Death Valley National Park officials say the Timbisha Shoshone exhibit at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center is not being removed or altered by Friday, as the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe promotes a Jan. 30 commemorative march and public ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the Homeland Act.
“We will not be adding to the Timbisha exhibit in Furnace Creek Visitor Center by Friday, nor are we taking down any exhibits at this time. The review process will take longer than that,” said Abby Wines, Acting Deputy Superintendent, Death Valley National Park.
The statement is aimed at correcting widespread uncertainty that emerged locally in recent days, as three separate developments were often treated as one: a national review of interpretive materials, questions about how a Homeland Act anniversary commemoration could proceed, and the status of the visitor center exhibit itself. Park officials said the exhibit is not being taken down “at this time,” and emphasized that the review process extends beyond this week.
A national review with local implications
The clarification comes as a Reuters report, citing The Washington Post, said U.S. officials ordered national parks to remove or edit dozens of signs and displays addressing the mistreatment of Native Americans by settlers, as well as climate change and environmental protection. The same Reuters item reported that the Interior Department—overseeing the National Park Service—said it was carrying out President Donald Trump’s executive order on “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” including a review of interpretive materials and “appropriate action” after that review is completed.
At Furnace Creek, where the park’s main visitor center also houses the Timbisha Shoshone exhibit, the national controversy has been closely watched. The Furnace Creek Visitor Center is where visitors typically meet with park rangers, pay entry fees or purchase park passes, view exhibits, watch the 20-minute park film, and shop for books and other items.
What prompted the clarification
Questions intensified after a Saturday afternoon event at the Shoshone museum featuring local author Robin Flinchum’s discussion of vigilante justice in Death Valley mining camps. An introductory note by the town’s owner, Susan Sorrells, said the Department of the Interior told the Timbisha Shoshone that they could not commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Homeland Act on Friday.
In the days that followed, the information circulated unevenly and was widely interpreted in some local conversations as an immediate cancellation or an exhibit/signage removal at Furnace Creek. Park officials are now seeking to correct the record: the exhibit will not be changed by Friday, and no exhibits are being taken down at this time.
Even as park staff worked to clarify what had—and had not—changed at the visitor center, residents across the Amargosa Basin began organizing caravans to attend the Friday gathering, treating the trip as a show of support and a visible public presence at Furnace Creek.
Jan. 30: Tribe promotes a march and ceremony
The Timbisha Shoshone Homeland Act is a federal law—Public Law 106-423, signed November 1, 2000—passed to give the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe a permanent land base within its aboriginal homeland, much of which includes what is now Death Valley National Park.
In practical terms, the Act directed the United States to take specific lands (and certain related interests, including water provisions) into federal trust for the Tribe—a legal status that functions as reservation land.
The law transferred about 7,800 acres in total, including a 314-acre parcel at Furnace Creek encompassing the Timbisha village site. The National Park Service describes this as making Death Valley the first—and still the only—U.S. national park to create a reservation within its boundaries.
On Tuesday, the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe posted a flyer on social media promoting a march and ceremony under the message:
“Honoring 25 Years of the Homeland Act Celebrating Our Past, Present & Future. We are still here. We always have been. We always will be.”
COMMEMORATIVE MARCH
Friday, January 30, 2026 Starts at 9:30 AM
Timbisha Shoshone Village to Furnace Creek Visitor Center
PUBLIC CEREMONY
10:00 AM
Furnace Creek Visitor Center
Some of the uncertainty has centered on timing. While early word-of-mouth described a 9:00 a.m. start, the Tribe’s posted flyer specifies a 9:30 a.m. march followed by a 10:00 a.m. public ceremony. In the comments, some locals said they were only just learning of the event and scrambling to make plans. One local commented on social media, “Why am I just seeing this? Doesn’t give me much time to prepare anything.”
Park officials said they do not yet have clearance to issue a press release and directed questions about the Jan. 30 gathering to Timbisha Shoshone leadership.
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