THE SIGN OF THE SCORPION : A PROPOSAL TO DECLARE SCORPION ROCK AS A U.S. NATIONAL MONUMENT  PROLOGUE " I HAD THE HONOR OF BEING ABLE TO SPEAK WITH THE SON OF AN INDIAN CHIEF. THIS MAN WAS TEN YEARS OLD WHEN HIS FATHER PUT A MARK ON THE GIANT ROCK, ON THE NORTH SIDE. THE INDIANS CALLED THIS MARK " THE SIGN OF THE SCORPION ". TO THE INDIAN'S UNDERSTANDING, THIS MEANS A GOOD PLACE. ALSO, WHENEVER AN INDIAN CHIEF PUT A SIGN, NO OTHER INDIAN WAS ALLOWED TO PUT OTHER SIGNS. THIS BEING THE REASON FOR ONLY THE ONE SIGN ON THE BIG ROCK. " - GEORGE VAN TASSEL, 1977 IN LANDERS CALIFORNIA, ALONG THE EASTERN RIM OF SPY MOUNTAIN WITHIN THE PERIMETER OF AN ANCIENT MOJAVE SEABED, STANDS ONE OF THE LARGEST FREESTANDING BOULDERS IN THE WORLD. RISING OVER SEVEN STORIES HIGH ABOVE THE DESERT FLOOR AND STRETCHING OVER 5800 SQUARE FEET IN AREA, THIS " GIANT ROCK " WAS HELD SACRED BY THE TRIBES OF NOT ONLY THE NEIGHBORING JOSHUA TREE AREA, BUT THROUGHOUT CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, EXTENDING INTO THE MOJAVE DESERT REGIONS OF NEVADA & ARIZONA. EVEN THE DISTANT HOPI KNEW OF THIS GREAT STONE AND WOULD MAKE PILGRIMAGE TO IT ; CHIEFS AND TRIBAL ELDERS FROM AREAS THROUGHOUT CALIFORNIA AND THE BOUNDARIES OF THE MOJAVE DESERT WOULD MEET AT THIS SACRED LOCATION YEARLY TO GAIN WISDOM FROM EACH OTHER AND TO DRAW SPIRITUAL POWER FROM THIS IMPRESSIVE MANIFESTATION OF NATURE. AS RECOUNTED BY GEORGE VAN TASSEL, " ACCORDING TO THE INDIANS, THIS WAS AN INDIAN HOLY GROUND, WHERE THE NORTH AND SOUTH TRIBES MET ANNUALLY. THE CHIEFS HELD THEIR SEANCES AND MEETINGS CLOSE BY THE BIG ROCK, WHICH THEY CALLED THE " GREAT STONE ", BECAUSE TO THEM IT SYMBOLIZED THE GREAT SPIRIT, AS IT WAS THE LARGEST SINGLE OBJECT IN THE AREA. THE INDIANS ASSEMBLED FOR THEIR MEETINGS HERE FOR UP TO THREE DAYS AT A TIME. DURING THEIR MEETINGS, NONE OF THE TRIBESMEN WERE ALLOWED CLOSE BY AS THE MEETINGS, PER SE, WERE ACTUALLY A COLLECTION OF THE CHIEFS AND THE VIPs IN THE TRIBE. THE REST OF THE PEOPLE IN THE TRIBE HAD TO CAMP ABOUT A MILE OR SO AWAY SO AS NOT TO BE NEAR THE ACTUAL MEETING PLACE. " IT IS FURTHER REPORTED THAT THESE GENEVASUMMITESQUE GATHERINGS OCCURRED WELL INTO PREHISTORY, AND THAT SCORPION ROCK WAS ALSO A PLACE OF VISITATION FOR SHAMANS AND MEDICINE MEN / WOMEN OF THE MOJAVE DESERT AREA AND BEYOND. THE ANTIQUITIES ACT OF 1906 ESTABLISHED THE ABILITY OF A U.S. PRESIDENT TO DECLARE A HISTORICAL LANDMARK AS A U.S. NATIONAL MONUMENT. IN 1902, IOWA CONGRESSMAN JOHN F. LACEY WITNESSED FIRSTHAND THE TOLL WHICH RAMPANT EXCAVATION AND PILFERING OF CHACO CANYON AND NEIGHBORING AREAS OF THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST BY POTTERY HUNTERS AND THOSE REMOVING NATIVE AMERICAN ARTIFACTS FROM FEDERAL LANDS HAD WROUGHT. DOCUMENTED BY THE EXTENSIVE REPORTS OF THE ANTHROPOLOGIST EDGAR LEE HEWETT, THIS LEGISLATION PASSED CONGRESS AND WAS SIGNED INTO LAW BY PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT ON JUNE 8, 1906. AMONG THE FIRST SITES TO BE DECLARED AS NATIONAL MONUMENTS WERE THE IGNEOUS ROCK INTRUSION ( SACRED TO THE LAKOTA AND NEIGHBORING TRIBES ) KNOWN AS MATO TIPILA ( AKA DEVILS TOWER ) ON SEPTEMBER 24, 1906, AND CHACO CANYON ( WITH ITS ANCIENT KIVAS, POTTERY ARTIFACTS, AND SACRED FAJADA BUTTE ) ON MARCH 11, 1907. THE AIM OF THIS ESSAY IS TO DEMONSTRATE, WITHIN IV ACTES, THAT SCORPION ROCK ( POPULARLY KNOWN AS GIANT ROCK ) IS OF A HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL IMPORTANCE AS TO MERIT PRESERVATION AS A UNITED STATES NATIONAL MONUMENT, SAFEGUARDING ONE OF THE MOST SACRED NATIVE AMERICAN SITES OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES, & WITH THE ACCOMPANYING REVERSAL OF THE GRAFFITI, DESECRATION, AND DESTRUCTION WROUGHT UPON HER FACE WITHIN THE PAST NINETY YEARS. BUT LET US EXAMINE WHAT HAS OCCURRED TO SCORPION ROCK AND THE INCEPTION OF THIS DESTRUCTION : WE BEGIN WITHIN A SMALL GARAGE ON SECOND STREET IN SANTA MONICA, JUST OFF OF BROADWAY AND ACROSS FROM THE CARMEL HOTEL. THE YEAR IS 1930.  