# Shelton Johnson

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Shelton_Johnson
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Shelton_Johnson.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelton_Johnson
> Source revision: 1357115383
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

American novelist

Shelton Johnson Johnson in the uniform of a Buffalo Soldier Born 1958 (age 67–68) Detroit, Michigan, U.S. Education Cass Technical High School University of Michigan (BA) Occupation Park ranger Children 1

**Shelton Johnson** (born 1958 in [Detroit](/source/Detroit), [Michigan](/source/Michigan)) is a [park ranger](/source/Park_ranger) with the U.S. [National Park Service](/source/National_Park_Service), and works in [Yosemite National Park](/source/Yosemite_National_Park). As of 2023 he had worked in Yosemite for 30 years of his 37-year career.

Johnson began his career in [Yellowstone National Park](/source/Yellowstone_National_Park) in 1987.[1] He had numerous appearances in the [Ken Burns](/source/Ken_Burns) documentary miniseries *[The National Parks: America's Best Idea](/source/The_National_Parks%3A_America's_Best_Idea)*, broadcast on [PBS](/source/Public_Broadcasting_Service) September 27 to October 2, 2009, and was called the "unexpected star" of the film.[2] Johnson attended a preview of the film at the [White House](/source/White_House), where he discussed the documentary with President [Barack Obama](/source/Barack_Obama).[3]

## Background

Johnson was born in [Detroit](/source/Detroit) in 1958. He is of [African-American](/source/African-American) and [Native American](/source/Indigenous_peoples_of_the_Americas) ancestry.[4] While living in Germany, where his father was stationed with the U.S. Army, Shelton, at five years of age, went on a family vacation to the [Berchtesgaden](/source/Berchtesgaden) area in Germany's [Bavarian Alps](/source/Bavarian_Alps), which later became the [Berchtesgaden National Park](/source/Berchtesgaden_National_Park). He describes this visit as influential in developing his feeling of [awe](/source/Awe) for mountains and the sky.[4] His family also visited the [Black Forest](/source/Black_Forest).[5]

Johnson graduated from [Cass Technical High School](/source/Cass_Technical_High_School) in Detroit in 1976. He attended college at the [University of Michigan](/source/University_of_Michigan), where he graduated with a B.A. in [English literature](/source/English_literature) in 1981.[4][5] He then joined the [Peace Corps](/source/Peace_Corps), serving as an English teacher in [Liberia](/source/Liberia).[5] He later returned to the University of Michigan to do graduate study in poetry, before going to work for the [National Park Service](/source/National_Park_Service).[5]

## Work

Johnson is an advocate for bringing minorities, particularly [African-Americans](/source/African-American), to the National Parks and connecting them to the natural world.[5] He believes that "one of the great losses to African culture from slavery was the loss of kinship with the earth".[1] He dedicated his work to this issue when he found the history of [Buffalo Soldiers](/source/Buffalo_Soldiers), the African-American regiments of the historically segregated U.S. Army.

Johnson is now known for his research and publications on the assignments of the [24th Infantry Regiment](/source/24th_Infantry_Regiment) and the [9th Cavalry Regiment](/source/9th_Cavalry_Regiment) to protect the new National Parks in California's [Sierra Nevada](/source/Sierra_Nevada_(U.S.)). He created a website called *Shadow Soldiers* around a fictive letter to the Buffalo Soldiers at the parks,[4][6] and wrote and maintains a segment on the Buffalo Soldiers on Yosemite National Park's official website.[7] He wrote and performs a living history performance called *Yosemite Through the Eyes of a Buffalo Soldier, 1904*, which is presented as an [interpretive program](/source/Heritage_interpretation) at the park and at locations around the country.[4] \

In 2009, Johnson received the National [Freeman Tilden](/source/Freeman_Tilden) Award as the best interpreting ranger in the National Park Service for his work with Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan on their national parks documentary.[5][8]

President Barack Obama and Shelton Johnson discussing the Ken Burns documentary on the National Parks

In 2010, Johnson invited [Oprah Winfrey](/source/Oprah_Winfrey) to visit the parks as an icon of the African-American community, in order to spread "the word that the national parks really are America's best idea, and that this beauty belongs to every American, including African-Americans".[4][9] In October 2010, Winfrey (with her friend [Gail King](/source/Gail_King)) spent two days and a night camping in Yosemite National Park, and dedicated two of her shows to the National Parks.[4][10]

In 2010, Johnson was the recipient of [Clemson University](/source/Clemson_University)'s William C. Everhart Award "for sustained achievements in interpretation that have illuminated, created insights to, and fostered an appreciation of our cultural and historical heritage."[11]

