When Congress established Petroglyph National
Monument in 1990, on the edge of Albuquerque, N.M., its rationale
was straightforward: “to protect the cultural and natural resources
of the area from urbanization and vandalism.” Just a few years
later another threat to the monument emerged. To accommodate the
desire of developers, the New Mexico delegation backed a bill in
1997 that would allow a new, six-lane highway designed to speed
traffic to new homes. That bill passed this year despite the
opposition of Albuquerque’s new mayor, Jim Baca, all 19 Pueblo
tribes and the feisty nonprofit citizens’ group, Friends of the
Albuquerque Petroglyphs. The Friends, led by Ike Eastvold, hasn’t
given up the fight; its 64-page booklet tells why a road through
this “church” is a terrible idea. It’s called Voices from a Sacred
Place: In Defense of Petroglyph National Monument, and it includes
brief testimonials, poems and essays by 26 writers, including
Rudolfo Anaya, Polly Schaafsma, John Nichols, Michael Frome and
Gregory McNamee; it’s edited by Verne
Huser.
Eastvold can be reached at 2920 Carlisle
NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110 (505/255-7679).
*
Betsy Marston
EXCERPTS FROM A
SACRED PLACE:
“Scholars have yet to work out the
deepest meanings of these petroglyphs. Perhaps they never will.
Theirs is a race against time, not only because of the natural
forces of aging and erosion, but also because in so many places
they are threatened by vandalism and other wantonly destructive
acts.
“A Painted Desert site, for instance, now
bears a large spray-painted sign urging us to “Remember Croatia,” a
place much in the news but very far away from Anasazi country; a
lovely rendering of a deer overlooking the Salt River Canyon is now
marred by a declaration of love of one Bobby for one Yvette. I
cannot begin to comprehend the impulse that drives some moderns to
obliterate or amend the work of the ancients, but I have just
returned from China, where I have seen the results of that impulse
up close in the rubble of Buddhist and Taoist temples razed by Red
Guards during the Cultural Revolution. Only now, a generation
later, have the Chinese been able to begin to repair the damage of
that calamitous time, when a whole nation seemed bent on destroying
its past.
“We are more advanced in America, of
course, at least on an institutional level. We destroy our
monuments not for ideological reasons, but for profit.”
* Gregory McNamee,
freelance
writer, 1997
“Growing up in
the ranks of the Pueblo fathers, there were eight clan chiefs and
about four society chiefs there. I was allowed into the sacred
house by an old man and he was quiet. I got water and wood, kept
the fire going in the fireplace. Those old fellows were about 90
years old. I heard them speak. These old men that I grew up with
have led me to be more respectful, to wait for what is
important.
“This one particular man was a walking
encyclopedia, you might say, very interesting. I remember going
with him to the sacred place at the petroglyphs. “This is a place
of joy and comfort,” he told me. There I learned my culture was
real.”
* Phillip
Lauriano,
Sandia Pueblo Councilor
and
Turquoise Kiva Chief, March 5,
1993
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Blasting through a cathedral.
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