| Bigfoot in NATIVE CULTURE The Great Elder Brother |
In Native culture the Bigfoot,Sasquatch,Skunk Ape is seen as our elder brother. He is also thought to be a
messenger,that shows up and puts in his appearances to warn us of something.
messenger,that shows up and puts in his appearances to warn us of something.
From Traditional Attitudes Toward Bigfoot in Many North American Cultures,By Gayle Highpine, originally printed in
the Western Bigfoot Society Newsletter "The Track Record"(International Bigfoot Society) Excerpted from Legends
Beyond Psychology" by Henry James Franzoni111.
In the Northwest,and west of the Rockies generally,Indian people regard Bigfoot with great respect. He is seen as a
special kind of being,because of his obvious close relationship with humans. Some elders regard him as standing
on the "Border" between animal-style consciousness and human-style consciousness, which gives him a special
kind of power.(It is not that Bigfoots' relationship to make him "Superior" to other animals;in Indian culture, unlike
western culture,animals are not regarded as "Inferior"to humans but rather as "Elder brothers"and "Teachers" of
humans. Tribal cultures everywhere are based on relationship and kinship; the closer the kinship,the stronger the
bond. Man Indian elders in the Northwest refuse to eat bear meat because of the bears similarity to humans, and
Bigfoot is obviously much more similar to humans then bears. As beings that blend the "Natural knowledge"of
animals with something called "Intelligence" the humans have, Bigfoot is regarded as a special type of being.
"Special being as he is, I have never heard anyone from the Northwestern tribe suggest that Bigfoot is anything
other than a physical being,living in the same physical dimensions as humans and other animals. He eats, poops,
he sleeps and cares for his family members. However,among many Indians elsewhere in North America...as widely
separated as the Northern Athabaskan, Hopi,The Sioux,The Iroquois, the Bigfoot is seen more as a sort of
Supernatural or Spirit Being, whose appearance to humans is always meant to convey some kind of message".
Peter Mathiessen recorded some comments about Bigfoot made by traditional Sioux people and some members of
other Indian Nations. Joe Flying By, a Hunkpapa Lakota, told Mathiessen, "I think the Big Man is a kind of husband
of Unkksa,the earth,who is wise in the way of anything with its own natural wisdom.
"There is your Big Man standing there,ever waiting,ever present,like the coming of a new day," Oglala Lakota
Medicine Man Pete Catches KM told Mathiessen. "He is both spirit and real being,but he can glide through the
forest,like a moose with big antlers,as though the trees weren't there.... I know him as my brother... I want him to
touch me,just a touch, a blessing, something I could bring home to my sons and grandchildren,that I was there,that I
approached him,and he touched me. "
Ray Owen,son of a Dakota Spiritual leader from Prairie Island Reservation in Minnesota told a reporter from the
Red Wing Republican Eagle, The Big Man comes from God. He's our big brother,kind of looks out for us. Two years
ago we were headed down hill, really self-destructive. We needed a sign to put us back on track,and thats why the
Big Man appeared."
Ralph Grey Wolf, a visiting Athabaskan Indian from Alaska told the reporter, In our way of beliefs, they make
appearances at troubled times to help troubled Indian communities get more in tune with Mother Earth."Bigfoot
brings signs or messages that there is a need to change,a need to cleanse." (Minn news article. "Giant Footprint
Signals a Time to Seek Change," July 23,1988)
The Hopi elders say that the increasing appearances of Bigfoot are not a message or warning to the individuals or
communities to whom he a appears,but to man kind at large. As Mathiessen puts it, they see Bigfoot as a
"Messenger who appears in evil times as a warning from the Creator that man's disrespect for his sacred
instructions has upset the harmony and balance of existence." To the Hopi,the Big Hairy Man is just one form that
the messenger takes.
The Iroquois (Six Nations Confederacy) of the Northwest although they live in close proximity to the eastern
Algonquian tribes with there Windego legends. view Bigfoot much in the same way the Hopi do, as a messenger
from the creator trying to warn humans to change their ways or face disaster.
Through out Native North America, Bigfoot is seen as a kind of "Brother" to humans. Even among those eastern
Algonquian tribes to whom Bigfoot represents the incarnation of the Windigo. The human who is transformed into a
cannibalistic monster by tasting human flesh in time of starvation. His fearsomeness comes from his very closeness
to humans. The Windigo is the embodiment of the hidden ,terrifying temptation within them to turn to eating other
humans when no other food is to be had. He was still their elder brother ,but a brother who represented a human
potential they feared. As such the Windigo's appearance was sort of constant warning to them, a reminder that a
community whose members turn to eating each other is doomed much more surely than a community that simply
has no food. So the figure of the Windigo is not so far removed from the figure of the Messenger coming to warn
humankind of impending disaster if it doesn't cease its destruction of nature.
The existence of Bigfoot is taken for granted throughout Native North America, and so are his powerful psychic
abilities. I can't count the number of times that I have heard elder Indian people say that Bigfoot knows when
humans are searching for him and that he chooses when and to whom to make an appearance,and that
his psychic powers account for his ability to elude the white man's efforts to capture him or hunt him
down. In Indian culture,the entire natural world ,The animals, the plants, the rivers, the stars ,is seen as a family,
and Bigfoot is seen as one as our close relatives,"the Great Elder Brother".
the Western Bigfoot Society Newsletter "The Track Record"(International Bigfoot Society) Excerpted from Legends
Beyond Psychology" by Henry James Franzoni111.