Johnson is the author of the historical novel *Gloryland*, published by [Sierra Club Books](/source/Sierra_Club_Books) in 2009.[2][4] The book is a fictional memoir of a [Black Indian](/source/Black_Indians_in_the_United_States) from [South Carolina](/source/South_Carolina) who becomes a [Buffalo Soldier](/source/Buffalo_Soldier) assigned to patrol Yosemite in 1903.[2][12]

When asked why he does not seek a promotion and thus higher pay, Johnson was quoted as saying: "I facilitate astonishment. I didn't join the Park Service for money; I get paid in gasps."[13]

## Personal life

Johnson is married and has one son. He resides in [Mariposa County](/source/Mariposa_County), near Yosemite National Park.

## Publications

- Shelton Johnson: *Gloryland*. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, 2009, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-57805-144-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-57805-144-1). On Saturday, May 22, 2010, he spoke as part of the Sundance Tree Room Author Series regarding his historical novel "Gloryland".

## Recognition

- 1981 Major Hopwood Award in Poetry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.

- 2002 Pacific West Region Freeman Tilden Award, National Parks Conservation Association.

- 2006 Honorary Kentucky Colonel, commission awarded by Ernie Fletcher, the Governor of Kentucky.

- 2009 Pacific West Region Freeman Tilden Award, National Parks Conservation Association.

- 2009 National Freeman Tilden Award, National Parks Conservation Association.

- 2010 William C. Everhart Award, Clemson University.

- 2011 George B. Hartzog, Jr. Award, Coalition of National Park Service Retirees.

- 2011 Environmental Leadership Award, Ecology Law Quarterly, University of California, Berkeley.

- 2011 Commencement Speaker for the University of Michigan's College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, English Department Graduates, on April 28, 2011, at the Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

- 2012 Robin W. Winks Award, National Parks Conservation Association.

- 2013 Stewart L. Udall Award, Western National Parks Association.

- 2013 Legacy Leadership Award, The African American Experience Fund of the National Park Foundation.

- 2015 Superior Service Award, U.S. Department of the Interior.

- 2016 Nature's Inspiration Honoree, Committee for Green Foothills, Runnymede Farm, CA.

- 2016 Presented the Opening Plenary Talk for the 8th World Ranger Congress held in Estes Park, CO in 2016. This was the first time the triennial Congress was held in the United States. There were over 300 delegates in attendance from over 150 nations. This was also a National Park Service Centennial Event.

- 2017 Outdoor Retailer's List of the Top 25 Most Talented People in the Outdoor Industry, Outdoor Retailer, Salt Lake City, UT.

- 2017-18 Served as a member of the Nominating Committee for the Ken Burns American Heritage Prize, American Prairie Reserve.

- 2020 Featured on the cover of "American Way" magazine, and profiled in the story "Treasure Keepers" by Allie Conti which profiled multiple NPS employees and was published by American Airlines in August 2020. Monthly circulation for this publication was over 16 million passengers.

- 2021 Received the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award from [Outdoor Afro](/source/Outdoor_Afro)

- 2021 Became a member of the inaugural "The Explorers Club 50: The Storytellers". Nominated by Richard Wiese (FN'89). 400 membership nominations were received from 48 countries.

- 2022 Received the 2022 American Park Experience Award from the National Park Trust.

- 2022 On March 18, 2022, U.S. Representative Katie Porter, D-CA, 45th District, recognized Ranger Shelton Johnson on the floor of the U.S. Congress for his work in Yosemite communicating the hidden history of the African American U.S. Army troops (Twenty-fourth Regiment of Infantry and Ninth Regiment of Cavalry) who served as some of the first "Park Rangers" in Yosemite National Park over a decade prior to the creation of the National Park Service in 1916.

