Protests and activism inspired by my reporting on the Ridgecrest Petroglyph Festival, sordid appropriator of the sacred Native American artwork of the Coso Range, have led festival promoters to agree to make changes this year. “By prioritizing Native American and Indigenous participants, we are taking steps to ensure that the festival remains a true reflection of the traditions and history it seeks to honor.”
I attended the Ridgecrest Petroglyph Festival this weekend, where more than 15 tribes showcased their pride and culture in a beautiful display of tribal unity. Yet, I witnessed Robert Blackwell attempting to undermine this celebration through disruptive behavior, speaking over others and acting threateningly and disrespectfully. For someone who claims to be “protecting” Native culture, Blackwell’s actions have caused more harm than support, seeking to dismantle the one event in our region that genuinely honors our Native American heritage.
As a Native American with deep roots—my mother being Kawaiisu, raised near Bakersfield, and my father, Paiute Shoshone, from the Owens Valley—I find actions by Blackwell – and Baumgart – deeply offensive.
Their behavior, rooted in White Saviorism, upholds colonial power structures that prioritize white speech while sidelining Native American voices. The self-proclaimed advocacy of Baumgart and Blackwell reflects a racist model of control that stifles the voices that should lead these discussions: Indigenous people themselves.
Perhaps all the effort to "save" Native Americans should be redirected to focusing on things that relate to your own life experiences rather than those of people whose journey you've never shared—or, as I'd like to say, whose moccasins you've never walked in. And leave us the hell alone. We can take care of ourselves.
Hi Miles, can you provide any links to your social media, or anything that would prove your identity? It still seems that you are likely someone working for the City of Ridgecrest. The probability appears exceedingly low that a sudden first-time festival attendee would go to the trouble to sign up and post upon this obscure, failing blog or even know to find it in the first place. Thanks!
Glad you had fun at the Festival, Miles. Oh and welcome to Substack. Congrats on your first post and your first follower, me! I hope whoever directed you here from the Ridgecrest Visitors Bureau at least paid you for your well-written paragraph expressing valid concerns. Fortunately for you, I'm not trying to save anything nor speak for anyone. If you read the article I wrote that comes through pretty clearly. Maybe you should read it? I quote the statements of many Native Americans from areas surrounding Ridgecrest. Take for example Jonnie Benson, a Lone Pine Paiute-Shoshone, "They took a real touristy approach. Now we have all these people walking away after this weekend thinking, ‘Oh, wow, I’ve learned all about the natives who live here,’ when in fact they don’t know shit. They learned the Hollywood story.” If you're cool, Miles, with the Visitors Bureau paying non-local tribes to do a pow-wow, something to my knowledge local tribes don't engage in, and showcasing dances that have nothing to do with anything traditional among tribes from the region, dances performed by tribes from North Carolina, the Great Plains, and beyond with no connection to the petroglyphs in the Coso Range, that's absolutely fine with me. I just happen to have spoken with many local Native Americans that are not okay with it and find it insulting. Such as Bob Robinson, who calls the festival, “commercial exploitation. They’re turning it into a Roswell bullshit.” Or Kathy Bancroft, the Cultural Officer for the Lone Pine Paiute-Shoshone: “The worst thing about it is the town of Ridgecrest... They want to be the petroglyph capital of the world." The aims of Ridgecrest have been explicit since the beginning. In 2014, Ridgecrest’s then-mayor Dan Clark proposed the festival, describing it as a potential “economic engine” for the city of Ridgecrest. “The petroglyph festival will be our signature event,” he told the LA Times. “We’re going to saturate this community with representations of rock art.” Denny Kline, a field officer for Mick Gleason, Kern County’s District 1 Supervisor, told reporters, “It’s going to be the city’s 50th anniversary on steroids.” Sponsors for the four-day festival included Coca-Cola, General Electric, NASA, the Ford Foundation, McDonald’s, and Home Depot, among others. A year later, the town remained committed to becoming the “American ‘Machu Picchu." These goals are fading, as the attendance of last weekend's festival would seem to indicate. It has never been my aim to ruin this festival, injure the economy of Ridgecrest or dampen its tourism, its hotel reservations, i.e. "heads on beds" as they refer to it. A festival that honored local tribes and the sacred art of the region could be an amazing tourist draw that simultaneously honored the art, honored local Native American tribes, and provided