country to learn more about their roots. Many descendants have chosen to acquire their homesteading Land Entry Case Files from the National Archives which provides a wealth of knowledge about homestead life. From there, the documents are submitted to the park, along with a descendant written homestead story to add to the park’s repository and to share on the NPS’s website for the benefit of genealogists, researchers, and future generations. “Working with descendants has been a rewarding experience for the staff at the park and has highlighted the fact that there is much more to learn about black homesteading across the nation. It is especially important to note, the nomination for this award came from homestead descendants.” said Superintendent Betty Boyko. “Homestead descendants know that their genealogical research is illuminating a narrative relatively unknown in the history of the United States, and it is truly an honor to be recognized by the National Genealogical Society. ”Remember, Homestead National Historical Park has an exciting schedule of events planned for 2023. Keep up with the latest information by following us on Twitter (HomesteadNHP) and Facebook (Homestead National Historical Park). About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for the 425 parks in the National Park System and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Visit us at www.nps.gov, on Facebook www.facebook.com/nationalparkservice, Twitter www.twitter.com/natlparkservice, and YouTube www.youtube.com/nationalparkservice. |
Last updated: August 11, 2023