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-sfc_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-sfc_1-1) Fimrite, Peter (August 9, 2009). ["Park ranger asks: Where are the black visitors?"](https://web.archive.org/web/20090811123725/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/08/MNF31926R7.DTL). San Francisco: San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from [the original](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/08/MNF31926R7.DTL) on August 11, 2009. Retrieved 17 December 2009.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Post_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Post_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Post_2-2) Owen, Rob (September 29, 2009). ["Yosemite ranger unexpected star of Burns' national parks series"](http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09270/1000592-67.stm). Pittsburgh: Post-Gazette. Retrieved 6 January 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Ranger Shelton Johnson Meets President Obama at Ken Burns Screening"](https://yosemiteblog.com/ranger-shelton-johnson-meets-president-obama-at-ken-burns-screening/). Yosemite Blog. Retrieved 31 May 2026.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Times_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Times_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Times_4-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Times_4-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-Times_4-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-Times_4-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-Times_4-6) [***h***](#cite_ref-Times_4-7) Mireya Navarro, "National Parks Reach Out to Blacks Who Aren’t Visiting," *[New York Times](/source/New_York_Times)*, November 2, 2010, p. A17, columns 1-5. (Caption to Lead Photograph: "Shelton Johnson, a ranger at Yosemite, enlisted Oprah Winfrey in an effort to increase interest in national parks among blacks.") Found at [*The New York Times* website](https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/03/science/earth/03parks.html). Retrieved January 6, 2011.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-UMI_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-UMI_5-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-UMI_5-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-UMI_5-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-UMI_5-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-UMI_5-5) ["Profiles of Minority Professional: Shelton Johnson"](https://web.archive.org/web/20100408045726/http://meldi.snre.umich.edu/node/12467). Ann Arbor, MI: Multicultural Environmental Leadership Development. 2006. Archived from [the original](http://meldi.snre.umich.edu/node/12467) on 8 April 2010. Retrieved 17 December 2009.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** [Shadowsoldiers](http://shadowsoldier.wilderness.net/ho_homenofl_fram.html)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** National Park Service: [Yosemite National Park − Buffalo Soldiers](https://www.nps.gov/yose/learn/historyculture/buffalo-soldiers.htm)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** National Park Service: [Ranger Shelton Johnson Receives National Freeman Tilden Award](https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/news/index.htm?type=PeopleNews&id=2561)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** huffingtonpost.com: *[Diversity in our national parks](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-kiernan/diversity-in-our-national_b_779637.html)*, November 5, 2010

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Oprah.com: *[Oprah and Gayle Go to Yosemite](http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Oprah-and-Gayles-Camping-Adventure-in-Yosemite)*, October 29, 2010

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Clemson University: [Shelton Johnson presented the William C. Everhart Award](http://www.clemson.edu/media-relations/article.php?article_id=3136) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120929084120/http://www.clemson.edu/media-relations/article.php?article_id=3136) 2012-09-29 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine), Press release, October 6, 2010

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Johnson, Shelton (September–October 2009). ["Gloryland: From a park ranger's new novel about historic Yosemite's buffalo soldiers"](http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200909/gloryland.aspx). *Sierra Magazine*. San Francisco: Sierra Club.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** ["How Shelton Johnson became the Buffalo Soldiers' champion"](https://www.hcn.org/articles/from-detroit-to-yosemite-the-journey-of-shelton-johnson-champion-of-the-buffalo-soldiers). *High Country News*. 28 July 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2016.

v t e Yosemite National Park Attractions Yosemite Valley Yosemite Village Hetch Hetchy Glacier Point Badger Pass Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias Tuolumne Meadows Tioga Pass Wawona Tree Chilnualna Falls Valley attractions Half Dome Yosemite Falls El Capitan Films: El Capitan, The Dawn Wall, Free Solo, To the Limit Bridalveil Fall Happy Isles Mirror Lake North Dome Vernal Fall Nevada Fall Little Yosemite Valley LeConte Lodge Bracebridge Dinner Yosemite Firefall Yosemite Valley Chapel Hiking trails John Muir Trail Mist Trail Panorama Trail McGurk Meadow Ostrander Lake Taft Point Sentinel Dome Alder Creek Mariposa Grove Wapama Falls Lembert Dome Rock climbs Fairview Dome, North Face Half Dome, Northwest Face Lost Arrow Spire Midnight Lightning Royal Arches Route Salathé Wall (El Capitan) Steck-Salathé Route (Sentinel Rock) Separate Reality The Nose (El Capitan) People John Muir Stephen T. Mather Galen Clark Shelton Johnson Buffalo Soldiers Chief Tenaya Ahwahnechee people Lodging and camping Yosemite Lodge at the Falls The Ahwahnee Curry Village Wawona Hotel Housekeeping Camp High Sierra Camps Camp 4 Natural disasters 1938 Yosemite TWA crash 1996 Yosemite Valley landslide 1997 Merced River flood 2013 Rim Wildfire 2022 Washburn Wildfire Transportation Nearby airports FAT RMY MMH YARTS Route 140 Route 41 Route 120 Nearby municipalities Foresta El Portal & Arch Rock Entrance Yosemite West & Chinquapin Wawona Bootjack Mariposa Briceburg Oakhurst Midpines Lee Vining Additional information History of the Yosemite area Geology of the Yosemite area List of historic places List of waterfalls Yosemite Category California Portal

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF WorldCat National United States Other Yale LUX

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Shelton Johnson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelton_Johnson) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelton_Johnson?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.