How Do We Preserve and Protect the Ancient Indigenous Stoneworks of New England?
Vandalism and Development Destroy Stonework Across Our Region
Sad news reached me recently of some deliberate destruction of stonework in a publicly accessible, preserved space in New England. Niches were broken apart and the stones strewn about. A perched or pedestaled Boulder was pried up and taken. Other Stone Prayers were disassembled and destroyed. It was wanton and deliberate vandalism. I've been asked not to share where this happened. Yet, the fact of its destruction remains.
The photo above is from some earlier destruction in the Mount Ascutney area of Vermont which Josh Smart shared with me a couple of years ago, where those clearing a plot of land came across Stone Prayers and simply worked over them, as if they weren't there, destroying them through ignorance and negligence. Many if not MOST ancient New England Stoneworks are destroyed this way. People don't even know they are a THING, so to speak. And many Developers, or those developing their land, don't really WANT to know.
So... What Can Be Done? Even if you have your doubts about the Indigenous Origins of the stonework, I would hope you agree the structures themselves are worth protecting and preserving.
As Ignorance drives so much of the destruction, my solution is Education. This theory, this very idea that Native, Indigenous Peoples in this area now called "New England" built ANYTHING with stone, is still relatively unknown to the general population. This Newsletter, my Facebook Group, my videos, my Book, all these things are my attempts to somewhat painlessly educate folks by trying to Popularize this knowledge. In a sense, by reading this Newsletter, you're a part of what I hope is part of the solution to this problem.
In my Facebook Group, we discourage people from revealing actual locations, but have decided to allow for Towns, Counties and States to be mentioned. I believe this is important, as it lets folks know this stuff is EVERYWHERE in New England — it actually could be literally in your backyard, depending on where that is.
In my opinion, there is a tendency towards amnesia among those who get heavily into investigating the origins of New England's Stoneworks, where they often forget how relatively UNKNOWN this idea is in the General Population. And this is understandable! Those who DO get into it really get into it! As you may well be aware of, by now, through your own experiences. The "once you see it, you see it" quality to some of this stonework creates a sense of... obviousness? Is that a word? Whatever we call it, this quality seems to make it difficult to remember that many if not most people remain UNAWARE of any of this.
Admittedly, I could be wrong. Some who disagree feel that popularization leads to more destruction, especially if sensitive location information is even accidentally revealed. Could greater knowledge lead to greater vandalism?
What do you think?
How do we Preserve and Protect the ancient Stonework of New England?