Vandals write ‘white power’ across ‘ancient’ petroglyphs in Utah, photo shows

Maddie Capron
·2 min read

Officials want help tracking down the person who covered petroglyphs in racist graffiti.

The Birthing Rock in Moab, Utah, was recently vandalized with offensive imagery and language, officials said. The rock is the site of multiple Native American images that go back perhaps as long ago as 2,000 years, according to canyoneering site Climb-Utah.

“It’s called the Birthing Rock, and when you look at it, it’s a celebration of birth and creation,” Grand County Commissioner Mary McGann told KSL. “It’s one of a kind, and it’s ancient. It can’t be replaced.”

Now the art is damaged because someone wrote “white power” and other offensive language over the images, photos show.

The below image contains offensive language and images.

Petroglyphs at Birthing Rock in Utah were covered in graffiti that says “white power” and other offensive language.
Petroglyphs at Birthing Rock in Utah were covered in graffiti that says “white power” and other offensive language.

Officials said people shouldn’t try to clean or remove the graffiti because it could cause further damage to the site.

“The BLM strongly condemns vandalism of cultural resources and is working with professional conservators to remove the offensive graffiti,” Utah’s Bureau of Land Management said in a statement. “The (bureau) is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual responsible for the vandalism.”

Just weeks ago, a climber damaged other native images in the area by putting climbing bolts over petroglyphs. He said he thought it was graffiti and reported his mistake to the Bureau of Land Management to investigate the incident.

It could be a violation of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act, and first-time violators could be fined $20,000 and imprisoned for up to a year.

1,000-year-old petroglyphs damaged by climbing bolts in Utah, photos show

The area around Moab is a popular tourist destination home to Arches and Canyonlands national parks. It’s known for its iconic desert landscape and thousands of miles of open land.

Some people think officials should close the area to tourists until they find out how to handle the vandalism.

“Shut the whole area down until someone comes forward,” one person on Facebook said. “Time to put all those users in a timeout. There should be cameras placed at some of these easily accessible sites.”

Mile of graffiti spans the canyon walls of an Arizona park, officials say

‘Parks are not the canvas for street art.’ Graffiti found at national park, photos show

Nearly 10 pounds of human poop found along iconic hiking path at Utah national park