Lava Beds National Monument Superintendent seeks new ways to improve site of 5000-year-old Petroglyph Point

A series of public comment meetings in November to decide the future of the Petroglyphs at Lava Beds National Monument yielded limited input from the public, but that hasn’t dissuaded Super Intendant Christopher Mengel from working to find a better way to preserve the native history while providing a better way to share the story of the Modoc Creation.

At three meetings in early November, Mengel and his staff heard from the public what they wanted to see as an alternative to the chain link and barbed wire fencing currently used to protect the wall of petroglyphs at Petroglyph Point. “Part of it is the preservation of the petroglyphs themselves,” said Mengel. “It’s very fragile rock, so we’re trying to find ways to protect them, but right now, we have that old fence up. It’s been there for several decades. So, we’re just trying to figure out a better way to protect the petroglyphs from vandalism and to make it a more meaningful experience for tribal members and also the public.”

Much of the 267-acre Petroglyph Point is protected by an unsightly barb-wired fence. Over a century of abuse, including etchings of initials from visitors and even bullet holes, has taken its toll on the site, which, as stated on the Lava Beds National Parks Service website, “is a detached unit of Lava Beds Monument and the most extensive panel of Native American rock art in the United States.” He said they hope to find new ways to share history and the whole creation story of the Modoc people. “It’d be like putting the Vatican behind a rusty old chain link barbed wire fence; it’s not the best idea,” he said.

The lava beds date back over half a million years, when ancient lava flows carved out the landscape. Early Native Americans paddled out to what was an Island in Tule Lake to make the carvings, which have weathered the arrival of the white settlers, the Modoc War, and even the draining of Tule Lake.

The site also played a role in the Modoc War in 1872 and 1873, when a small band of Modoc Indians, including Kintpuash (also known as Captain Jack), was besieged by a U.S. Army force outnumbering them as much as ten to one. The majority of the battlefields of the Modoc War are located within the park and are still preserved today.

The U.S. Army hung Kintpuash at Fort Klamath with three other Modoc leaders on Oct. 3, 1873. He was the only Native American leader to be tried and convicted as a war criminal. His life highlights many of the central conflicts over emerging federal reservation policies, the continuing practice of forced removals, and the war aims of the federal government, local citizens, and Native groups in the post-Civil War era.

With an eye to this history, Mengel is working to figure out a better way to share the Monument’s petroglyphs. Asked if he has considered any solutions, such as the type that protects the ancient Roman sites in Italy, he said, “We haven’t totally looked at them, but we are looking at different options.”

Mengel said the decision would be made early in 2025, with a draft proposal from public comments. “In the next probably three or four months, we’ll get a draft together of comments and everything used in the comments ideas,” he said. “The planning team will put together a draft document that will go out for public review.”

Mengel added that while public comments have been few and far between, the site offers a unique view of history. “It’s pretty cool,” he said. “It’s literally, the whole rock formation is part of the creation story of the Modoc people. And then the petroglyphs, we believe, go back 5,000 years.”