GARDINER, Mont. — Welcome, new U.S. citizens!
Yellowstone National Park (YNP) hosted a citizenship ceremony at Arch Park in Gardiner, Montana, on Thursday, Sept. 25.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephanie A. Hambrick administered the Oath of Allegiance, and Yellowstone Deputy Superintendent Mike Tranel made congratulatory remarks to the new citizens.
YNP Ranger Camden Hunt sang the national anthem at the ceremony in the shadow of the Roosevelt Arch, which welcomes visitors to the park’s North Entrance.
Students from the Gardiner chapter of Future Farmers of America handed out YNP quarters to the new citizens.
A total of 41 people took the oath, and they originated from 20 countries, including Belgium, Brazil, Burma, Canada, El Salvador, Germany, Jamaica, Mexico, New Zealand, Pakistan, Panama, Philippines, Russia, Slovakia, South Korea, Sweden, Thailand, United Kingdom, Venezuela and Vietnam.
The new citizens are residents of Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho and Montana communities surrounding YNP, the park said in the event announcement.
Photos: Ashton Hooker // National Park Service
YNP noted that it has hosted naturalization ceremonies for more than a decade.
“Naturalization ceremonies held in national parks advance the meaning and stature of citizenship by building connections between new citizens and America’s parks,” the National Park Service said in a past press release, adding that naturalization ceremonies held in national parks represent the “strength and spirit of the United States.”
See more photos from the ceremony here.
