BLYN –– The Jamestown S’Klallam tribe is offering a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for the vandalism of Tamanowas Rock.
Gideon Cauffman, cultural resources specialist for the tribe, said last week the tribe is seeking the person who spray painted “I ♥ Miranda” in pink-and-white on the 150-foot-tall rock east of Anderson Lake State Park near Chimacum.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Jamestown S’Klallam law enforcement at 360-681-4629 or rkallappa@jamestowntribe.org.
Tribal officials learned of the graffito July 25 and are working on finding a way to removing it without causing damage to the rock, which actually is made up of a pair of basalt masses that shoot up through a dense forest.
Sacred site
It is sacred to the tribe and other Salish Native Americans.
The 43-million-year-old rock was used as a lookout for hunters, for refuge from reported tsunamis and for quests of spiritual renewal by tribal youths.
The Jamestown S’Klallam tribe purchased the rock and 62 surrounding acres from the Jefferson Land Trust for $600,000 last December.
Tamanowas Rock, aka Chimacum Rock, was listed on the Washington Heritage Register in 1976, and the tribe is currently seeking to have it added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The land trust had bought the property from Washington State Parks, which bought it from developer George Heidgerkin.
Heidgerkin purchased the property in 1993 with plans to build as many as 46 homes around Tamanowas Rock.
Since purchasing the Tamanowas property, the tribe has made a concerted effort to limit motor biking, campfires and especially rock climbing.
The “I ♥ Miranda” tag also was painted on the Uptown Theatre in Port Townsend last month.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Joe Smillie can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or at jsmillie@peninsuladailynews.com.
