Guardians of Yosemite: Who were the Buffalo Soldiers?

YOSEMITE, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – In the 19th and early 20th centuries, a group of African American soldiers were tasked with protecting vast stretches of land in the United States. These soldiers were known as the Buffalo Soldiers and a group of them helped protect Yosemite National Park.

“Every time you walk out in Yosemite, you’re going to see something you’ve never seen before. You’re going to hear something you’ve never heard before. And you’re going to feel something you’ve never felt before,” said Yosemite National Park Ranger Shelton Johnson.

“That quiet right now, that sound of the river right there, all that is part of something bigger than you, it’s bigger than me, it’s part of something sacred. It’s spirit.”

The year is 1903 in Yosemite National Park.

Sergeant Elijah Yancy is fierce, tenacious, and brave, and better known as a Buffalo Soldier – a moniker some say was given to him and his brothers on the battlefield by Native Americans because their hair resembled a buffalo’s coat. Some historians say the name symbolized respect for the soldiers’ courage and bravery.

“I was volunteered for this duty. I’m a Sergeant with the Troop K Ninth Regiment Cavalry,” Johnson said, acting as Yancy.

They are considered the first all-Black professional army soldiers in the United States. They were also trailblazers in establishing some of the country’s first national parks.

“It’s more than just military history, it’s human history, and it’s African American history or African history on this new template of national parks,” Johnson said.

Johnson uses interpretive storytelling to bring Yancy’s story to life.  

“In Yosemite, every day is a Sunday. It doesn’t matter what day of the week it is. It’s always Sunday because you always feel like you’re in a place where you should be worshiping something,” Johnson said, acting as Yancy.

Johnson highlights the soldiers’ responsibilities, which included patrolling the backcountry and protecting the park. 

“They were providing a presence of law and order in what was essentially a lawless area. The duties that rangers do today, to a great degree, are modified and or influenced by what the soldiers were doing at that time,” Johnson said.

Johnson also shares one of their most notable achievements in Yosemite National Park.

“African American soldiers built what’s considered to be the first museum in what would become the national park system. It was an arboretum, just a trail on the South Fork of the Merced,” Johnson said.

Their work transcends time and those who look closely can find pieces of the Buffalo Soldier history everywhere.

“I knew innately at first glance that this was the most significant history for African Americans with regards to America’s best idea in the entire breadth of the national park system because it’s the only story of African Americans serving as de-facto park rangers in the second and third oldest national parks in the United States. That’s a huge story,” Johnson said.  

Across California’s Sierra Nevada, trails the soldiers built are still in use today. Many were created under the leadership of Brigadier General Charles Young, a graduate of the United States Military Academy West Point, whose work led him to become a national park superintendent – the first African American to do so.

“He was responsible for building the first trails on the top of Mount Whitney, the highest mountain at that time in the United States. More work was done under his leadership than in all the preceding years combined. So, whenever folks are on top of Mount Whitney, they’re not necessarily thinking, ‘You know what, a black man helped build this.’ They don’t know that story. And that’s part of the problem. When there are stories that involve women, stories that involve people of color, and those stories, instead of being celebrated, are often suppressed. And sometimes just ignoring it is the worst kind of oppression.”

“Talk about triumph over adversity, which is kind of a paraphrase for Charles Young’s life in general, a triumph out of adversity. That’s what they all had to do. That’s what they all succeeded in doing,” Johnson said.

Today, Johnson continues to shed light on the challenges buffalo soldiers faced beyond their uniforms through his interpretive presentations. 

“I was raised to believe and to feel that I was nothing from the white folks that were in that, where I grew up. And so, we had all these things we couldn’t do. If we were on the sidewalk and they were coming toward us, we had to step off the sidewalk, and step onto the ground. And we built that sidewalk,” Johnson said, acting as Yancy.

“My mama said, she said, ‘Boy, there’s some words that are meant to hurt. There are some words that are meant to cut, to tear into you. And that word that starts with that ‘N.’ There’s nothing positive about that word, there’s nothing full of light in that word. It’s just the worst kind of darkness. So I, if someone calls you that, it’s all because they don’t know you.”

What the soldiers accomplished in the face of racism and discrimination as our nation’s first park rangers is part of their legacy that continues to thrive today.

“When I meet African Americans who are saying, ‘Oh, national parks, it’s not a Black thing, that’s just not something that we do.’ And then I say to them that 100 years ago, during the height of Jim Crow, people who looked like you and me were protecting Yosemite National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of the wonders of the world. They were protecting Sequoia National Park, which has the largest tree on Earth. That was their responsibility. If we can do all of that, there’s no shame in that. There’s pride in that,” Johnson said.

For Johnson, the most important thing now is sharing the story of the Buffalo Soldiers.

“Stories, once they’re being told, literally are alive. And that’s one thing that I’ve learned about history. History is only dead when we stop telling that story and sharing that story with other people.”