My mom and I share a love of Indigenous history and a good hike. Thus, when my grandmother recommended Bandelier National Monument as a stop on our road trip, we both jumped at the chance. Located near Los Alamos, N.M., Bandelier is home to ancient Pueblo ruins. When we arrived, we were both ready to get our hiking boots on. However, the second we got to the park, I knew something was wrong.
We went to Bandelier on May 23, just a few weeks after President Donald Trump called for massive budget cuts to the National Park Service. In Bandelier, the lack of funds was very apparent. The number of visitors, even at 9:30 a.m., overwhelmed the small number of rangers working. When we asked for a map, a ranger pleaded for us to return it when we were done — she told us they didn’t have enough money to print more. The situation has gotten worse since; because of the current government shutdown, the visitor’s center, park store, multiple trails and more are now all closed to the public. My mom and I were so frustrated at the scene before us. Even so, we put our feelings aside so that we could enjoy the hike we planned.
What’s unique about Bandelier National Monument is that you are able to use ladders to climb into various cliff dwellings. My mom and I both got to go inside some pretty awesome dwellings right on our trail. The fun didn’t last long, though. We got about two-thirds of the way into the Pueblo Loop Trail when we came across a foreboding sign: Cave Kiva was closed to the public due to vandalism. Bandelier has had a history of vandalism problems, dating back to at least 2005. As one of the most popular sites on the Pueblo Loop Trail, Cave Kiva has been the center of a lot of this vandalism.
Bandelier staff have been very proactive in collaborating with the descendants of the ancient Pueblo. In 2022, the Santa Clara Pueblo and Bandelier came to a multiyear agreement, which meant shared responsibility for the land and its preservation. With the cultural knowledge of the Santa Clara Pueblo and the financial backing of the National Park Service, this agreement looked like a positive step in Indigenous control over their homelands. However, with NPS funding cuts and continued vandalism issues, it is hard to see what Bandelier will look like in the years to come.
Whether open or closed to the public, controlled by Indigenous people or the U.S. federal government, places like Bandelier will always be disrespected unless people reckon with the fact that the destruction of ancient wonders like Cave Kiva has powerful consequences. Once ruined, ancient Pueblo ruins will never exist as they once did..
Even if you aren’t Indigenous, the lands of Bandelier belong to you as a citizen of the United States. While the loss of this majestic place may hit harder for the Indigenous inheritors of the ancient Pueblo people, that does not absolve the broader American public of guilt, nor take away our responsibility for the preservation of this physical history.