meaningful education that might protect the priceless sacred art of the Cosos. If you were not offended by the festival, Miles, that's amazing. But I'm afraid you would be in the minority on that one. Further, I fail to see how my work as a writer quoting the crass statements of local tourist officials and the genuine distaste of local Native Americans amounts to me trying to "save" anything. If anything, one could interpret my writing as constructive criticism aimed at saving the festival which, if done properly, could be amazing, but as it stands has been a lazy unreformed (and failed) tourist grab since year one. Ridgecrest should have taken notes back in 2016. Or not! As your comments seem to indicate, they're doing great. If you have an issue with Mr. Blackwell you should reach out to him at rjblackwell78 at gmail. He is a lawyer representing the Kawaiisu Nation's legitimate and longstanding grievances with the City of Ridgecrest, Kern County and beyond. Blackwell is not acting independently but under the direction of his client. You might reach out to tribal leadership as well, since you're a Kawaiisu member yourself, as you say. Don't kill the messenger Miles. I'm just reporting what I see. And what I see and have seen are local Native tribes who object to the appropriation of their sacred symbols for commercial gain and tourism by the city of Ridgecrest. All the best, B
Barret, thank you for sharing your thoughts, and I appreciate the opportunity to respond thoughtfully. It's clear this conversation touches important topics related to the representation of Native American culture, especially in California.
I hesitate to resort to a sarcastic and condescending tone as in your reply. You unwittingly reaffirm my observation of your white privilege with you completely dismissing my position. Duly noted.
You quoted several members of the Native American community who expressed dissatisfaction with the festival. It’s worth noting that you could have, not intentionally, opted to cherry-picking quotes to support a predetermined viewpoint. This approach can lead to confirmation bias—to validate your argument while ignoring perspectives that might offer a more balanced view. Constructive dialogue should include a wide range of opinions, including those who might have had positive experiences or see potential for the event to evolve in a way that respects local traditions and supporting Native Americans. I personally know quite a few members of the Native community who strongly support the festival and its goal to promote Native American culture.
I also need to address a factual point made in the comment: Robert Blackwell is not a licensed attorney in California, which is important to clarify for the sake of transparency. Furthermore, Blackwell was previously involved with Pertexa, a company that received significant hundreds of thousands from the City of Ridgecrest, where he was the Chief Operating Officer, raising questions about his current standing and motivations. Maybe you can show your inpartiality by writing about that.
It's important to have discussions regarding cultural representation. Your willingness to engage shows that this is a conversation that matters to many. Embracing all sides of the discussion can help the festival grow so that Native Americans throughout California can benefit from the celebration of Native culture.
Finally, I'm not paid by anyone. I'm a Native American who finds it distasteful to have one-sided assertions that invariably pit Native Americans against Native Americans with actions made by non-Natives who have no skin in the game.
Sorry Miles, nobody I talked to ever came forward in support of the festival. If you'd like the reporting to reach a different conclusion that might require you to cherry pick and confirm your own biases. Again, I don't really get the impression you've read the reporting I've done. It hardly pits Native against Native. It does pit Native against Festival, a festival organized by a tourist board to raise tax revenue. The festival was for years a blatant attempt to cash in and appropriate Native American art and culture. This is provable in the quotes supplied above. Non-controversial fact. They wanted an economic engine. If you have no problem with that kind of appropriation, that's fine. You are entitled to your position. There are Natives however that strongly disagree with you. I printed the voices of those individuals, with their approval and encouragement, and in interviewing them and those in their community found zero support for the festival. I would encourage you to write something pro-festival that provides support for your rather dubious claim of abundant enthusiasm for the festival among *local* Native Americans. If such a thing exists it could prove a useful update to my piece. So far, you have only made ad hominen arguments that neither speak to the contents of my writing or the character reflected therein. I look forward to your next generically worded reply written by Chatgpt.