ACTE I - STRAIGHT ROAD CRITZER INTO GLENN PAINE'S AUTOMOBILE REPAIR GARAGE IN SANTA MONICA ONE MORNING ( IN 1930 ) ROLLED IN A 1922 FOUR CYLINDER ESSEX WITH A ROD KNOCKING IN THE ENGINE. ITS OWNER, FRANK CRITZER, WAS AN IMMIGRANT FROM GERMANY WHO WAS LOOKING TO HAVE THE REPAIR WORK DONE FOR FREE. CRITZER BEFRIENDED MR. PAINE AND PAINE'S NEPHEW, WHO TOOK CRITZER TO LUNCH THAT VERY DAY, LEARNING OF HIS AMBITIONS TO PROSPECT AND MINE FOR PRECIOUS METALS IN THE DESERT. MR. PAINE AND HIS NEPHEW NOT ONLY COMPLETED THE REPAIR WORK FOR FREE ON CRITZER'S ESSEX, BUT GAVE HIM $30 AND STOCKED HIS CAR FULL OF CANNED GOODS. CRITZER PROMISED TO INCLUDE BOTH OF THEM IN HIS FUTURE MINING CLAIMS FOR THEIR GENEROSITY. MR. PAINE'S NEPHEW WAS A TWENTY YEAR OLD PILOT AND AVIATION ENTHUSIAST FROM OHIO ; HIS NAME WAS GEORGE VAN TASSEL. OVER A YEAR PASSED BEFORE MR. PAINE AND HIS NEPHEW GEORGE HEARD FROM CRITZER, WHO INVITED BOTH OF THEM OUT TO HIS NEW MINING CLAIM : GIANT ROCK. CRITZER HAD ALREADY BEGUN TO EXCAVATE UNDER THE NORTH SIDE OF THE ROCK, CARVING OUT OVER 400 SQUARE FEET OF GROUND BY DIGGING AND DETONATION TO CREATE A LIVING QUARTERS FOR HIMSELF. TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE GREAT MASS OF SCORPION ROCK, THIS SUBTERRANEAN CHAMBER WOULD NEVER BE HOTTER THAN 80 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT IN SUMMER, NOR FALL BELOW 50 DEGREES IN THE DEAD OF WINTER. CRITZER DID NOT OWN THIS LAND, HAVING ONLY SQUATTER'S RIGHTS, YET HE BECAME KNOWN AS ONE WHO WOULD PROTECT HIS ROCK SHELTER WITH LETHAL FORCE. HE POSSESSED A SMALL STOCKPILE OF DYNAMITE WITHIN THIS SUBTERRANEAN ROOM AND WAS SUSPECTED OF BEING A GERMAN SPY AFTER HE PLACED A RADIO ANTENNA ON THE TOP OF THE ADJOINING MOUNTAIN ( NOW KNOWN AS SPY MOUNTAIN ). HAVING SERVED IN THE GERMAN NAVY IN WORLD WAR I ON A SUBMARINE, CRITZER FELL UNDER DEEPER SUSPICION IN THE YEARS OF WORLD WAR II, CULMINATING IN AN ARMED CONFRONTATION DURING WHICH EITHER A TEAR GAS GRENADE IGNITED PART OF CRITZER'S CACHE OF DYNAMITE, OR SELF DETONATION ENSUED. CRITZER WAS DEAD, THE OFFICERS ATTEMPTING TO TAKE HIM IN WERE INJURED, AND A MASSIVE EXPLOSION HAD OCCURRED UNDER ONE OF THE MOST SACRED STONES OF NATIVE AMERICAN TRADITION. IT WAS AUGUST 1942. AS IF EXCAVATING A FOUR HUNDRED SQUARE FOOT CAVITY DIRECTLY BENEATH THE SACRED NORTH FACE OF SCORPION ROCK WASN'T ENOUGH, CRITZER HAD ALSO CREATED 5 ROADS TO SCORPION ROCK BY DRAGGING LARGE METALLIC OBJECTS WITH HIS 1922 ESSEX, ROADS WHICH DESTROYED THE NATURAL VEGETATION AND EVERYTHING IN ITS PATH, ROADS SO STRAIGHT THAT HE WAS KNOWN LOCALLY AS " STRAIGHT ROAD CRITZER ". ROADS WHICH, LIKE THE VEINS BORED INTO THE AMAZON ( SEE ACTE II OF 500 YEARS OF SOLITUDE ) ONLY MULTIPLIED THE WAYS IN WHICH MORE DIVERSE POPULATIONS COULD NOW ACCESS THE AREA. NOT SATISFIED WITH JUST ROADS, CRITZER CLEARED A WIDER AREA FOR AN AIRFIELD, COMPLETE WITH BOULDERS PAINTED WHITE TO SERVE AS BOUNDARY MARKERS. GIANT ROCK AIRPORT WAS BORN.  ACTE II - " MY NAME IS SOLGANDA . . . " " WHEN THE WAR ENDED IN 1945, I MADE APPLICATION TO THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT TO ACQUIRE THIS PROPERTY AND WANTED TO MAKE AN AIRPORT HERE. FRANK HAD ALREADY CLEARED AN AREA AND MANY AIRPLANES HAD LANDED. HOWEVER, IT WASN'T ON THE AIRMAPS. BEING OF HARD DECOMPOSED GRANITE, IT IS A PERFECT NATURAL RUNWAY. BUT IT WAS NOT UNTIL 1947 WHEN THE PAPERWORK WHICH WAS INVOLVED WAS FINALLY COMPLETED THAT WE WERE ABLE TO MOVE TO GIANT ROCK. " - GEORGE VAN TASSEL, 1977 AFTER HEARING OF FRANK CRITZER'S DEATH, A MONTH PASSED BEFORE VAN TASSEL, WORKING FOR DOUGLAS AIRCRAFT, WAS ABLE TO SURVEY THE DAMAGE. VAN TASSEL REPORTED THAT " THERE WAS NOTHING LEFT BUT THE HOLE UNDER THE ROCK. ALL OF FRANK'S BELONGINGS HAD BEEN HAULED AWAY, INCLUDING THE 4 CYLINDER ESSEX. THE PLACE WAS LITERALLY STRIPPED. " THIS FIRST VISIT FOLLOWING FRANK'S DEATH OCCURRED IN SEPTEMBER 1942 ; VAN TASSEL WOULD VISIT THE GIANT ROCK AREA " ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS " WITH HIS WIFE AND FAMILY IN THE WAR YEARS. BUT 1947 WAS THE YEAR IN WHICH GIANT ROCK AIRPORT WAS OFFICIALLY REBORN, WITH VAN TASSEL GIVEN A RENEWABLE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CONTRACT TO DEVELOP THE AIRSTRIP AND LEASE FOUR SQUARE MILES OF LAND. " VAN " ( AS HE WAS KNOWN TO DESERT LOCALS ) QUIT HIS JOB AT A LOCKHEED AIRCRAFT PLANT AND MOVED HIS FAMILY TO LANDERS PERMANENTLY. THE VAN TASSELS OPENED A SMALL RESTAURANT ( THE COME ON INN ) AT THE NEWLY RENOVATED GIANT ROCK AIRPORT, WHERE IT IS SAID THAT HOWARD HUGHES WOULD LAND HIS PLANE JUST FOR A PIECE OF PIE MADE BY VAN TASSEL'S WIFE EVA. SERVING AS A HUMBLE WAYSTATION FOR WEEKEND AVIATORS, GIANT ROCK AIRPORT WAS SOON TO SEE AN UNPRECEDENTED INCREASE IN VISITATIONS. THE YEAR WAS 1952. 