Paiute Petroglyphs Stolen
Larry Harris, who has attended a number of my workshops shared a nice photo he took near Bishop CA. of 3500 year old Paiute petroglyphs. I've never photographed or seen this and apparently I never will in the same form Larry photographed it.
About a month after he took the photograph the petroglyphs were seriously damaged in 'the worst act of vandalism ever seen' on federal lands in the area. It happened in November of last year.
Federal authorities say at least four petroglyphs were taken from the site. A fifth was defaced with deep saw cuts on three sides.
This is a classic case of of a photograph having an unintended meaning because of time passing and unimagined events.
Larry took this as a beautiful landscape, never thinking that it could be ruined. It has turned into a historical document. Its meaning will only change more over time.
About a month after he took the photograph the petroglyphs were seriously damaged in 'the worst act of vandalism ever seen' on federal lands in the area. It happened in November of last year.
Federal authorities say at least four petroglyphs were taken from the site. A fifth was defaced with deep saw cuts on three sides.
This is a classic case of of a photograph having an unintended meaning because of time passing and unimagined events.
Larry took this as a beautiful landscape, never thinking that it could be ruined. It has turned into a historical document. Its meaning will only change more over time.
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/nov/18/local/la-me-petroglyphs-theft-20121119
Larry Harris - I went back there after that to take my family to show them the petroglyphs. It was very sad to see the destruction done to the location. While there, a Native American ceremony was going on and one of the Native American women came up and talked to my family. She was in tears discussing the theft and how a piece of their history was lost that could never be replaced. Bishop has tried very hard to keep the location somewhat secret. The visitor center in Bishop will not give directions to the location and it is noted by many in Bishop that it is not a tourism location to avoid vandalism. Unfortunately that did not prevent this from happening. The Native Americans told me that they are trying to make this private property and to completely stop tourism to the area so there is a possibility that this could be permanently off limits to us someday. That would be even more sad to not be able to share this American history with our children......!
Larry Harris - I went back there after that to take my family to show them the petroglyphs. It was very sad to see the destruction done to the location. While there, a Native American ceremony was going on and one of the Native American women came up and talked to my family. She was in tears discussing the theft and how a piece of their history was lost that could never be replaced. Bishop has tried very hard to keep the location somewhat secret. The visitor center in Bishop will not give directions to the location and it is noted by many in Bishop that it is not a tourism location to avoid vandalism. Unfortunately that did not prevent this from happening. The Native Americans told me that they are trying to make this private property and to completely stop tourism to the area so there is a possibility that this could be permanently off limits to us someday. That would be even more sad to not be able to share this American history with our children......!
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| Larry Harris Photo |