PS when I reached out to the city and NAWS China Lake's PR person, Peggy, years ago I was threatened. Peggy told me personally, "We will put a stop to you... If we find out that something was printed that should not be printed, we will put a stop to you." I never even printed that in the article. That article, this whole topic and conversation, it isn't about me. I made a mistake though, as you point out. I should have been more balanced... and included it!
Clearly you, and Robert “not a lawyer” Blackwell have a racist, and pathological fixation with Ridgecrest and China Lake. Pathetic that you continue to use Native American issue for your colonistic purposes. Your responses are not productive, so I will just continue to reach out to MY indigenous bretheren who absolutely out number your out-of-touch cronies.
Maybe take the time to finish your education. You do sound like a high-schooler who couldn’t finish college because of your social failings. And there is a far more interesting reason why Robert Blackwell is NOT an attorney.
I believe your “special” relationship with Robert Blackwell is better spent together in a small cottage in the outskirts of some small town. Your feeble thinking seems to be more aligned with that. Perhaps open an antique store together. Be happy.
Miles, I do not know you and never have met you but you seem to be feed some information that was not true. I would be happy to meet and discuss the local Kawaiisu issues with you. Call me at 843-467-0745 to set up a meeting so you have both sides of the story . Bob
Miles, You and your Ridgecrest City buddies gave Pertexa nearly $800, 000 and failed to hold them accountable. Great technology but poor execution. Your City Council Buddies had a chance to recoup $2million of tax money from Pertexa but decided to ignore that so they would not be embarrassed. These are the same people who created the racist Festival in 2014
and you are defending this year. The attendance this year was a flop because educated people know a cultural circus when the see it. Vendors lost their shirts. The Festival
WTF are you talking about "my Ridgecrest City buddies" I don't know any city people. I love how you are calling ME racist, when I'm Native American. Your white privilege is showing. Maybe vendors lost their shirts because you insist on destroying a Native American cultural event. Your motivation on this is narcissistic and pathological on an off-the-charts scale.
I'm done with you both. I will take this fight to the people of the Native American community. And expose you both as the anti-Native American racists that you are.
Also, thanks for suggesting that by reporting the statements of Native Americans, I'm attempting to stifle the voices of Native Americans. Hope you find creaky uncomfortable chair at the table of Ridgecrest City Council. That's the type of creative thinking that town could really benefit from! -B
Miles, Every person native or not has a choice to be on the right or wrong side of history. For whatever reason , you seem to be an apologist for the non native economic and political power of Ridgecrest . You are defending a 175 year genocide of the Kawaiisu and their racist exclusion from this event. Any honest self aware person who saw that event this year would know this was not authentic to local tribal traditions with respect to the only local tribe in Ridgecrest , the Kawaiisu Nation or any other local tribal group. Take your lemonade stand with your donut stand to a county fair . Take your non local
entertainment to Vegas where they can also see the Blue Man Group and a magic show. The local native rock group was an insult to tribal elders . Kern County is not Alabama or maybe it is. This event was not educational but a cultural joke driven by the hotel owners . Stop justifying a cultural war crime. Robert
Maybe look up what a genocide is. I'm sure 6 million jewish people appreciate your flippant use of the term. Everyone know that you're using this as an excuse to extort money and your "business" of woodworking, which is not legal, according to the Secretary of State of California, Kern County, or the City of Ridgecrest. Take your personal failings and go away.
I asked some Kawaiisu that I KNOW and they actually participated in the festival. The Kawaiisu as a tribe DOES NOT OWN THE PETROGLYPHS, it is a NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL TREASURE, NOT OWNED BY ANY ONE TRIBE.
You speak of others trying to profit off of culture, and that's is EXACTLY what you are doing. You will be exposed for this money grab of yours and the voices of Native Americans will stop your disrespectful attacks.