1952 WAS THE YEAR WHEN GEORGE VAN TASSEL BEGAN TO RECEIVE ALLEGED PSYCHIC MESSAGES AND COMMUNICATIONS FROM EXTRATERRESTRIAL SPACESHIP COMMANDERS. THE PROLIFIC AMOUNT OF UFO SIGHTINGS IN THIS YEAR ( 1952 ) WAS THE LARGEST NUMBER OF UFO SIGHTINGS REPORTED WORLDWIDE BEFORE OR SINCE : OVER 30,000 SIGHTINGS IN THE U.S. ALONE, WITH MANY OF THESE SIGHTINGS BEING REPORTED IN THE LOCAL NEWSPAPERS. ON NOVEMBER 20, 1952, GEORGE ADAMSKI CLAIMED TO HAVE SEEN A SUBMARINE - SHAPED OBJECT HOVERING IN THE SKY NEAR DESERT CENTER, CALIFORNIA. ADAMSKI NEXT SAW A SAUCER - LIKE OBJECT MADE OF A TRANSLUCENT METAL LAND NEAR HIM, WITH A VENUSIAN NAMED ORTHON EMERGING FROM THIS SMALLER VESSEL. ORTHON APPEARED AS A HUMANOID OF MEDIUM BUILD, WITH LONG BLOND HAIR AND TANNED SKIN, WITH UNUSUAL TROUSERS AND REDDISH - BROWN SHOES. THE VENESIAN ORTHON COMMUNICATED WITH ADAMSKI VIA TELEPATHY AND HAND MOVEMENTS ; ORTHON WARNED ADAMSKI OF THE DANGERS OF NUCLEAR WAR, REFUSED TO BE PHOTOGRAPHED, AND ASKED ADAMSKI FOR A BLANK PHOTOGRAPHIC PLATE WHICH ADAMSKI GAVE HIM FREELY. THE EXPERIENCE WAS A POSITIVE ONE FOR ADAMSKI, WHO SAID THAT " THE PRESENCE OF THIS INHABITANT OF VENUS WAS LIKE THE WARM EMBRACE OF GREAT LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING WISDOM ". ADAMSKI NEXT SAW ORTHON ON DECEMBER 13, 1952, WHEN ORTHON RETURNED TO HIM THE PHOTOGRAPHIC PLATE ( NOW COVERED WITH UNUSUAL SYMBOLS ). GEORGE ADAMSKI CLAIMS TO HAVE PHOTOGRAPHED THE SAUCER - LIKE SCOUTSHIP DURING THIS VISITATION, ALTHOUGH THIS NOW FAMOUS PHOTOGRAPH HAS BEEN DEBUNKED AS A FAKE, WITH THE THREE GLOBULAR LANDING STRUTS OF THE PURPORTED UFO EXPOSED AS LIGHT BULBS.* NEVERTHELESS, IN THE 1950s STORIES SUCH AS THESE HAD BELIEVERS, AND THERE WERE THOUSANDS OF BELIEVERS IN THE UNITED STATES ALONE. VAN TASSEL WAS NOT ONLY A BELIEVER, BUT A CONTACTEE WHO RELEASED THE FIRST MODERN CONTACTEE BOOK ( " I RODE A FLYING SAUCER! " ) IN 1952. IN 1953, VAN TASSEL BEGAN HOLDING WEEKLY CHANNELING SESSIONS IN THE SUBTERRANEAN ROOM UNDER GIANT ROCK, DURING WHICH HE RECEIVED MESSAGES FROM EXTRATERRESTRIALS INCLUDING " ASHTAR, COMMANDANT QUADRA SECTOR PATROL STATION SCHARE "). THE MOST TRANSFORMATIVE NIGHT FOR GEORGE VAN TASSEL HOWEVER WAS YET TO COME : AUGUST 24, 1953. IN THE EARLY MORNING OF AUGUST 24, 1953, AT APPROXIMATELY 2 AM LOCAL TIME UNDER A FULL MOON, VAN TASSEL CLAIMED THAT HE WAS AWAKENED BY A STRANGER AT THE FOOT OF HIS BED. THE STRANGER SPOKE " IN THE BEST ENGLISH EQUIVALENT TO RONALD COLEMAN ", SAID " MY NAME IS SOLGANDA AND I WOULD BE PLEASED TO SHOW YOU OUR CRAFT ". VAN TASSEL FOLLOWED SOLGANDA UNDER WHAT HE DESCRIBED AS " A BELL SHAPED ANTI - GRAVITY SHIP HOVERING TEN FEET OFF THE GROUND ", APPEARING ABOVE THE CENTER OF THE GIANT ROCK AIRFIELD. VAN TASSEL THEN CLAIMED THAT AN ANTI GRAVITY BEAM PULLED HIM INSIDE THE SHIP, WHICH HE ESTIMATED AT " 36 FEET IN DIAMETER AND 19 FEET HIGH " , TO DISCOVER A ROOM " 18 FEET IN DIAMETER AND ROUGHLY 10 FEET HIGH TO THE DOMED CEILING " WHERE VAN TASSEL ENCOUNTERED THREE MEN ( " ABOUT 5 FOOT 6, . . . . WHITE WITH A GOOD HEALTHY TAN "), WHOSE VERTICAL INSTRUMENTS OF FLUORESCENT TUBES BEARING STRANGE HIEROGLYPHIC SYMBOLS IMPRESSED VAN TASSEL DEEPLY. SOLGANDA THEN JOINED VAN TASSEL ONBOARD THIS CRAFT FROM AN UNKNOWN PLANET ; VAN TASSEL DESCRIBED SOLGANDA AND THE THREE MEN AS SO HUMANLIKE IN APPEARANCE THAT " THEY COULD HAVE WALKED IN OUR CLOTHES DOWN ANY OF OUR STREETS AND WE WOULDN'T HAVE PAID ANY ATTENTION TO THEM ". SOLGANDA NOT ONLY SHOWED VAN TASSEL THE INTERIOR OF THEIR CRAFT, BUT REVEALED TO GEORGE THE CENTRAL FORMULA FOR A TIME MACHINE : F = 1 / T ( WITH F EQUIVALENT TO FREQUENCY, AND T EQUIVALENT TO TIME ). SOLGANDA THEN ESCORTED VAN TASSEL OFF THE SHIP, WHERE HE REVEALED THAT " HE WAS OVER 700 YEARS OF AGE IN OUR TIME ", THOUGH HE APPEARED TO GEORGE AS " NOT A DAY OVER 28 YEARS OF AGE ". VAN TASSEL IN HIS OWN WORDS THEN " PUT THIS FORMULA UNDER RESEARCH, AND TESTED A NUMBER OF EXPERIMENTS ON A BENCH IN A GOOD ELECTRONICS LAB IN CHICAGO, PRODUCING PHENOMENAL RESULTS " WHICH EVOLVED INTO A FOUR STORY MACHINE KNOWN TODAY AS THE INTEGRATRON. THIS WHITE DOMED STRUCTURE THREE MILES SOUTHWEST OF SCORPION ROCK WAS CONSTRUCTED ALMOST ENTIRELY OF OLD GROWTH DOUGLAS FIR FROM WASHINGTON STATE ( A DONATION FROM VAN TASSEL'S FORMER BOSS HOWARD HUGHES ), FIBERGLASS, AND A ONE TON CONCRETE RING AT ITS APEX. NO NAILS WERE USED IN ITS CONSTRUCTION ; IT STANDS 38 FEET HIGH, WITH ITS INITIAL PHASE OF CONSTRUCTION COMPLETED CIRCA 1959. VAN