Petroglyphs and Pictographs Cut From Bears Ears National Monument

by Heather Herold, Native America Program Associate

A picture’s worth a thousand words. Here’s a look at some of the petroglyphs and pictographs that lost national monument protections.


Among the many wonders stripped of national monument protections by President Trump’s decision to slash Bears Ears National Monument by 85 percent are centuries-old rock writing panels long coveted by looters. These petroglyphs and pictographs offer a rare window into the past and connect modern-day Native Americans to their ancestors.

Petroglyphs and pictographs are living cultural connections for Native peoples

As Malcolm Lehi, a former Ute Mountain Ute tribal councilman, explains: “Native People relate to rock art with our hearts…We do not view these panels as just art, but almost like a coded message that…informs our life and reality as humans.”

Here are some of the rock writing panels excised from Bears Ears National Monument by the president’s December 4, 2017 proclamation:

Western Cedar Mesa Pictographs, photo by Jonathan Bailey

Western Cedar Mesa pictographs. Photo: Jonathan Bailey


 
Moqui Canyon rock art. Photo by Tim Peterson

Moqui Canyon rock writings. Photo: Tim Peterson


Moqui Canyon rock art. Photo: Tim Peterson

Moqui Canyon petroglyphs. Photo: Tim Peterson

Rock art near Sand Island. Photo: Tim Peterson

Petroglyphs near Sand Island. Photo: Tim Peterson


Rock art near Sand Island. Photo: Tim Peterson

Petroglyphs near Sand Island. Photo: Tim Peterson

Rock art on southwestern Cedar Mesa. Photo by Jonathan Bailey

Rock writings on southwestern Cedar Mesa. Photo: Jonathan Bailey


Perhaps the oldest rock art in Utah. Photo by Jonathan Bailey

Mammoth petroglyph near Bluff, UtahPhoto: Jonathan Bailey


Western Cedar Mesa pictograph, Bears Ears, photo by Jonathan Bailey.

Western Cedar Mesa pictograph. Photo: Jonathan Bailey


Horses petroglyphsHorse panel petroglyphs. Photo: Jonathan Bailey


National monuments add a layer of protections that Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and other public lands don’t have.

Vandalized rock art panel on Forest Service lands. Photo: Tim Peterson

A vandalized pictograph panel on Forest Service lands. Photo: Tim Peterson


Vandalism to petroglyphs and pictographs

How many petroglyph and pictograph panels are now more vulnerable to looters and vandals, having been stripped of national monument protections? No one knows exactly. Only a very small part of this area has been subject to an exhaustive cultural resources inventory. But anyone who has wandered the canyons of Cedar Mesa and other areas cut from the monument knows it’s hard to go very far without looking up to see the stories Native American artists carved and painted on the canyon walls.

Bears Ears isn’t a museum without walls; it’s a living cultural landscape that the tribes who petitioned for the monument to be designated in the first place, the Grand Canyon Trust, and others are suing President Trump to protect. We hope the next chapter in Bears Ears National Monument’s history will be one of triumph carved not on the canyon walls but contained in a judge’s order, restoring protections to the over 1 million acres unjustly cut from the monument.

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