Inscription Rock is a Mohave petroglyph site located just downstream from Lake Mohave and Davis Dam on the Colorado River. It has extraordinary spiritual significance to the tribe, particularly because it has commanding views of Spirit Mountain, which the tribe believes to the point at which their ancestors emerged into the world.
EDA planners worked closely with the tribe, Bureau of Reclamation archaeologists and faculty from several universities to develop five interpretive panels for the site. Among the results of the consultation was total avoidance of the term “rock art,” despite its common usage
The tribe felt that the images on the rocks had a spiritual significance to their creators that transcended “art,” and made the use of the term inappropriate.
Exact reproduction of the site’s images was also avoided, at the tribe’s request, as was any attempt to explain the meaning of the images. EDA writers supplied drafts of all text to tribal representatives for editing and approval before the signs were fabricated.
