Thank you, Bee, for injecting your words of wisdom into this discussion.
Several years ago I participated in a trans-Sierra migration re-enactment hike with American Indians from the West and East sides of the range. Long before the white man came, Indians would gather at Tuolumne Meadows for the Summer, and socialize, exchange trade items and perhaps, find a wife or husband. Our hike that year started south of Lee Vining, crossed Mono Pass, traversed the Tuolumne area and ended in Yosemite Valley. As we entered the Valley it was our hope to conduct a remembrance ceremony near to location of an ancient village, a spot regarded as sacred by local Indians. We arrived at the site to discover an "dig" in progress. A Phd candidate was trying to prove a theory she held regarding arrow point development. My indian brothers and sisters were dismayed and emotionally upset to see a sacred site being ripped apart in order to satisfy someone's intellectual goals and career. Some of my friends great-grand parents had been born nearby and worshiped the Creator at that very spot. The site has since been repaired by the Park Service, but the pain is still remembered by local Indians as "bad medicine."
Half Dome itself, among other formations in the area, might have been regarded with awe by our Indian ancestors as manifestations of the Creator and the spiritual realm. Great respect was shown by them for all of creation. Unfortunately, our dominate European/American culture seldom demonstrates the same respect for our natural world; we often seem more interested in using nature to increase our fun, instead of showing it respect and caring for it.
Perhaps the Park Service is starting to realize that some of its past decisions were not in the best interest of the natural world.
