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Shelby Johnson
Professor Stone
English 2710
December 8, 2016
Bigfoot Enthusiasts: A Folklore Collection
The woods have always been a mysterious place full of legends, stories and ominous
warnings. For generations, folk groups have shared stories of strange things that occur in forests.
From Hansel and Gretel to Red Riding Hood, the woods are a place for the enigmatic, spooky
and unknown. As humanity has progressed, buildings now take the place of trees. The wild and
untamable landscape have become modern and civilized. Stories of creatures living in the woods
are now seen as fables and good natured camp stories. Belief in forest monsters and creatures has
all but faded as the skeptics and critics make their opinion known. While most elusive wood
dwelling creatures are seen as fantasy, for many, the belief in the Sasquatch is as credible and
true as the woods the creatures live in.
Sasquatch originates from the Halkomelem word, sasqets meaning Wild man. Halkomelem
is a dialect spoken by the Salish people, an indigenous group inhabiting Northern California,
Washington State, British Colombia, Canada and parts of Oregon. The origin of Bigfoot, or
Sasquatch begins with these Native Americans and their lore of the wild men. Native American
stories of large, hairy, man-like creatures are consistent across multiple tribes. All the records
claim that the creature is between six and nine feet tall, foul-smelling and usually forages at
night. There are some discrepancies among tribes as to the nature of the Bigfoot as some see the
creature as friendly and protective while others report it as being hostile and malicious. (Redish)

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While Sasquatch was well known among the native tribes of early America, Europeans did not
come in contact with the creatures until sometime later. There is a dispute on whether or not
famous Norse explorer Lief Erickson was the first European to ever see a Bigfoot, but the
sighting that earned Bigfoot its reputation belongs the Sasquatch hunters Roger Patterson and
Robert Gimlin. On October 20, 1967, the two men were searching an area in Bluff Creek
California when they spotted what appeared to be a female Bigfoot. They filmed the creature
makings its way across a dry creek bed before disappearing into the foliage. (Murphy) The
footage is exactly 59.5 seconds long and has been difficult to prove or disprove as Bigfoot
believers and skeptics from around the world argue the validity of Gimlin and Pattersons claim.
Since the filmed sighting in 1967, hundreds of Bigfoot sightings have been reported and
believers of Bigfoot have grown in number as they fight to find, protect and prove the existence
of the elusive beast.
Bigfoot does not belong to just American and Canadian folklore. Russia has a Bigfoot-like
creature called the Yeti. The Yeti is also known to live in the Himalayas and goes by the
name, Meh-Teh. Australians believe in the Yowie. South America fears the creature called
the Mapinguari and Malaysians have an Oily-Man monster called Minyak. (Wolchover)
While Sasquatch is a global icon, the focus of this paper is to discuss the affect the monster
has on American lore. According to the Angus Reid Public Opinion Poll, 29% of Americans
believe in Bigfoot. (Reid) The state with the most credible sightings is Washington State with
537 reported sightings. (Nickum) The Evergreen State is pro-Sasquatch and the lore of the
Bigfoot monster has created a state-wide culture. Known as Bigfoot Country, the
northwestern state has taken the creature under its wing and let it grow into a culturally
accepted normality. In Quincy, Washington there is the Sasquatch Music Festival. Seattle is

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home to Sasquatch Books, an independent publishing company. When I lived in Nine Mile
Falls, there was an enormous Bigfoot statue outside the local gas station. Everywhere you
look in Washington you will find small signs that he is there. Aside from word of mouth,
another way Bigfoot lore is identified is through visual representation. Taken from the
Patterson/Gimlin sighting, the silhouette of Bigfoot is an icon that most people will instantly
recognize. The image of Bigfoot is seen on tourist mugs and clothing or painted on signs of
clubs and buildings that share his name. Bigfoot seems to be at home in the heavily forested
area and the locals have embraced the ancient legend with full force. He lives on in material
lore through statues, paintings, costumes and even Christmas ornaments. While there are no
distinct traditions that carry significance with Bigfoot, merely the name Sasquatch will
remind the hearer of monsters and mysteries in the woods at night.
One of the more popular ways Bigfoot believers band together is through their oral tradition of
reciting sightings of the creature. To have seen a glimpse of the hairy beast is considered a sacred
event bestowed only upon a lucky few. Many Bigfoot researchers can spend years or lifetimes
without ever setting eyes on the creature and to hear a retelling of an eyewitness account adds
more fire and belief to a group who are already challenged by skeptics on all sides. Believers and
doubters ask the same questions as they try to find the truth:
How tall was it? Where were you when you saw it? Do you have any proof?
Depending on the answers received, the responses will either match with previously affirmed
sightings and be celebrated as fact, or disregarded as yet another hoax.
Oral tradition is what keeps the legend of Bigfoot alive. Through the spreading of sightings and
encounters, the proof in the creature grows and more numbers are added to the ranks of

