In America, national parks are more than scenic − they’re sacred. But they were created at a cost to Native Americans

'Valley of the Yosemite' by the 19th-century artist Albert Bierstadt, owned by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. VCG Wilson/Corbis via Getty Images

Abraham Lincoln has an almost saintly place in U.S. history: the “Great Emancipator” whose leadership during the Civil War preserved the Union and abolished slavery.

Often overlooked among his achievements is legislation he signed June 30, 1864, during the thick of the war – but only marginally related to the conflict. The Yosemite Valley Grant Act preserved the Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove in California as a park “held for public use, resort, and recreation … for all time.”