Miles, I am sure of one thing that both Barret and I are far more educated than you. Not that it matters.You are aiding in your own people’s genocide out of ignorance or for $ from your city buddies.
I attended the Ridgecrest Petroglyph Festival this weekend, where more than 15 tribes showcased their pride and culture in a beautiful display of tribal unity. Yet, I witnessed Robert Blackwell attempting to undermine this celebration through disruptive behavior, speaking over others and acting threateningly and disrespectfully. For someone who claims to be “protecting” Native culture, Blackwell’s actions have caused more harm than support, seeking to dismantle the one event in our region that genuinely honors our Native American heritage.
As a Native American with deep roots—my mother being Kawaiisu, raised near Bakersfield, and my father, Paiute Shoshone, from the Owens Valley—I find actions by Blackwell – and Baumgart – deeply offensive.
Their behavior, rooted in White Saviorism, upholds colonial power structures that prioritize white speech while sidelining Native American voices. The self-proclaimed advocacy of Baumgart and Blackwell reflects a racist model of control that stifles the voices that should lead these discussions: Indigenous people themselves.
Perhaps all the effort to "save" Native Americans should be redirected to focusing on things that relate to your own life experiences rather than those of people whose journey you've never shared—or, as I'd like to say, whose moccasins you've never walked in. And leave us the hell alone. We can take care of ourselves.
Hi Miles, can you provide any links to your social media, or anything that would prove your identity? It still seems that you are likely someone working for the City of Ridgecrest. The probability appears exceedingly low that a sudden first-time festival attendee would go to the trouble to sign up and post upon this obscure, failing blog or even know to find it in the first place. Thanks!
Glad you had fun at the Festival, Miles. Oh and welcome to Substack. Congrats on your first post and your first follower, me! I hope whoever directed you here from the Ridgecrest Visitors Bureau at least paid you for your well-written paragraph expressing valid concerns. Fortunately for you, I'm not trying to save anything nor speak for anyone. If you read the article I wrote that comes through pretty clearly. Maybe you should read it? I quote the statements of many Native Americans from areas surrounding Ridgecrest. Take for example Jonnie Benson, a Lone Pine Paiute-Shoshone, "They took a real touristy approach. Now we have all these people walking away after this weekend thinking, ‘Oh, wow, I’ve learned all about the natives who live here,’ when in fact they don’t know shit. They learned the Hollywood story.” If you're cool, Miles, with the Visitors Bureau paying non-local tribes to do a pow-wow, something to my knowledge local tribes don't engage in, and showcasing dances that have nothing to do with anything traditional among tribes from the region, dances performed by tribes from North Carolina, the Great Plains, and beyond with no connection to the petroglyphs in the Coso Range, that's absolutely fine with me. I just happen to have spoken with many local Native Americans that are not okay with it and find it insulting. Such as Bob Robinson, who calls the festival, “commercial exploitation. They’re turning it into a Roswell bullshit.” Or Kathy Bancroft, the Cultural Officer for the Lone Pine Paiute-Shoshone: “The worst thing about it is the town of Ridgecrest... They want to be the petroglyph capital of the world." The aims of Ridgecrest have been explicit since the beginning. In 2014, Ridgecrest’s then-mayor Dan Clark proposed the festival, describing it as a potential “economic engine” for the city of Ridgecrest. “The petroglyph festival will be our signature event,” he told the LA Times. “We’re going to saturate this community with representations of rock art.” Denny Kline, a field officer for Mick Gleason, Kern County’s District 1 Supervisor, told reporters, “It’s going to be the city’s 50th anniversary on steroids.” Sponsors for the four-day festival included Coca-Cola, General Electric, NASA, the Ford Foundation, McDonald’s, and Home Depot, among others. A year later, the town remained committed to becoming the “American ‘Machu Picchu." These goals are fading, as the attendance of last weekend's festival would seem to indicate. It has never been my aim to ruin this festival, injure the economy of Ridgecrest or dampen its tourism, its hotel reservations, i.e. "heads on beds" as they refer to it. A festival that honored local tribes and the sacred art of the region could be an amazing tourist draw that simultaneously honored the art, honored local Native American tribes, and provided meaningful education that might protect the priceless sacred art of the Cosos. If you were not offended by