Friends of Sierra Rock Art acknowledges that the lands we work to protect are the ancestral homelands of the Nisenan, Washoe, Maidu, Miwok, Paiute, and other Indigenous peoples of the Sierra Nevada who have lived here since time immemorial. We honor their enduring relationship with these mountains, rivers, valleys, and sacred places.

We also recognize the ancient Martis people, whose cultural presence in the Sierra between 2000 BC and 500 AD remains visible through the ancestral markings they left in stone. Their legacy forms part of the deep, continuous Indigenous history of this region.

We express gratitude to all Native peoples past, present, and future whose stewardship, resilience, teachings, and cultural traditions continue to shape the Sierra Nevada. We acknowledge the impacts of colonization, displacement, and erasure, and affirm our responsibility to approach this work with humility, respect, and a commitment to supporting Indigenous voices.

As guests on this land, we pledge to listen, learn, and uphold the cultural values of the Indigenous communities who continue to care for this landscape. Protecting ancestral sites is not only an archaeological responsibility it is an act of respect for the original peoples of the Sierra Nevada.

We offer our sincere gratitude to the Indigenous peoples of this region. May our efforts honor their sovereignty, heritage, and enduring presence.

-Bill Drake