Wind Cave National Park in the southern Black Hills of South Dakota protects one of the longest and most complex caves in the world, with over 160 miles of explored passageways, as well as one of the largest remaining mixed-grass prairies in the United States. Wind Cave is distinguished by its extensive boxwork formations — thin calcite fins resembling honeycomb — found in greater quantity here than in any other known cave. The cave is considered sacred by the Lakota people, who know it as "Washun Niya" (the Breathing Hole), and it figures prominently in their creation story as the place from which the Lakota people emerged into the world. Wind Cave was established as the seventh national park in 1903 by President Theodore Roosevelt, making it the first cave to be designated a national park anywhere in the world. The park's surface also supports a free-ranging bison herd descended from animals reintroduced from the Bronx Zoo in 1913.
📚 Learn More at NPSHistory.com →Long before Wind Cave NP became a national park, this land was home to Indigenous peoples whose connection to it spans thousands of years. The interpretive materials now being reviewed tell their story — often developed through years of formal tribal consultation, as required by federal law.
Why this matters: The Indigenous history presented at Wind Cave NP was developed through formal tribal consultation — a legal requirement under federal law. The language being reviewed was often specifically requested by tribal nations whose ancestors lived on this land for thousands of years. Revising it without renewed consultation would violate both the spirit and the letter of that process.
Information needing review that might be out of compliance with SO 3431 criteria. This exhibit panel was developed through a series of consultation meetings with tribal partners.
Wind Cave NP in SD is one of hundreds of National Park Service sites where interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. This directive requires parks to review materials that could be considered negative about past or living Americans — a standard that threatens the factual historical record these sites were created to preserve.
Why this matters: Wind Cave NP is one of 466+ National Park Service sites where historically accurate interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. Over 300 million people visit national parks each year. For many — especially schoolchildren — these visits are their first and deepest encounter with American history.
Needs review: Contains content that might conflict with SO 3431 or EO 14253.
Wind Cave NP in SD is one of hundreds of National Park Service sites where interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. This directive requires parks to review materials that could be considered negative about past or living Americans — a standard that threatens the factual historical record these sites were created to preserve.
Why this matters: Wind Cave NP is one of 466+ National Park Service sites where historically accurate interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. Over 300 million people visit national parks each year. For many — especially schoolchildren — these visits are their first and deepest encounter with American history.
Needs review: Contains content that might conflict with SO 3431 or EO 14253.
Wind Cave NP in SD is one of hundreds of National Park Service sites where interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. This directive requires parks to review materials that could be considered negative about past or living Americans — a standard that threatens the factual historical record these sites were created to preserve.
Why this matters: Wind Cave NP is one of 466+ National Park Service sites where historically accurate interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. Over 300 million people visit national parks each year. For many — especially schoolchildren — these visits are their first and deepest encounter with American history.
Needs review: Contains content that might conflict with SO 3431 or EO 14253.
Wind Cave NP in SD is one of hundreds of National Park Service sites where interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. This directive requires parks to review materials that could be considered negative about past or living Americans — a standard that threatens the factual historical record these sites were created to preserve.
Why this matters: Wind Cave NP is one of 466+ National Park Service sites where historically accurate interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. Over 300 million people visit national parks each year. For many — especially schoolchildren — these visits are their first and deepest encounter with American history.
Needs review: Contains content that might conflict with SO 3431 or EO 14253.
Wind Cave NP in SD is one of hundreds of National Park Service sites where interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. This directive requires parks to review materials that could be considered negative about past or living Americans — a standard that threatens the factual historical record these sites were created to preserve.
Why this matters: Wind Cave NP is one of 466+ National Park Service sites where historically accurate interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. Over 300 million people visit national parks each year. For many — especially schoolchildren — these visits are their first and deepest encounter with American history.
Needs review: Contains content that may conflict with SO 3431 or EO 14253.
Wind Cave NP in SD is one of hundreds of National Park Service sites where interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. This directive requires parks to review materials that could be considered negative about past or living Americans — a standard that threatens the factual historical record these sites were created to preserve.
Why this matters: Wind Cave NP is one of 466+ National Park Service sites where historically accurate interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. Over 300 million people visit national parks each year. For many — especially schoolchildren — these visits are their first and deepest encounter with American history.
Needs review: Contains content that may conflict with SO 3431 or EO 14253.
