Vandals target cherished Southern Alberta landmark

The Big Rock, near Okotoks, is a place of spiritual importance for members of Southern Alberta's native population

The Big Rock, located just outside of the town of Okotoks, has been tagged by vandals, desecrating a spiritual site for Native Canadians.

The rock is covered in red ochre and petroglyphs painted by Aboriginal Peoples hundreds of years ago.

"It's very sad to see,” says Blair First Rider, a member of the Blood First Nation.  “We are very respectful of other religions and cultures and we certainly don't go to churches and other places to desecrate their places of worship."

Archeologists, working to restore the site, say the spray paint could be doing permanent damage to the glacial erratic.

Alberta Historic Resources is planning to remove the graffiti this summer.  The organization will also conduct three-dimensional mapping of the entire Okotoks Erratic in order to catalog all of the rock’s historic markings.

With files from Kevin Green