POCATELLO — The Bureau of Land Management recently installed two interpretive signs at the Indian Rocks petroglyph boulder display that pay tribute to the regional history of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes.
The Indian Rocks petroglyphs are located just northwest of McCammon. The site once boasted a visitor’s center but no trace of the structure remains, according to BLM spokesperson Bruce Hallman.
The new interpretive signs provide some historical context for the petroglyphs that were etched into the rocks by the Native American tribes who called the Snake River plain their home. Hundreds of petroglyphs can be found on boulders and rock walls along the Snake and Salmon rivers and their tributaries.
Indian Rocks is designated as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern to protect significant Native American cultural resources including petroglyphs and lithic scatters.
The Shoshone-Bannock tribes designed the two interpretive signs and collaborated with the staff from the BLM Idaho Falls District stationed at the field office in Pocatello to get them installed.
The new signs help tell the story of the area and highlight the importance of its history and current features. One wayside exhibit details the petroglyphs and the importance of archeological and cultural resources and the other provides information about the history of Pihaguyu Nahuukwa Teviwa (the local Portneuf River Country), the creation of the Fort Hall Reservation, and traditional foods used by the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes today.
The English translation seen on one sign proclaims “The rocks tell the story of our ancestors,” and are a cherished and invaluable resource.
Nolan Brown of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes Cultural and Preservation Department helped design the two signs at Indian Rocks and another interpretive display in the Challis Field Office earlier in 2021.
As the Historical Researcher for the Shoshone-Bannock tribes, Brown’s efforts were vital to help recognize and highlight the heritage and history of the area.
“This is a wonderful collaboration that shares a more complete view of the history and importance of these lands,” said Idaho Falls District Manager Mary D’Aversa. “The signs invite people to immerse themselves in the landscape and develop for a fuller appreciation and greater understanding of the area.”
BLM archeologist Amy Lapp spearheaded the project, with help from maintenance worker Andrew Harsh and park ranger Cory Olsen.
When the signs were ready for installation, they discovered some additional challenges awaited them. An augur was brought to the site to dig holes for the sign posts, but they found much more rock than soil at Indian Rocks.
After a few attempts resulting in holes no more than shallow depressions, it was time for some quick problem solving. Due to all that lava rock, Andrew and Cory designed and built sturdy bases for the signs that could be installed on top of the ground. They even gathered nearby rocks to complete and anchor the design.
Just above the parking area and two new interpretive signs, a short trail leads to higher ground where the petroglyphs can then be seen.
There are many stories to explore in the area from the dark basalt cliffs formed as lava flowed from the Blackfoot Lava Field north and west of the site to the basalt boulders washed downstream and rounded by a catastrophic flood about 14,500 years ago that became the petroglyph rocks.
They are some of the many “melon” boulders deposited across Idaho by what is now called the Bonneville Flood. Indigenous people, living in southern Idaho at that time, probably witnessed and experienced this massive flood.