TASSEL HELD UFO CONVENTIONS AT HIS GIANT ROCK AIRPORT BEGINNING IN 1954, WITH OVER 11,000 ATTENDEES IN 1959 ; VAN TASSEL AND OTHER CONTACTEES WOULD SPEAK TO THE CROWDS FROM A WOODEN PLATFORM ABUTTING THE SOUTHERN FACE OF SCORPION ROCK. VAN TASSEL WOULD RAISE FUNDS FOR THE INTEGRATRON PROJECT THRU THESE ANNUAL UFO CONVENTIONS ; THOUGH THE INTEGRATRON WAS DESCRIBED BY VAN TASSEL AS " 90 % COMPLETE " IN JANUARY 1978, HIS SUDDEN DEATH ON FEBRUARY 9, 1978 PUT AN END TO THE OPERATIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE INTEGRATRON PROJECT. VAN TASSEL HAD ENVISIONED ARMATURES 57 FEET IN DIAMETER ( WHICH SURROUND THE WOODEN DOME ) TO BE USED IN THE FOCUSING OF " FIELDS THAT WE CAN ORIENT TO PRODUCE THIS ZONE BIG ENOUGH FOR A MAN TO GET INTO ". VAN TASSEL BELIEVED THAT " THIS ZONE WAS SUBJECT TO THOUGHT " AND THAT IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE TO " TAKE A VIDEO TAPE MAGNETIC CAMERA INTO THE TIME ZONE [ I.E. THE INTEGRATRON ] AND PHOTOGRAPH LINCOLN'S GETTYSBURG ADDRESS OR CAESER'S ARMIES MARCHING OR ANYTHING THAT'S EVER HAPPENED ". THERE ARE TWO PATHWAYS OF THOUGHT WHICH WE CAN TAKE IN REGARDS TO VAN TASSEL'S CLAIMS OF ALIEN VISITATIONS AND TIME TRAVEL : A) THAT BEINGS FROM ANOTHER PLANET HAD PHYSICALLY CONTACTED GEORGE VAN TASSEL AT THE BASE OF SCORPION ROCK IN 1953, THUS GIVING AN EVEN GREATER REASON TO SET APART THIS GIANT BOULDER AS A NATIONAL MONUMENT ( NAMELY THAT IT WAS THE SITE OF A MODERN DAY VISITATION FROM EXTRATERRESTRIALS ! ), OR B) THAT EXTRATERRESTRIAL BEINGS HAD NOT IN FACT PHYSICALLY CONTACTED GEORGE VAN TASSEL, AND HAD NOT LANDED THEIR BELL SHAPED CRAFT BECAUSE THERE WAS NO CRAFT NOR ALIENS, AND THAT THE THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO SWARMED UPON THIS GREAT STONE IN A MASS OF CARS AND TRAILERS WERE DESECRATING A GROUND SACRED TO NATIVE AMERICANS, USING ITS ENVIRONS AS A PARKING LOT AND A CHEAP CAMPGROUND IN A MANNER WHICH WOULD HAVE LEFT THE ANCIENT CHIEFS OF THE MOJAVE BASIN SPEECHLESS. THE CLOSEST PARALLEL, WHATEVER YOUR RELIGION, WOULD BE TO IMAGINE A UFO CONVENTION HELD WITHIN THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE, OR HELD AROUND THE KAABA, OR UPON THE TEMPLE MOUNT : SCORPION ROCK WAS OF THE SAME DEGREE OF HOLINESS, IN THE RELIGIOUS BELIEFS OF ANCIENT AND MODERN NATIVE AMERICANS, AS THESE THREE SACRED AREAS OF CHRISTIANITY, ISLAM, AND JUDAISM ! IT THUS FOLLOWS THAT THIS SITE, IN SPITE OF THE GRAFFITI AND CONTAMINATIONS WROUGHT UPON AND EXACERBATED ( INTENTIONALLY AND UNINTENTIONALLY ) BY THE ROADS OF CRITZER AND THE CONVENTIONS OF VAN TASSEL, SHOULD YET BE PROTECTED FROM FURTHER DESECRATION BY BEING SET APART AS A U.S. NATIONAL MONUMENT, TO SAFEGUARD FOR THE FUTURE THIS LANDMARK OF NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY AND MYTHOLOGY. BUT THE INCREASED HUMAN POLLUTIONS UPON AND AROUND SCORPION ROCK IN THE YEARS OF THE GIANT ROCK UFO CONVENTIONS (1954 - 1977) AND THE GRAFFITI YEARS ** (1981 - PRESENT) WERE BUT AS BEE STINGS TO THE BITE WHICH WOULD OCCUR ON THE MORNING OF MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2000.  ACTE III - SHRI NATHA DEVI THE YEAR 2000 HAD BROUGHT WITH IT AN UPSURGENCE OF BOTH MILLENARIANISM AND NEW AGE PROPHECY : AN EXAMPLE CONNECTED TO OUR STORY IS THE SMALL GROUP OF HEALERS AND NEW AGE DISCIPLES WHO MET ON FEBRUARY 19 & 20 2000 AT THE INTEGRATRON, UNDER THE INSPIRATION OF A LOS ANGELES SPIRITUAL LEADER NAMED SHRI NATHA DEVI. AS REPORTED BY JAMES TWYMAN IN A LETTER WRITTEN DAYS AFTER THIS GATHERING, " ON FEBRUARY 19TH AND 20TH, SHRI NAATH DEVI WAS INSPIRED TO BRING A NUMBER OF POWERFUL HEALERS TO THE DESERT NEAR GIANT ROCK TO PRAY AND MEDITATE. SHE SAID THAT THE NATIVE PEOPLE WERE NO LONGER DOING CEREMONY IN THIS AREA AND THAT THE EARTH ITSELF WAS ABOUT TO REACT WITH A VIOLENT UPHEAVAL. IF THE MOTHER ACCEPTED THE PRAYERS THAT WERE SCHEDULED, THEN GIANT ROCK WOULD CRACK AT THE SIDE, RELIEVING PRESSURE ON THE EARTH'S TECTONIC PLATES. IF THE PRAYERS WERE NOT ACCEPTED, THEN GIANT ROCK WOULD SPLIT DIRECTLY DOWN THE MIDDLE. THE FACT THAT GIANT ROCK HAS NOT MOVED FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS MADE THE LIKELIHOOD OF SUCH A CHANGE REMOTE. AND YET, THE NEXT MORNING, TO EVERYONE'S AMAZEMENT, THE BOULDER HAD NOT CRACKED; RATHER ONE - THIRD OF THE ROCK HAD SPLIT AND HAD FALLEN TO THE DESERT FLOOR. SHE SAID THAT THE MOTHER HAD OPENED HER ARMS TO US, CRACKING OPEN HER HEART