Petroglyph vandalism is not a victimless crime
Indigenous archaeologists say more protective measures and education are needed to prevent future vandalism
In late April, at the site known as Birthing Rock near Moab, Utah, vandals defaced thousand-year-old petroglyphs, scrawling the words “white power” and other obscene graffiti, including an ejaculating penis, across the red sandstone. Only one of the boulder’s four petroglyph panels remained unscathed. The vandalism came just a few weeks after a rock climber bolted climbing routes over petroglyphs near the Sunshine Slabs, north of Utah’s Arches National Park.
The recent acts of vandalism are a reminder of the need for greater protection and more education about public lands, Indigenous archaeologists say. “A lot of people have no clue about contemporary Indigenous peoples and their connection to archaeological resources,” Ashleigh Thompson (Red Lake Ojibwe), a doctoral candidate in archaeology at University of Arizona and an avid rock climber, said. “I think people view these (incidents) as a victimless crime, and they are not.”
When the pandemic forced Americans to shelter in place, public lands provided a much-needed refuge. But with increased visitors came an uptick in vandalism. Although overall visitation to national parks dropped in 2020, partially due to numerous park closures in the pandemic’s early months, more than 15 parks set new records. Visits to Arches National Park increased by nearly 70% during part of 2020 compared to previous years. In January 2021, visitation at Canyonlands National Park was up by 100%, which according to a National Park Service press release, resulted in “extended wait times to enter the park, illegal parking creating safety and resource preservation issues, and visitors walking in and along roadways to access viewpoints and trailheads, creating unsafe conditions.”
“What we’ve been seeing in Utah across all land agencies — the Park Service, the state parks, the Bureau of Land Management — is we do have an increase in tourism. And we are seeing a commensurate increase in damage to archaeological sites,” Elizabeth Hora-Cook, an archaeologist for the Utah State Historic Preservation Office, said. “And when we see that more people equals more damage, we know that the same proportion of people are not receiving the message of how to visit sites with respect.”