the festival, Miles, that's amazing. But I'm afraid you would be in the minority on that one. Further, I fail to see how my work as a writer quoting the crass statements of local tourist officials and the genuine distaste of local Native Americans amounts to me trying to "save" anything. If anything, one could interpret my writing as constructive criticism aimed at saving the festival which, if done properly, could be amazing, but as it stands has been a lazy unreformed (and failed) tourist grab since year one. Ridgecrest should have taken notes back in 2016. Or not! As your comments seem to indicate, they're doing great. If you have an issue with Mr. Blackwell you should reach out to him at rjblackwell78 at gmail. He is a lawyer representing the Kawaiisu Nation's legitimate and longstanding grievances with the City of Ridgecrest, Kern County and beyond. Blackwell is not acting independently but under the direction of his client. You might reach out to tribal leadership as well, since you're a Kawaiisu member yourself, as you say. Don't kill the messenger Miles. I'm just reporting what I see. And what I see and have seen are local Native tribes who object to the appropriation of their sacred symbols for commercial gain and tourism by the city of Ridgecrest. All the best, B
Barret, thank you for sharing your thoughts, and I appreciate the opportunity to respond thoughtfully. It's clear this conversation touches important topics related to the representation of Native American culture, especially in California.
I hesitate to resort to a sarcastic and condescending tone as in your reply. You unwittingly reaffirm my observation of your white privilege with you completely dismissing my position. Duly noted.
You quoted several members of the Native American community who expressed dissatisfaction with the festival. It’s worth noting that you could have, not intentionally, opted to cherry-picking quotes to support a predetermined viewpoint. This approach can lead to confirmation bias—to validate your argument while ignoring perspectives that might offer a more balanced view. Constructive dialogue should include a wide range of opinions, including those who might have had positive experiences or see potential for the event to evolve in a way that respects local traditions and supporting Native Americans. I personally know quite a few members of the Native community who strongly support the festival and its goal to promote Native American culture.
I also need to address a factual point made in the comment: Robert Blackwell is not a licensed attorney in California, which is important to clarify for the sake of transparency. Furthermore, Blackwell was previously involved with Pertexa, a company that received significant hundreds of thousands from the City of Ridgecrest, where he was the Chief Operating Officer, raising questions about his current standing and motivations. Maybe you can show your inpartiality by writing about that.
It's important to have discussions regarding cultural representation. Your willingness to engage shows that this is a conversation that matters to many. Embracing all sides of the discussion can help the festival grow so that Native Americans throughout California can benefit from the celebration of Native culture.
Finally, I'm not paid by anyone. I'm a Native American who finds it distasteful to have one-sided assertions that invariably pit Native Americans against Native Americans with actions made by non-Natives who have no skin in the game.
Sorry Miles, nobody I talked to ever came forward in support of the festival. If you'd like the reporting to reach a different conclusion that might require you to cherry pick and confirm your own biases. Again, I don't really get the impression you've read the reporting I've done. It hardly pits Native against Native. It does pit Native against Festival, a festival organized by a tourist board to raise tax revenue. The festival was for years a blatant attempt to cash in and appropriate Native American art and culture. This is provable in the quotes supplied above. Non-controversial fact. They wanted an economic engine. If you have no problem with that kind of appropriation, that's fine. You are entitled to your position. There are Natives however that strongly disagree with you. I printed the voices of those individuals, with their approval and encouragement, and in interviewing them and those in their community found zero support for the festival. I would encourage you to write something pro-festival that provides support for your rather dubious claim of abundant enthusiasm for the festival among *local* Native Americans. If such a thing exists it could prove a useful update to my piece. So far, you have only made ad hominen arguments that neither speak to the contents of my writing or the character reflected therein. I look forward to your next generically worded reply written by Chatgpt.
