Petroglyphs are coke engravings, made by pecking or abrading. The colors were created from different minerals. Iron oxide produced red, a clay produced white, copper oxide produced blue-green, charcoal and manganese oxide produced black. Some believe they were done for religious ceremonies by Native Americans and others say they are a record of Indian history. Much of the history was passed down by oral tradition. Many histories and stories are still told today. Like these rock forms, many others are lost but open for conjecture. So what's the story behind these mysterious art forms of the Columbia Basin?
The Indian tribes of the Cascades believed everything possesses a spirit power. All boys, and many girls, went on a spirit quest to find their spirit guide or helper. The youth went into the wilderness alone for several days fasting, praying and dancing until their helper appeared. The symbols could be representative of such a quest. Or how about a particularly difficult animal hunt or tale of a successful war party? One tribe ceremonially carried Captain William Clark into camp on a buffalo robe as a God from the great beyond. Another tribe met the expedition and decided they must be on a vision quest. Maybe we aren't much different. Several years ago, the motion picture "Chariot of the Gods," a tale of extra-terrestrials coming to earth, further immortalized the Buffalo Eddy art forms as evidence of those from "out there coming to earth on their own vision quest" expedition. Just maybe we are on our own "In the Wake of Lewis and Clark "quest for discovery and enlightenment on Sea Lion.