FOR THE WHOLE WORLD TO SEE. " THE HIGH DESERT STAR REPORTED OF THE EVENT ON WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 23, 2000, DECLARING THAT " A SLICE OF THE ROCK FELL OFF FROM THE BOULDER AT 8:20 AM MONDAY, EXPOSING A GLEAMING WHITE GRANITE INTERIOR. " ABSENT FROM THIS REPORT HOWEVER WAS AN EXPLANATION OF ITS CAUSE : A FIRE HAD BEEN BUILT UNDER THE SOUTHERN OVERHANG OF SCORPION ROCK ON THE NIGHT OF FEBRUARY 20, 2000, A FIRE BUILT BY AN UNIDENTIFIED PORTION OF THIS NEW AGE GATHERING, A FIRE WHICH WAS TO BURN ALL NIGHT. IN THE LONG TRADITIONS OF THE NATIVE AMERICANS IN THE ENVIRONS OF SCORPION ROCK, A FIRE WAS NEVER ALLOWED TO BLAZE ADJACENT TO OR UNDER THIS SACRED STONE, AS EVIDENCED BY ITS NATURAL CONDITION FROM PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE EARLY 1900s. THIS FIRE STRESSED THE ROCK INTERNALLY IN THIS CORNER OF THE ROCK MOST SUSCEPTIBLE TO GRAVITY'S EFFECTS, SUCCUMBING TO THOSE FORCES A FEW HOURS AFTER SUNRISE AT 8:20 AM. THE FACT THAT SHRI NATHA DEVI'S PROPHECY HAD TWO OPTIONS BOTH INVOLVING A CRACKING OR SPLITTING OF GIANT ROCK IS PARTICULARLY TROUBLESOME : HAD A NEW AGE PROPHECY INDEPENDENT OF NATIVE AMERICAN TRADITION LED TO CONDITIONS ( OR FANATICISM ) BEARING ITS OWN FULFILLMENT ? WHATEVER YOUR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS MAY BE, THIS RELATIVELY RECENT ( AND PERHAPS IRREVERSIBLE ) DAMAGE BEARS YET ANOTHER WITNESS TO THE NEED FOR ADDITIONAL PROTECTIONS AND SECURITY FOR THIS GREAT NATIVE AMERICAN LANDMARK, PROTECTIONS WHICH COULD BE AFFORDED THRU THE DECLARING OF SCORPION ROCK AS A U.S. NATIONAL MONUMENT. BUT DOES SCORPION ROCK QUALIFY UNDER THE PRECEDENT OF PREVIOUSLY DECLARED NATIONAL MONUMENTS AND IN LIGHT OF THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGE OF THE ANTIQUITIES ACT OF 1906 ?  ACTE IV - THE ANTIQUITIES ACT OF 1906 " SEC. 2. THAT THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES IS HEREBY AUTHORIZED, IN HIS DISCRETION, TO DECLARE BY PUBLIC PROCLAMATION HISTORIC LANDMARKS, HISTORIC AND PREHISTORIC STRUCTURES, AND OTHER OBJECTS OF HISTORIC OR SCIENTIFIC INTEREST THAT ARE SITUATED UPON THE LANDS OWNED OR CONTROLLED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES TO BE NATIONAL MONUMENTS, AND MAY RESERVE AS A PART THEREOF PARCELS OF LAND, THE LIMITS OF WHICH IN ALL CASES SHALL BE CONFINED TO THE SMALLEST AREA COMPATIBLE WITH PROPER CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF THE OBJECTS TO BE PROTECTED: PROVIDED, THAT WHEN SUCH OBJECTS ARE SITUATED UPON A TRACT COVERED BY A BONA FIED UNPERFECTED CLAIM OR HELD IN PRIVATE OWNERSHIP, THE TRACT, OR SO MUCH THEREOF AS MAY BE NECESSARY FOR THE PROPER CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF THE OBJECT, MAY BE RELINQUISHED TO THE GOVERNMENT, AND THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR IS HEREBY AUTHORIZED TO ACCEPT THE RELINQUISHMENT OF SUCH TRACTS IN BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. " THESE WORDS, SIGNED INTO LAW ON JUNE 8 1906 BY PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT, FOLLOWED A TWENTY EIGHT YEAR CAMPAIGN BY ANTHROPOLOGISTS AND HISTORIANS, MUSEUMS AND UNIVERSITIES, TO PROTECT NATIVE AMERICAN SITES SUCH AS CHACO CANYON AND MESA VERDE FROM THE CRIMINAL VANDALISM AND LOOTING OF THESE UNIQUE INDIGENOUS COMPLEXES. SITES IMPORTANT TO NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURE AND ARCHITECTURE, SUCH AS MONTEZUMA CASTLE, GILA CLIFF AND TONTO CLIFF DWELLINGS, CASA GRANDE, HOVENWEEP, WUPATKI, AND THE KEET SEEL / BETATAKIN / INSCRIPTION HOUSE COMPLEX, ALL BECAME NATIONAL MONUMENTS WITHIN THE FIRST TWENTY YEARS OF THIS PENSTROKE. YET THE HONOR OF BEING THE FIRST DECLARED U.S. NATIONAL MONUMENT ( ON SEPTEMBER 24 1906 ) FELL TO NEITHER A MASTERPIECE OF NATIVE AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE NOR A REPOSITORY OF INDIGENOUS ANTIQUITIES, BUT TO A MASTERWORK OF NATURE HELD SACRED BY NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES FOR HUNDREDS OF MILES AROUND ITS CIRCUMFERENCE : MATO TIPILA ( OTHERWISE KNOWN AS DEVILS TOWER ) IN NORTHEASTERN WYOMING. HYPOTHESIZED TO BE THE THROAT ( OR VENT ) OF A NOW EXTINCT VOLCANO, MATO TIPILA IS AN IGNEOUS ROCK INTRUSION COMPOSED OF HEXAGONAL COLUMNS OF PHONOLITE PORPHYRY, THE WHITE - GRAY REMAINS OF COOLED MAGMA FORMED FROM A SUBTERRANEAN VOLCANIC ERUPTION OVER 40 MILLION YEARS AGO. INITIALLY BURIED BENEATH LAYERS OF SANDSTONE AND