Our Commitment
We Pledge
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.
Acknowledgment
Friends of Sierra Rock Art acknowledges that the lands we work to protect are the ancestral homelands of the Nisenan, Washoe, Maidu, Miwok, 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.
Our Name
We recognize that the term “rock art” is not preferred by many Native American communities, as it can suggest that these ancient markings were created simply as artwork. For the descendants of the region’s Indigenous peoples, these images are often spiritual, cultural, ceremonial, and ancestral expressions. Not art in the modern sense.
Friends of Sierra Rock Art was founded in 1990, when “rock art” was the commonly used archaeological term for petroglyphs and related imagery. While our organization’s name reflects that earlier terminology, our work today is guided by deep respect for Indigenous perspectives and a commitment to using more appropriate language whenever possible.
In our programs, publications, and educational materials, we strive to use terms such as petroglyphs, cultural sites, ancestral markings, or traditional expressions, unless a tribal community advises otherwise.
We remain committed to listening, learning, and evolving as we work alongside Native communities and cultural specialists.