Fort Vancouver hosts presentation about Klamath Basin rock art

Fort Vancouver welcomes Dr. Robert David, Klamath tribal member and archaeologist, for “Spirit Songs and Sacred Fire,” a presentation about the rock art of the Klamath Basin, at 1 p.m. March 18 at the Fort Vancouver Visitor Center, 1501 E. Evergreen Blvd., Vancouver. This event is free but reservations are recommended at friendsfortvancouver.org.

For over a century, the petroglyphs at Lava Beds National Monument have been a mystery to visitors and rock art researchers alike. Attempts to explain these petroglyphs have included a variety of perspectives but conspicuously excluded the voices of those who produced the petroglyphs — the Klamath and Modoc peoples. David proposes that, while the Klamath and Modoc might have largely forgotten the details of their rock art heritage, this information is in no way lost. Information preserved in their sacred narratives and supplemented by early ethnographic and ethnohistoric accounts demonstrates that the tribes have retained a substantial amount of information about Petroglyph Point and their Klamath Basin rock art heritage overall. More details are available at https://go.nps.gov/j2ml3b.

Image courtesy of the National Park Service at Fort Vancouver