Wind Cave NP in SD is one of hundreds of National Park Service sites where interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. This directive requires parks to review materials that could be considered negative about past or living Americans — a standard that threatens the factual historical record these sites were created to preserve.
Why this matters: Wind Cave NP is one of 466+ National Park Service sites where historically accurate interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. Over 300 million people visit national parks each year. For many — especially schoolchildren — these visits are their first and deepest encounter with American history.
Needs review: Contains content that may conflict with SO 3431 or EO 14253.
Wind Cave NP in SD is one of hundreds of National Park Service sites where interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. This directive requires parks to review materials that could be considered negative about past or living Americans — a standard that threatens the factual historical record these sites were created to preserve.
Why this matters: Wind Cave NP is one of 466+ National Park Service sites where historically accurate interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. Over 300 million people visit national parks each year. For many — especially schoolchildren — these visits are their first and deepest encounter with American history.
Needs review: Contains content that may conflict with SO 3431 or EO 14253.
Wind Cave NP in SD is one of hundreds of National Park Service sites where interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. This directive requires parks to review materials that could be considered negative about past or living Americans — a standard that threatens the factual historical record these sites were created to preserve.
Why this matters: Wind Cave NP is one of 466+ National Park Service sites where historically accurate interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. Over 300 million people visit national parks each year. For many — especially schoolchildren — these visits are their first and deepest encounter with American history.
Needs review: Contains content that may conflict with SO 3431 or EO 14253.
Wind Cave NP in SD is one of hundreds of National Park Service sites where interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. This directive requires parks to review materials that could be considered negative about past or living Americans — a standard that threatens the factual historical record these sites were created to preserve.
Why this matters: Wind Cave NP is one of 466+ National Park Service sites where historically accurate interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. Over 300 million people visit national parks each year. For many — especially schoolchildren — these visits are their first and deepest encounter with American history.
Needs review: Contains content that may conflict with SO 3431 or EO 14253.
Wind Cave NP in SD is one of hundreds of National Park Service sites where interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. This directive requires parks to review materials that could be considered negative about past or living Americans — a standard that threatens the factual historical record these sites were created to preserve.
Why this matters: Wind Cave NP is one of 466+ National Park Service sites where historically accurate interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. Over 300 million people visit national parks each year. For many — especially schoolchildren — these visits are their first and deepest encounter with American history.
Needs review: Contains content that may conflict with SO 3431 or EO 14253.
Wind Cave NP in SD is one of hundreds of National Park Service sites where interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. This directive requires parks to review materials that could be considered negative about past or living Americans — a standard that threatens the factual historical record these sites were created to preserve.
Why this matters: Wind Cave NP is one of 466+ National Park Service sites where historically accurate interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. Over 300 million people visit national parks each year. For many — especially schoolchildren — these visits are their first and deepest encounter with American history.
Needs review: Contains content that may conflict with SO 3431 or EO 14253.
Wind Cave NP in SD is one of hundreds of National Park Service sites where interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. This directive requires parks to review materials that could be considered negative about past or living Americans — a standard that threatens the factual historical record these sites were created to preserve.
Why this matters: Wind Cave NP is one of 466+ National Park Service sites where historically accurate interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. Over 300 million people visit national parks each year. For many — especially schoolchildren — these visits are their first and deepest encounter with American history.
Needs review: Contains content that may conflict with SO 3431 or EO 14253.
Wind Cave NP in SD is one of hundreds of National Park Service sites where interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. This directive requires parks to review materials that could be considered negative about past or living Americans — a standard that threatens the factual historical record these sites were created to preserve.
Why this matters: Wind Cave NP is one of 466+ National Park Service sites where historically accurate interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. Over 300 million people visit national parks each year. For many — especially schoolchildren — these visits are their first and deepest encounter with American history.
Needs review: Contains content that may conflict with SO 3431 or EO 14253.
Wind Cave NP in SD is one of hundreds of National Park Service sites where interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. This directive requires parks to review materials that could be considered negative about past or living Americans — a standard that threatens the factual historical record these sites were created to preserve.
Why this matters: Wind Cave NP is one of 466+ National Park Service sites where historically accurate interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. Over 300 million people visit national parks each year. For many — especially schoolchildren — these visits are their first and deepest encounter with American history.
Needs review: Contains content that may conflict with SO 3431 or EO 14253.
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