100th Anniversary of Disagreement

'Twas a 100th anniversary of a religious site and one of the remarkable geographic
sites of the world yesterday.

And, you might say, it also marked the 100th anniversary of one of the sharpest points of disagreement between the Indians and those of us who have taken over what was once their land.

Indians knew of the natural arch across the Colorado River for as long as
they had been around, and by the 1800s, trappers, prospectors, cowboys and
adventurers had all happened upon its grandeur. But, this only made it legend, with the story floating around of how there was out there -- somewhere out there -- a
humongous rock arch across a river.

Today, it is known as Rainbow Bridge, the largest natural "bridge" in the
world, albeit it isn't a bridge meant for crossing, as in cars driving across it.

It is a spectacle, though, rising 290 feet high, and spanning 275 feet across the Colorado River. "By its wonderous size, to say nothing of its majesty and mystery, Rainbow Bridge has inspired humans throughout time," says the Rainbow Bridge National Monument website.

Byron Cummings and William B. Douglass each set out in hopes of this legendary site, combining into one party that discovered it
Aug. 14, 1909. Within a year, it was named a national monument, that
distinction coming May 30, 1910 -- one hundred years ago yesterday.

Through much of the last half century, what to do with Rainbow Bridge drew sharp discord between Native Americans and federal officials. Yesterday's anniversary, in a way, also marked the 100th anniversary of that discord, as creation of the national monument was a beginning point in both protecting Rainbow Bridge and in having the federal government, not the Indians, supervising the site.