This image tells the story of a pristine wilderness, one waiting to be explored and appreciated. It says to the viewer, “Look at this magnificence. Don’t you want to experience it in person?”
It should be made clear, however, that I am not suggesting a malicious repression of Native American presence in Zion National Park by its administrators or by the Park Service. On the contrary, without the exhibit in their own museum, this essay would have never been born. I’m simply interested in examining how the images and stories they’ve chosen to tell online neglect to emphasize this specific part of Zion’s history, and how this has ramifications on perceptions of the park. There may even be good intentions behind these actions; for example, the locations of petroglyphs in the park are kept mostly secret to save them from defacement. The mandatory bus system that has its own webpage was the first of its kind in the lower 48 states and has seriously helped reduce traffic, noise levels, and air pollution in the park. In terms of base practicality, it only make sense for the bus system to have its own page, because visitors then have easy access
to necessary information. Images tell stories. The photographs we choose to display and the manner in which we present them help shape the story we want others to know. We can further influence the tale by withholding images—ones that show a part of the story we don’t want to share. This can be seen in the case of Zion: what few images exist of the troubled times in its history are not widely publicized because their stories don’t support the desired impression of the park. The absence of exhibited images of an incident obviously does not prevent or eliminate its occurrence, but that absence can result in an altered perception of the locus of that event. Like the photograph of the messy girl in the dark dorm room, the details of Native American history in Zion are easy to downplay because there is a lack of visual proof. Whether of person or place, images inform our awareness, knowledge, and understanding.
Notes 1. “Park Visitation Statistics—Zion National Park 2004–2014.” National Park Service. National Park Service. 19 Sept. 2014. Web. 18 Nov. 2014. 2. Great White Throne. “Zion National Park.” National Park Service. 4 May 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2014. 3. “Angels Landing (Zion National Park).” Trails 360. 2014. Web. 18 Nov. 2014. 4. Southern Paiutes. “Zion National Park Utah: People.” National Park Service. National Park Service. 18 Nov. 2014. Web. 19 Nov. 2014. 5. “Zion National Park Utah: People.” National Park Service. National Park Service. 18 Nov. 2014. Web. 19 Nov. 2014. 6. “Zion National Park History and Information.” Utah’s Dixie: History. n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2014. Volume 4
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