SEDIMENT, MATO TIPILA BEGAN TO EMERGE FROM THE LANDSCAPE AS EROSION WORE AWAY THE SOFTER SHALES, TOWERING TODAY AT OVER 380 METERS ABOVE THE SURROUNDING PRAIRIE AND PONDEROSA PINE FOREST. ITSELF THE PRODUCT OF EROSION, MATO TIPILA FACES INCREASED THREATS OF EROSIVE FORCES FROM BOTH COLDER WEATHER PATTERNS ( WITH HARSHER WINTER STORMS ) AND HUMAN CLIMBERS WHO CONTINUE TO DISREGARD THE WISHES OF THE LAKOTA, OGLALA SIOUX, CROW, CHEYENNE, ARAPAHO, AND OTHER NEIGHBORING TRIBES IN NOT CLIMBING THEIR SACRED SITE FOR SPORT. THE LAKOTA BELIEVE THAT SEVEN MAIDENS IN ANTIQUITY WERE CHASED BY SEVERAL GIANT BEARS IN THIS LAND NEAR THE SACRED BLACK HILLS. THE MAIDENS CLIMBED ATOP THIS ROCK AND PRAYED TO THE GREAT SPIRIT TO SAVE THEM FROM CERTAIN DEATH. THE GREAT SPIRIT HEARD THEIR CRIES, AND CAUSED THAT THE ROCK BE RAISED FAR INTO THE SKY SO THAT THE BEARS COULD NO LONGER REACH THEM. THE BEARS, TRYING TO CLIMB THIS ROCK, LEFT DEEP CLAW MARKS ON ALL SIDES OF MATO TIPILA, SIDES NOW TOO STEEP FOR THE BEARS TO CLIMB. MATO TIPILA MEANS " BEAR LODGE " IN LAKOTA, AND IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE BEAR AMONGST NEARLY ALL OF THE TWENTY - PLUS TRIBES WHO MAKE PILGRIMAGE TO ITS MAJESTIC COURT. ON NOVEMBER 20 2014 A SPIRITUAL LEADER OF THE LAKOTA NATION FORMALLY SUBMITTED A PROPOSAL TO THE UNITED STATES BOARD ON GEOGRAPHIC NAMES TO OFFICIALLY CHANGE THE NAME FROM DEVILS TOWER TO MATO TIPILA ( BEAR LODGE ). [ THE NAME " DEVILS TOWER " CAME ABOUT FROM AN ERRONEOUS TRANSLATION BY THE GUIDE OF LIEUTENANT COLONEL RICHARD DODGE, WHO RECORDED IN HIS 1875 JOURNAL OF HIS EXPEDITION INTO THE BLACK HILLS, " THE INDIANS CALL THIS SHAFT ' THE BAD GOD'S TOWER ', A NAME ADOPTED, WITH PROPER MODIFICATIONS, BY OUR SURVEYORS. " THUS HAD LATE 19TH CENTURY LAND SURVEYORS RENAMED A NATURAL FEATURE KNOWN FOR CENTURIES AS BEAR LODGE WITH NOT ONLY AN ERROR, BUT A VANDALISM OF WORDS : A SACRED FEATURE OF THE LANDSCAPE, IN THE GREAT OUTDOOR TEMPLE THAT WAS THEIR ENCHANTED EARTH, NOW PROFANED WITH A WORD CONNOTING THE DIABOLICAL AND EVIL. ] WOULD CHRISTIANS TODAY STAND FOR THE RENAMING OF THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE AS THE DEVIL'S GARDEN, OR MUSLIMS TO ACCEPT THE RENAMING OF THE KAABA AS THE DEVIL'S CUBE, OR JEWS IN THE RENAMING OF THE TEMPLE MOUNT AS THE TEMPLE OF SATAN ? MOST CERTAINLY NOT WOULD ANY THREE OF THESE RELIGIOUS GROUPS ALLOW FOR THE RENAMING OF THEIR HOLY SITES WITH A REFERENCE TO THE EVIL MOST OPPOSED TO THEIR ORGANIZATION. NEITHER SO SHOULD THE NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES OF TODAY BE FORCED TO ENDURE THE DEFAMATORY LABEL OF " DEVILS TOWER " UPON ONE OF THEIR SACRED SITES. ON DECEMBER 1 2014, THE PRESIDENT OF THE OGLALA SIOUX TRIBE JOINED THE LAKOTA IN ASKING THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR TO CHANGE THE NAME OF DEVILS TOWER NATIONAL MONUMENT BACK TO MATO TIPILA ( OR BEAR'S LODGE, AS THE SITE WAS KNOWN TO MOST HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS AND MAPS OF THE 1800s, AND FOR CENTURIES BEFORE INTO NATIVE AMERICAN ANTIQUITY ). WITHIN A NATION FOUNDED UPON PRINCIPLES OF RELIGIOUS EQUALITY AND TOLERANCE, THE UNITED STATES MUST ABOVE ALL RESPECT THE RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND SACRED SITES OF THE INDIGENOUS INHABITANTS OF THE AMERICAS, AND PARTICULARLY IN LIGHT OF THE MASS DESTRUCTION AND GENOCIDE WHICH HAS OCCURRED AGAINST THESE SAME NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES OVER THE PAST FIVE HUNDRED YEARS. TO CONTINUE A WRONG IS TO COMMIT A WRONG DOUBLY ; LET IT BE SAID BY FUTURE HISTORIANS THAT A MILESTONE OCCURRED IN 2016, A MILESTONE IN RELATIONS BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES OF THE SAME AREA. A MIRACLE WHICH WOULD OCCUR ON JUNE 8, 2016 . . .  