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believers. While physical evidence is harder to come by, footprints and video footage are
another way that the legend of Bigfoot lives on.
Animal Planet currently hosts a television series called Finding Bigfoot. The program details the
adventures of four Bigfoot enthusiasts and researchers as they try to find evidence to prove the
existence of the creature. The show attracts viewers of all mindsets and interviews several
eyewitnesses and recounts the lore of the local area in regards to the creature in question.
Recently Travel Channel aired a series called The Hunt for Yeti and featured archeologist Josh
Gates as he traveled through Nepal and Tibet and collected local stories of the snow beast. While
American Bigfoot researchers seem to be more interested in the actual existence of the beast,
Josh Gates discovered a thriving belief in the Yeti where the creature has been seen as both a
deity and monster. Here the Bigfoot-like creature is seen as sacred and holds great religious
significance to the Nepalese people. Paintings portraying the creature were common and the
monks of the monasteries there consider it their responsibility to protect the identity of the beast.
While visiting one such monastery, Josh Gates was given special permission to view what is
believed to a several centuries old Yeti scalp and photograph it for analysis back in the United
States. This was considered a great honor as the scalp is a religious artifact and is not meant for
public display. (Gates)
Another way Americans celebrate Bigfoot is through the annual Ohio Bigfoot Conference.
Started in 2012 by Marc Dewerth and the Ohio Bigfoot Association, the conference has now
grown to be the most prominent sasquatch convention in the world. (Ohio) There, enthusiasts can
meet other likeminded individuals and recount stories of their Bigfoot encounters while
participating in lectures by some of the top Bigfoot experts in the nation. Americas Bigfoot does
not have the same religious significance as the Yeti and some could argue that is nothing more

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than a story or a made-up creature invented to frighten children and warn reckless teens, but its
existence has still shaped American lore to this day. It has become a household name among
media and pop culture and in 2005, musician Danny Freyer released the song, I Still Believe in
Bigfoot. (Freyer) The song is in folk style and makes several American references implying that
Sasquatch is as patriotic as the USA. The song has become a sort of anthem for Sasquatch
believers across the nation and is featured in the end credits of a movie entitled The American
Bigfoot. (American) Through oral tradition and the folk art, Bigfoot has gained a place in the
heart of American lore forever. While Bigfoot may not be as patriotic as apple pie as the Danny
Freyer song implies, the mysterious monster is still one that Americans consider their own. Next
time you are out for a walk in the woods and hear branches snapping behind you, look out. It
could be a Sasquatch.

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Works Cited
American Bigfoot. Dir. Bobcat Goldthwait. Perf. Bryce Johnson and Alexie Gilmore. Charlie
Fonville, 2016. IMDB.
Freyer, Danny. I Still Believe in Bigfoot. Danny Freyer. Bigfoot Blues, 2005. CD.
Gates, Josh. Expedition Unknown: The Hunt for the Yeti. Travel Channel. 5, October 2016.
Web. 7 Nov. 2016.
Murphy, Christopher L. "The History of the Patterson-Gimlin Film." Bigfoot Encounters. N.p., 3
Sept. 2011. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.
Nickum, Ryan. "11 Best States for Bigfoot to Live." Estately Blog. Estately Blog, may. Web. 07
Nov. 2016.
"Ohio Bigfoot Conference." Ohio Bigfoot Conference. N.p., 2016. Web. 08 Nov. 2016.
Redish, Laura, and Orrin Lewis. "Native American Bigfoot Figures of Myth and Legend." Native
American Bigfoot Characters of Myth and Legend. Native Languages of the Americas,
2009. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.
Reid, Angus. "Americans More Likely to Believe in Bigfoot than Canadians - Angus Reid
Institute." Angus Reid Institute. N.p., 26 May 2015. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.
Wolchover, Natalie. "Why Do So Many Cultures Have a Version of Bigfoot?" Live Science. Live
Science, 12 June 2012. Web. 7 Nov. 2016.