PS when I reached out to the city and NAWS China Lake's PR person, Peggy, years ago I was threatened. Peggy told me personally, "We will put a stop to you... If we find out that something was printed that should not be printed, we will put a stop to you." I never even printed that in the article. That article, this whole topic and conversation, it isn't about me. I made a mistake though, as you point out. I should have been more balanced... and included it!
Clearly you, and Robert “not a lawyer” Blackwell have a racist, and pathological fixation with Ridgecrest and China Lake. Pathetic that you continue to use Native American issue for your colonistic purposes. Your responses are not productive, so I will just continue to reach out to MY indigenous bretheren who absolutely out number your out-of-touch cronies.
Maybe take the time to finish your education. You do sound like a high-schooler who couldn’t finish college because of your social failings. And there is a far more interesting reason why Robert Blackwell is NOT an attorney.
I believe your “special” relationship with Robert Blackwell is better spent together in a small cottage in the outskirts of some small town. Your feeble thinking seems to be more aligned with that. Perhaps open an antique store together. Be happy.
Miles, I do not know you and never have met you but you seem to be feed some information that was not true. I would be happy to meet and discuss the local Kawaiisu issues with you. Call me at 843-467-0745 to set up a meeting so you have both sides of the story . Bob
Miles, You and your Ridgecrest City buddies gave Pertexa nearly $800, 000 and failed to hold them accountable. Great technology but poor execution. Your City Council Buddies had a chance to recoup $2million of tax money from Pertexa but decided to ignore that so they would not be embarrassed. These are the same people who created the racist Festival in 2014
and you are defending this year. The attendance this year was a flop because educated people know a cultural circus when the see it. Vendors lost their shirts. The Festival
Is a “dead man walking”.
WTF are you talking about "my Ridgecrest City buddies" I don't know any city people. I love how you are calling ME racist, when I'm Native American. Your white privilege is showing. Maybe vendors lost their shirts because you insist on destroying a Native American cultural event. Your motivation on this is narcissistic and pathological on an off-the-charts scale.
I'm done with you both. I will take this fight to the people of the Native American community. And expose you both as the anti-Native American racists that you are.
Also, thanks for suggesting that by reporting the statements of Native Americans, I'm attempting to stifle the voices of Native Americans. Hope you find creaky uncomfortable chair at the table of Ridgecrest City Council. That's the type of creative thinking that town could really benefit from! -B
Miles, Every person native or not has a choice to be on the right or wrong side of history. For whatever reason , you seem to be an apologist for the non native economic and political power of Ridgecrest . You are defending a 175 year genocide of the Kawaiisu and their racist exclusion from this event. Any honest self aware person who saw that event this year would know this was not authentic to local tribal traditions with respect to the only local tribe in Ridgecrest , the Kawaiisu Nation or any other local tribal group. Take your lemonade stand with your donut stand to a county fair . Take your non local
entertainment to Vegas where they can also see the Blue Man Group and a magic show. The local native rock group was an insult to tribal elders . Kern County is not Alabama or maybe it is. This event was not educational but a cultural joke driven by the hotel owners . Stop justifying a cultural war crime. Robert
Maybe look up what a genocide is. I'm sure 6 million jewish people appreciate your flippant use of the term. Everyone know that you're using this as an excuse to extort money and your "business" of woodworking, which is not legal, according to the Secretary of State of California, Kern County, or the City of Ridgecrest. Take your personal failings and go away.
I asked some Kawaiisu that I KNOW and they actually participated in the festival. The Kawaiisu as a tribe DOES NOT OWN THE PETROGLYPHS, it is a NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL TREASURE, NOT OWNED BY ANY ONE TRIBE.
You speak of others trying to profit off of culture, and that's is EXACTLY what you are doing. You will be exposed for this money grab of yours and the voices of Native Americans will stop your disrespectful attacks.
Miles, I am sure of one thing that both Barret and I are far more educated than you. Not that it matters.You are aiding in your own people’s genocide out of ignorance or for $ from your city buddies.
But what will all the crazed petroglyph collectors do! Shame!
It was sponsored by Home Depot last time I was there. They can buy sod.
Very odd.