REVIEW: ‘The Bears Ears’ by David Roberts
Image courtesy of WW Norton / Provided by official site.
Writer David Roberts, who died earlier this year, recently published a fascinating examination of the area of Southeast Utah known as the Bears Ears. President Barack Obama preserved this unique region, which features the stunning Cedar Mesa and a network of canyons, during the final days of his presidency, but then President Donald Trump reduced the size of the national monument to a fraction of its former self, opening up certain parcels of land to oil and gas exploration. In addition to the natural wonders of the region, the Bears Ears is also home to many nearby Native American communities and archaeological sites of great importance to the Ancestral Puebloan peoples (Roberts uses the term “Anasazi” and offers his explanation why on pages 6-7 in a footnote, but here is another interpretation).
The Bears Ears: A Human History of America’s Most Endangered Wilderness — as the title of the book suggests, Roberts is most interested in the human history of this land, which means he spends a lot of time outlining the history of the Native Americans in this area of Utah, which sits north of the Navajo Reservation and west of the White Mesa Ute Reservation, not too far from the Four Corners that connect Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico.
One of the most interesting characters in the book is the subject of the third chapter: Manuelito, one of the greatest Navajo leaders of the 19th century, who, according to Roberts, was born near the Bears Ears in 1818. There are many resources that the writer uses to bring Manuelito and his contemporaries to life, but one of the most revealing are the testimonies included in the Doris Duke American Indian Oral History Program, which consists of some 4,000 biographies of Native Americans. Some of the elders who were interviewed offered reminiscences of Manuelito and the chapters of his life that were passed down from generation to generation.
Often in the book, Roberts devotes many pages to historical examples and figures, and then he jumps ahead to more modern times. As he states early on, he’s less interested in a chronological ordering of events and more interested in describing the region topically. Thus, the narrative moves to “illegal pothunting,” the activity of digging up historical objects and antiquities, sometimes even bodies. For this chapter, Roberts focuses on Blanding, Utah, and an early-morning raid in 2009 that saw more than two dozen suspects arrested.
Sprinkled throughout the narrative are Roberts’ own recollections of his many, many trips to the Bears Ears from his home in Massachusetts, plus how he built lifelong friendships with locals and his thoughts on how this unique landscape may change in the future. Throughout his storytelling Roberts doesn’t hold back on his opinions, including his thoughts on everything from the National Park Service to ATV travel. He definitely is on the side of preservation, but he also doesn’t want the Bears Ears to become another national park, with camera-toting tourists, handrails, guided ranger hikes and less access for the intrepid traveler. In an epilogue to the book, he confesses to the reader about his yearning for this land to be left alone, or at least left to only a few travelers who make it out to the remote wilderness. He recognizes this sense of “ownership” is problematic, but he characterizes the feelings as human.
There are many stories throughout the book about the Mormon history in the area, including the dramatic Hole-in-the-Rock expedition. Often Roberts will lay out the historical record and then supplement the story with his own adventures to find traces of the past, whether that’s names of early Anglo explorers or ladders that descend into Ancient Puebloan kivas.
The Bears Ears also features historic tales of great conflict between the local Native American tribes and the Anglo communities in the region, many of them descendants of the original Mormon settlers. Included pictures speak to the historical figures who are detailed: Jim Mike, Paiute, a visionary, guide and shaman; Posey, Paiute leader; and Tse-ne-gat, whose story opens up a chapter on the so-called last war between the United States and local Native Americans.
The final parts of The Bears Ears details Roberts’ enduring love for the region, which he calls his favorite place on earth. The final pages detail his cancer diagnosis and treatment, which seriously curtailed his ability to explore the canyons he so loved. There are actually quite a few poignant moments during the epilogue, with stories of Roberts leading friends to his favorite places in the Bears Ears, and the realization that he is unable to continue any farther because of his physical difficulties. He offers a hastily-drawn map to his hiking buddies and lets them continue onward. In many ways, that’s what The Bears Ears the book is all about: a rumination on a beloved place, a testament to many lives lived, an invitation to consider the human history of America’s most endangered wilderness.
Within his words, Roberts does not offer detailed maps to his favorite places because that would go against his principles. His modus operandi in publishing this book is not to inspire a new generation of trekkers to find this remote area of Southeast Utah. In fact, he’s even self-conscious about putting these historical stories in print because they may lead to an uptick in tourism. One gets the impression that he wants the Bears Ears to remain preserved — for Native Americans in the 21st century to witness their remarkable past and for select others to explore the region with an appreciation for the convoluted, yet endlessly fascinating history that has been passed down from generation to generation. Roberts, it would seem, does not want these ruins to be ruined because they tell so many vital stories that should not be forgotten.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
The Bears Ears: A Human History of America’s Most Endangered Wilderness by David Roberts. 336 pages. W.W. Norton. Click here for more information.