EPILOGUE FOR A MORE COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE RELATIONS BETWEEN NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES AND THE UNITED STATES IN THE MODERN ERA, THE READER IS INVITED TO REVIEW HELEN HUNT JACKSON'S A CENTURY OF DISHONOR AND JOSEPH CAMPBELL'S HISTORICAL ATLAS OF WORLD MYTHOLOGY. THE DESECRATION AND EXTERMINATION OF NOT ONLY NATIVE AMERICAN LIVES BUT THEIR WAY OF LIFE, THE SACRILEGE AND TAKING OF NOT ONLY THEIR SACRED SYMBOLS BUT THEIR SACRED SITES, IS AN INJUSTICE WHICH HAS CONTINUED WITHOUT JUST REPARATION OR RECOMPENSE TO THE PRESENT DAY. THOUGH " DEVILS TOWER " HAS STOOD FOR OVER ONE HUNDRED YEARS AS A U.S. NATIONAL MONUMENT, IT CONTINUES TO RECEIVE THE UNRESTRAINED VANDALISMS OF BOTH RECREATIONAL CLIMBERS AND ITS OFFICIALLY DESIGNATED NAME. THOUGH SCORPION ROCK HAS STOOD FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS AS ONE OF THE SACRED LANDMARKS OF NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY, IT STANDS TODAY CARRYING THE MARKS OF GRAFFITI AND VANDALISM AROUND ITS PERIMETER, ITS NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN FACES BLACKENED FROM ILLEGAL FIRES, ITS SOUTHERN CORNER BROKEN OFF BY HUMAN FANATICISM. MATO TIPILA AND SCORPION ROCK ARE BOTH " HISTORIC LANDMARKS " IN THE FULFILLMENT OF THE FIRST QUALIFICATION TO BE A U.S. NATIONAL MONUMENT, JOINING EL MORRO, CANYON DE CHELLY, SUNSET CRATER, CHIMNEY ROCK, ANIAKCHAK, CRATERS OF THE MOON, CHIRICAHUA AND OTHER NATURALLY FORMED LANDMARKS IMPORTANT IN NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY AND RELIGION WHICH HAVE ALREADY BEEN DESIGNATED AS U.S. NATIONAL MONUMENTS. IF ONLY SCORPION ROCK HAD BEEN DECLARED AS A U.S. NATIONAL MONUMENT IN 1916 ; HOW WOULD THE FACE OF IT LOOK TODAY ? WOULD ITS SIDES HAVE GRAFFITI REMINISCENT OF A FREEWAY UNDERPASS ? WOULD IT HAVE BEEN ILLEGALLY EXCAVATED UNDERNEATH, WOULD IT HAVE RECEIVED TRAUMAS FROM DYNAMITE DRIVEN EXPLOSIONS AND FIRES ALONG AND UNDER ITS 29,000 TON FRAME ? IT IS HOPED THAT ON THE 110TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ANTIQUITIES ACT OF 1906 ( JUNE 8 2016 ), A SITE LONG OVERDUE PROTECTION IS DECLARED AS A U.S. NATIONAL MONUMENT, AND THAT A SITE LONG DECLARED AS A U.S. NATIONAL MONUMENT IS FINALLY ELEVATED TO THE PROTECTION WHICH IT DESERVES. THE INTEGRATRON OF GEORGE VAN TASSEL NEVER PRODUCED ITS TIME ALTERING CAPACITIES OR CELL ELECTRIFYING PROPERTIES, EXCEPT FOR THE ANONYMOUS AFTERNOON ONE JUNE WHEN A SINGLE NEWSPAPER APPEARED, IN TABLET FORM, WITHIN THE UPPER CHAMBER OF THE INTEGRATRON'S CENTER, ITS DATE JUNE 9, 2016. BELOW IS AN EXCERPT FROM ITS FRONT PAGE STORY, INDEED THE ONLY STORY IN THE ENTIRE NEWSPAPER, APART FROM STRANGE AND UNUSUAL SYMBOLS WHICH ENCIRCLED THE TEXT AND COVERED EVERY OTHER PAGE INTO THE INFINITIES . . . . . . . THE LANDERS TIME TRAVELER THURSDAY JUNE 9 2016 WEDNESDAY MORNING BEGAN WITH A BANG. AS THE MOJAVE SUN EXPLODED ACROSS THE DESERT PLAINS NORTH OF JOSHUA TREE, CALIFORNIA, ONE OF THE LARGEST GATHERINGS OF NATIVE AMERICAN CHIEFS AND TRIBAL LEADERS OF THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST STOOD ASSEMBLED AT THE LARGE FREESTANDING BOULDER COMMONLY KNOWN AS GIANT ROCK, THREE MILES NORTHEAST OF THE INTEGRATRON IN LANDERS, CALIFORNIA. MEETING THEM IN THIS SUNRISE CEREMONY WAS PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, WITH THE UNITED STATES BOARD ON GEOGRAPHIC NAMES, TO DECLARE SCORPION ROCK AS THE 115TH U.S. NATIONAL MONUMENT, ON THIS THE 110TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ANTIQUITIES ACT OF 1906 WHICH MADE NATIONAL MONUMENTS POSSIBLE. IN THE WORDS OF PRESIDENT OBAMA, " WE ARE HERE ASSEMBLED TO DECLARE THIS GREAT STONE, ONE OF THE LARGEST FREESTANDING BOULDERS IN THE WORLD, AS A U.S. NATIONAL MONUMENT, NOT ONLY DUE TO ITS IMMENSITY AND GRANDEUR, BUT DUE ITS SACRED AND HISTORIC IMPORTANCE AMONG NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES THROUGHOUT CALIFORNIA AND THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST. AS GREAT CHIEFS AND TRIBAL ELDERS FROM THE MOJAVE DESERT BASIN AND BEYOND MET HERE IN ANTIQUITY, TO GAIN SPIRITUAL STRENGTH AND KNOWLEDGE FROM EACH OTHER, SO MEET WE HERE TODAY. BUT WE ARE ASSEMBLED TODAY NOT MERELY TO DECLARE THIS SITE WITH TITLE, BUT TO OUTLINE THE MEASURES WHICH WILL BE USED TO PROTECT THIS SCARRED YET SACRED STONE FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS. EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, ALL ROADS TO SCORPION ROCK WILL BE CLOSED TO ALL VEHICULAR TRAFFIC, SAVE THE THREE MILE ROAD WHICH RUNS BETWEEN THE INTEGRATRON AND SCORPION ROCK. THIS SINGLE ROAD WILL BE MAINTAINED, TERMINATING IN A PARKING LOT ONE HALF MILE SOUTH OF WHERE WE STAND, HIDDEN FROM VIEW. A PATHWAY OPEN ONLY TO PEDESTRIANS WOULD THEN CONTINUE ALONG SPY MOUNTAIN TO SCORPION ROCK, WHERE NO CARS WOULD BE VISIBLE NOR STRUCTURES, SIGNS NOR KIOSKS, IN AN EFFORT TO RETURN THIS GREAT STONE TO ITS NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AS COMPLETELY AS POSSIBLE. THE GREAT CHALLENGE AHEAD WILL LIE IN THE REVERSAL AND ERASEMENT