The title, Protector of the Sacred, is a reminder that this site is sacred. Salinas Pueblo National Monument at Abo is the home of our Pueblo ancestors, it is a burial site, and it is a church. We all share a role as protectors. The staff and rangers for the National Park Service are protectors. The Department of the Interior staff share the role of protectors. Visitors who learn the history and respect the site also share the role of protectors. The horned toad in the painting represents the role of protector. The horned toad is traditionally recognized as a protector in beliefs of many Pueblos, as well as other tribes of the southwest.

Protectors of the Sacred was painted by Karen Dressler Argeanas as part of the Artist in Residence program with Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument in New Mexico. The painting depicts the Mission San Gregorio de Abo with an unexcavated mound in the foreground. The focus on the mound is to recognize and honor the long history of the Pueblo prior to the Spanish mission.  Three shards in the foreground depict distinct styles of pottery found at Abo and represent different time periods of the site from the twelfth through the seventeenth century. Karen was also inspired by the birds, animals, and vegetation present at Abo. Included amongst the stones of the Pueblo is the burrow of a chipmunk or ground squirrel, as small animals that burrow through the mounds understand the secrets that the mounds hold as they travel between the surface world and the world below. The plant on the left side of the mound is four wing saltbush which held an important role to the Pueblo people as a food source, medicine, and dye.