Postcard from the Canyonlands – Cowboys and Indians

As you may have gathered from past blogs about the Southwest…or perhaps from your own experiences, the heritage of the Native American Peoples is richly celebrated across the states that make up this special part of America. Much of it occurs in our National Parks, like the Canyonlands.

And while the Native American culture stretches back hundreds of years, there is a small recent period of time where American settlers came out west to conquer the land, and in the process, destroy much of the Native American culture. As time goes by, the conquerors of this land are trying to restore and preserve what remains of this culture for future generations.

But, the white man’s western experience is also celebrated here, much of it in urban locales like Tombstone, Bisbee, and others. For it was the white settlers that created the western cities, small and large, that are the centers of our culture.

But in Canyonlands National Park, in Southern Utah, both cultures are recognized for what they brought to this land. The first photo shows Newspaper Rock, a petroglyph panel etched in sandstone that records roughly 2,000 years of human activity in the area. Etched into the desert varnish are symbols' representing the Fremont, Anasazi, Navajo and Anglo cultures. It is on the way into the Needles section of Canyonlands.

The second photo shows Cave Spring Camp, just as it was found inside the park. It is preserved as a historic monument to the forces that also shaped this land and offers a brief insight into cowboy life one hundred years ago…when cattle and sheep ranching were the most important industries here.

The camp was first established around the turn of the century, but after 1918 when the Indian Creek Cattle Company was formed it gained particular prominence. Within ten years the company had become the largest cattle operation in Utah, with its headquarters at the Dugout Ranch just 15 miles east of the national park.

Just down from this site are additional alcoves in the rocks that served as bunkhouses. You will also find another alcove that houses a natural spring that provided water for the people that used this land over the centuries. As all this is desert country, water is a scare commodity.

It is a wonderful thing that all peoples and cultures that shaped this land are preserved and recognized for what they were, good or bad. It is our history and our heritage.