OF THE GRAFFITI AND HUMAN INDUCED DAMAGE TO ALL SIDES OF SCORPION ROCK ; LET US PROCEED WITH AN EYE TOWARDS RESTORING SCORPION ROCK TO ITS ORIGINAL AND NATURAL BEAUTY. LET NO CHAIN LINK FENCES NOR MANMADE EYESORES POLLUTE THE PERIPHERY OF THIS GREAT STONE ; RATHER, LET THE VIEWS OF MOTHER NATURE BE ENDLESS AND UNINTERRUPTED FROM THIS NATURAL LANDMARK, THAT IN BEING HERE WE ARE STEPPING BACKWARDS IN TIME AS WE STEP CLOSER TO THE SPIRITS OF GREAT NATIVE AMERICAN LEADERS OF YEARS PAST. LET MODERN DAY NATIVE AMERICAN CHIEFS AND TRIBAL ELDERS COUNSEL WITH THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE ON WAYS TO RETURN SCORPION ROCK AND ITS IMMEDIATE ENVIRONMENT TO ITS NATIVE GLORY ; LET U.S. PARK RANGERS AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT WORK TOGETHER TO SECURE THIS AREA SACRED TO NATIVE AMERICANS FROM WOULD - BE VANDALS AND CRIMINAL ACTIVITY. MOST IMPORTANTLY, LET DAYS BE SET ASIDE EACH YEAR WHEN TRIBAL LEADERS AND CHIEFS FROM THIS GREAT BASIN OF THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST CAN MEET AS IN TIMES PAST, ON DAYS CLOSED TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC, WHERE THE SACRED LANDSCAPE IS REGARDED AS AN INFINITE CHAPEL OPEN TO THE HEAVENS, WHERE THE VOICES OF ANCIENT CHIEFS AND TRIBAL ELDERS RESOUND ONCE AGAIN THRU THE VALLEY, AND WHERE THE GREAT STONE - SCORPION ROCK - BEATS ONCE AGAIN AS THE HEARTBEAT OF MANY NATIONS ". NO SOONER HAD PRESIDENT OBAMA UTTERED THESE WORDS THAN A GREAT BEATING OF TRIBAL DRUMS ERUPTED AMONGST THE GATHERED ELDERS, TO THE TRADITIONAL CHANTING OF THE TRIBES ASSEMBLED, EACH ALTERNATING IN THE TONGUES OF THEIR FOREFATHERS, IN LANGUAGES DIMINISHED BY THE YEARS BUT NOT FORGOTTEN. THIS DRUMMING AND CHANTING CONTINUED ALL DAY WEDNESDAY, FROM SUNRISE TO SUNSET, WITH A SPECIAL CEREMONY AT SUNSET OPEN ONLY TO NATIVE AMERICAN CHIEFS AND ELDERS AS IN TIMES PAST. YET THE FINAL RAYS OF THE SUN FOUND PRESIDENT OBAMA 1,000 MILES NORTHEAST : AT THE BASE OF THE FIRST DECLARED U.S. NATIONAL MONUMENT IN NORTHEASTERN WYOMING. THERE, TOGETHER WITH THE UNITED STATES BOARD ON GEOGRAPHIC NAMES, PRESIDENT OBAMA DECLARED MATO TIPILA AS THE OFFICIAL NAME OF THIS, THE 1ST U.S. NATIONAL MONUMENT WHERE, TOGETHER WITH CHIEFS AND SPIRITUAL LEADERS OF THE LAKOTA, SIOUX, CHEYENNE, AND TRIBES FROM THE SURROUNDING GREAT PLAINS, PRESIDENT OBAMA DECLARED " AN END TO NOT JUST THE VERBAL VANDALISM OF THE NAME ' DEVILS TOWER ', BUT AN END EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY TO ALL RECREATIONAL CLIMBING AND CLIMBING RELATED ACTIVITIES WHICH HAS BEEN AS A SPIRITUAL VANDALISM, AND CONTRARY TO THE WISHES OF THE TRIBES HERE ASSEMBLED TODAY. LET US WALK WITH MORE RESPECT AND UNDERSTANDING TOWARDS THE SPIRITUAL BELIEFS OF OTHERS ; ON THIS DAY LET US RENEW OUR PLEDGE TO PRESERVE AND PROTECT MATO TIPILA AND OTHER NATURAL SITES, THESE SACRED NATIVE AMERICAN LANDMARKS AND STRUCTURES, THAT THESE GREAT HEIRLOOMS OF ANTIQUITY MAY NOT BE DAMAGED NOR DESECRATED, BUT SECURED FROM DESTRUCTION AND HONORED, THAT TOGETHER WITH THE NATIONAL PARKS OF THE UNITED STATES, AMERICA'S BEAUTY MAY BE PRESERVED, AND AMERICA'S SPIRIT REKINDLED, THAT IN THIS GREAT NATION OF RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE AND EQUALITY THOSE SPIRITUAL BELIEFS OF THE FIRST AMERICANS, WITH THE SITES WHICH THEY HOLD SACRED, ARE GIVEN EXPANDED PROTECTIONS, PROTECTIONS LONG OVERDUE YET FINALLY GRANTED IN THE SPIRIT OF CONTRITENESS AND HUMILITY. I AM NOT PROUD AS AN AMERICAN OF THE INJUSTICES COMMITTED AGAINST THE GREAT PEOPLES OF THE TRIBES HERE ASSEMBLED UNDER THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES, BUT I AM PROUD OF THIS DAY, AS ONE MEASURE CLOSER TO THE REPARATIONS DUE TO THE GREAT NATIVE AMERICAN PEOPLES, AS ONE STEP FORWARD IN OUR FEEBLE UNDERSTANDING OF YOUR WAYS MUCH DIFFERENT FROM OUR WAYS. TEACH US AND GUIDE US, O ANCIENT ONES, BUT NEVER LEAVE US, IS MY PRAYER, IS MY HOPE, IS MY FAITH, AHO. "  * GERMAN SCIENTIST WALTHER JOHANNES RIEDEL HAS GONE ON RECORD DECLARING GEORGE ADAMSKI'S PURPORTED PHOTOGRAPH OF A DECEMBER 1952 UFO SIGHTING AS A FAKE, EXPOSING THE SPHERICAL LANDING STRUTS AS 100 - WATT GENERAL ELECTRIC LIGHTBULBS, WITH THE GENERAL ELECTRIC LOGO CLEARLY VISIBLE IN THE PHOTOGRAPH. ** FOR A VISUAL WITNESS OF THE EXTENSIVE GRAFFITI NOW COVERING LARGE AREAS OF THE BASE OF SCORPION ROCK AND RISING, AS ENCOUNTERED AT DAWN ON SUNDAY APRIL 5, 2015, ENTER HERE. |