DEEP IN UTAH’s southeastern corner, amid the towering ridges and rocky valleys of Bears Ears National Monument, a hunting party is converging on prey. That hunt has been going on for well over 1,000 years—in this huge picture carved into a remote sandstone wall.
Bears Ears is home to thousands of prehistoric sites, from cliff dwellings and ceremonial structures to hundreds of rock carvings. All were created by Native American peoples who lived in the region for thousands of years but left for unknown reasons about eight centuries ago.
One of the nation’s newest national monuments, Bears Ears has been federally protected since 2016. But the area is still threatened by overuse and vandalism by visitors, as well as mining companies interested in nearby coal and uranium deposits.
Preservation of Bears Ears is important not only to archaeologists and historians but also to several Native American groups for whom many of its ancient sites are sacred. As the leaders of an inter-tribal group declared when the monument was established, “The protection of the Bears Ears cultural landscape is powerful medicine for healing—of the land, of plants and animals, and for all people.”