The Bureau of Land Management and the Susanville Indian Rancheria are offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for vandalizing prehistoric pictographs in a cave on the edge of the Honey Lake Valley east of Susanville.
Graffiti was scrawled over the paintings on the inside of Tommy Tucker Cave and additional markings were spray-painted on the opening to the cave that is considered sacred by local Native American tribes. BLM law enforcement officers are investigating the vandalism.
“Damaging this ancient cave, a sacred site, is no different than vandalizing a church,” said Melany Johnson, the tribal historic preservation officer for the Rancheria. “These ancient areas cannot be duplicated. We are appalled and heartbroken by these acts of vandalism.”
Ken Collum, manager of the BLM Eagle Lake Field Office, said the agency shares the concerns voiced by Rancheria officials and has matched the Rancheria’s $2,500 reward offer to bring the reward total to $5,000.
“We are working with restoration experts to determine how to remove the graffiti without damaging the pictographs,” said Collum. “It will be time consuming and expensive to repair this damage.”
Native American people used pigments derived from minerals to paint the pictographs onto the cave walls within the last 500 years. They are the only known pictographs in the region where petroglyphs, images pecked into rock surfaces, are the more common form of Native American rock art.
“In addition to their spiritual significance for native people, these drawings are important because they tell us of life prior to the arrival of European settlers,” said BLM archaeologist Marilla Martin. “It is critical that we do everything possible to protect and preserve these invaluable windows into the past.”
Anyone with information should contact BLM law enforcement at (916) 978-4450.
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