Graffiti with giant pink and white lettering reading, "I (heart) Miranda" is defacing a rock in one of Washington's most sacred Native American sites.
The 150-foot-tall Tamanowas Rock is made up of a pair of basalt masses, shooting up through a dense forest, offering sweeping vistas of Admiralty Inlet, Whidbey Island and the Cascades, according to the Associated Press.
The rock is property of the Jamestown S'Klallam tribe. The tribe bought the rock and the 62 acres surrounding it from the Jefferson Land Trust for $600,000 in December, AP reported.
The tribe is currently seeking to have Tamanowas Rock placed on the National Register of Historic places. The rock is 43 million years old, and was historically used by Salish Native Americans for refuge, spirituals and renewal rituals. Tamanowas Rock has also been listed on the Washington Heritage Register since 1976.
Tribal spokeswoman Betty Oppenheimer told AP the rock is believed to be formed by molten lava and was used as a lookout spot for hunters. Nearby caves that were formed by gas bubbles during the rock's development were believed to be used for spiritual quests.
Even though a meaningful rock was scarred, Nesse and Bill Laubner, manager of the tribe's facilities, aren't showing anger and are currently focused on figuring out how to remove the eight-by-three-foot painting with as minimal damage to the rock as possible.
"At this point, we're not intending to cut off public access; we're trying to improve access and educate people about the importance of the rock," Nesse told Peninsula Daily News.
But the Tamanowas Rock isn't the only thing that has been defaced with the "I (heart) Miranda" graffiti lately. The same tag was also painted on the Uptown Theatre in Port Townsend last month.
It is still unclear who Miranda is, and who is doing the graffiti.
