Whither Marvin?
Twin Arrows Trading Post, Arizona
2022
I thought the graffiti at Twin Arrows Trading Post was best presented in black and white, but there were a few obvious exceptions such as this one.
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Harsh Words
Twin Arrows Trading Post, Arizona
2022
Another comment from the same graffiti artist as yesterday. I believe the solution proposed here was tried back in the day and while there were occasional successes (e.g. Custer’s defeat), in the end it was pretty much all for naught. I doubt a new effort along that lines would be any more successful today. The hopes for adequate redress of the issue of stolen land surely must come by other means. Or maybe this isn’t about redress at all, rather just payback. (@firstse7en is the Instagram handle for an indigenous artist who has some interesting, often harsh, takes on the current issues relating to indigenous and other often marginalized groups.)
The Sun Will Shine
Twin Arrows Trading Post, Arizona
2022
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Stolen From Whom?
Twin Rocks Trading Post, Arizona
2022
At first I thought this graffiti message was a simple lament about land being taken from indigenous Americans by European immigrants. But then I learned (from Wikipedia) that the land Twin Arrows occupies currently is owned by the Hopi people. So if it’s actually stolen land who did the Hopi steal it from? The Navajo perhaps? The Apache they were often fighting with? Or perhaps the Anasazi who occupied the area prior to the Hopi? If it were the latter case, then it would actually be inherited from rather than stolen from as the Hopi (and, Zuni, and Navajo) are thought to be the descendants of the Anasazi. More likely, perhaps, is the author of the graffiti didn’t actually know the current ownership status of the land.
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Make It Stop!
Twin Arrows Trading Post, Arizona
2022
Even when he retreated to his special place, Daryl couldn’t quiet the voices in his head.
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Apache
Twin Arrows Trading Post, Arizona
2022
One of the many, many pieces of graffiti that literally covered almost every single square foot of the abandoned Twin Arrows Trading Post, inside and out. This one had the word Apache spray painted below it. He definitely looks Apache. I was a bit surprised to see it in this location as it is definitely an area traditionally inhabited by the Navajo and Hopi people and currently part of the Hopi lands. But then the Navajo and Hopi did periodically fight against the Apache in the vicinity, so perhaps it was placed there by someone trying to stir up old animosity.
Falling Short
Twin Arrows Trading Post, Arizona
2022
It’s the Twin Arrows Trading Post, so why only one arrow? There are actually two. If you look closely, the second one is laying on the ground to the left of the obvious one. It used to be upright, but over time it has fallen, perhaps from a not-so-gentle hit by an errant vehicle.
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Zebraesque
Tubac, Arizona
2022
A very engaging pattern of stripes makes for a harsh reading environment should one sit down and attempt that. At least for me it would be very difficult to read between the lines.