In the Northwest,and west of the Rockies generally,Indian people regard Bigfoot with great respect. He is seen as a
special kind of being,because of his obvious close relationship with humans. Some elders regard him as standing
on the "Border" between animal-style consciousness and human-style consciousness, which gives him a special
kind of power.(It is not that Bigfoots' relationship to make him "Superior" to other animals;in Indian culture, unlike
western culture,animals are not regarded as "Inferior"to humans but rather as "Elder brothers"and "Teachers" of
humans. Tribal cultures everywhere are based on relationship and kinship; the closer the kinship,the stronger the
bond. Man Indian elders in the Northwest refuse to eat bear meat because of the bears similarity to humans, and
Bigfoot is obviously much more similar to humans then bears. As beings that blend the "Natural knowledge"of
animals with something called "Intelligence" the humans have, Bigfoot is regarded as a special type of being.
"Special being as he is, I have never heard anyone from the Northwestern tribe suggest that Bigfoot is anything
other than a physical being,living in the same physical dimensions as humans and other animals. He eats, poops,
he sleeps and cares for his family members. However,among many Indians elsewhere in North America...as widely
separated as the Northern Athabaskan, Hopi,The Sioux,The Iroquois, the Bigfoot is seen more as a sort of
Supernatural or Spirit Being, whose appearance to humans is always meant to convey some kind of message".
Peter Mathiessen recorded some comments about Bigfoot made by traditional Sioux people and some members of
other Indian Nations. Joe Flying By, a Hunkpapa Lakota, told Mathiessen, "I think the Big Man is a kind of husband
of Unkksa,the earth,who is wise in the way of anything with its own natural wisdom.
"There is your Big Man standing there,ever waiting,ever present,like the coming of a new day," Oglala Lakota
Medicine Man Pete Catches KM told Mathiessen. "He is both spirit and real being,but he can glide through the
forest,like a moose with big antlers,as though the trees weren't there.... I know him as my brother... I want him to
touch me,just a touch, a blessing, something I could bring home to my sons and grandchildren,that I was there,that I
approached him,and he touched me. "
Ray Owen,son of a Dakota Spiritual leader from Prairie Island Reservation in Minnesota told a reporter from the
Red Wing Republican Eagle, The Big Man comes from God. He's our big brother,kind of looks out for us. Two years
ago we were headed down hill, really self-destructive. We needed a sign to put us back on track,and thats why the
Big Man appeared."
Ralph Grey Wolf, a visiting Athabaskan Indian from Alaska told the reporter, In our way of beliefs, they make
appearances at troubled times to help troubled Indian communities get more in tune with Mother Earth."Bigfoot
brings signs or messages that there is a need to change,a need to cleanse." (Minn news article. "Giant Footprint
Signals a Time to Seek Change," July 23,1988)
The Hopi elders say that the increasing appearances of Bigfoot are not a message or warning to the individuals or
communities to whom he a appears,but to man kind at large. As Mathiessen puts it, they see Bigfoot as a
"Messenger who appears in evil times as a warning from the Creator that man's disrespect for his sacred
instructions has upset the harmony and balance of existence." To the Hopi,the Big Hairy Man is just one form that
the messenger takes.
The Iroquois (Six Nations Confederacy) of the Northwest although they live in close proximity to the eastern
Algonquian tribes with there Windego legends. view Bigfoot much in the same way the Hopi do, as a messenger
from the creator trying to warn humans to change their ways or face disaster.
Through out Native North America, Bigfoot is seen as a kind of "Brother" to humans. Even among those eastern
Algonquian tribes to whom Bigfoot represents the incarnation of the Windigo. The human who is transformed into a
cannibalistic monster by tasting human flesh in time of starvation. His fearsomeness comes from his very closeness
to humans. The Windigo is the embodiment of the hidden ,terrifying temptation within them to turn to eating other
humans when no other food is to be had. He was still their elder brother ,but a brother who represented a human
potential they feared. As such the Windigo's appearance was sort of constant warning to them, a reminder that a
community whose members turn to eating each other is doomed much more surely than a community that simply
has no food. So the figure of the Windigo is not so far removed from the figure of the Messenger coming to warn
humankind of impending disaster if it doesn't cease its destruction of nature.
The existence of Bigfoot is taken for granted throughout Native North America, and so are his powerful psychic
abilities. I can't count the number of times that I have heard elder Indian people say that Bigfoot knows when
humans are searching for him and that he chooses when and to whom to make an appearance,and that
his psychic powers account for his ability to elude the white man's efforts to capture him or hunt him
down. In Indian culture,the entire natural world ,The animals, the plants, the rivers, the stars ,is seen as a family,
and Bigfoot is seen as one as our close relatives,"the Great Elder Brother".
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under the fair use Doctrine of International Law as educational material without benefit of
financial gain.
http://www.4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html
This proviso is applicable throughout the entire Skunk Ape Files Website.