A Perfect Pothunting Day: An Examination of Vandalism to the Cultural Resources of Canyon de Chelly National Monument, its Motivations, and Potential Solutions

In the United States, federal land managers such as the National Park Service (NPS) are mandated by legislation such as the Antiquities Act (1906), the National Historic Preservation Act (1966, amended 1976), the National Environmental Policy Act (1969) and the Archaeological Resources Protection Act (1979) to identify, manage and protect cultural resources for future generations. These resources are irreplaceable and provide a tangible link to the past for the scholars that study them, the cultures that are connected to them, and the interested layperson.

At Canyon de Chelly National Monument, in the Four Corners Region of the U.S. Southwest (Figure 1), cultural resources are endangered by natural and human‐caused agents. These agents of resource destruction are outlined in Figure 2; the focus of this study is the damage caused by agents that are predatory and malicious in nature, such as defacement and looting, or illegal activity such as visitation. This study will aim to determine the amount of damage that has occurred to the cultural resources of Canyon de Chelly, to determine the factors that have attracted visitors, vandals and looters to certain sites, to compare those data to other estimates, and will offer potential solutions to curtail future vandalism.