FIRST NATIONS SASQUATCH REFERENCES GALLERY
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First Nations Stone Carvings |
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One of several stone heads said to show an ape-like creature.
During about the same timeframe, a Native in what is now the Lillooet area, British Columbia, created a curious stone foot. The big toes is missing along with about 40% of its total length towards the heel. The center of the upper surface has been hollowed out to form a shallow bowl. It has been deemed a “medicine man’s ceremonial bowl.” It has been reasoned that the foot may have been patterned after a sasquatch footprint. As some Native people give sacred significance to the sasquatch, it might be speculated that use of the bowl would thereby give a mixture, “added significance.” The first two images (top) on the right show the foot, from below and above. The third images shows the foot in the hands of a lady museum curator. The last image shows what the complete foot possibly would have looked like--the bowl portion on the front end has been duplicated, placed upside-down on the lower end, and the toes deleted. The length of the foot is about 8.8 inches, as is. Adding the lower portion, a shown, would make the total foot about 12.3 inches, although there may have been a more extended heel. |
Aboriginal people arrived in North America at least 10,000 years ago. As with people throughout the earth in all times, they created artwork. Images generally depict animals, humans, and various designs.  Stone head of a
bighorn sheep.
Between about 1,500 BC and AD 500, Native people in the Columbia River valley created a number of stone heads. One head found shows an obvious bighorn sheep as shown on the right. A series of other heads show some sort of ape (left image) -- definitely not a known North American animal; definitely not a human. As there are no “natural” apes in North America, it has been suggested that this head and the others represent a sasquatch. The heads are about the size of a football. 
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First Nations Petroglyphs |
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Petroglyphs are engravings on rock
surfaces. They were painstakingly created by ancient people for communications, religious, and simple art-expression purposes. We can only guess at the meaning of some of the symbols used. Many animals depicted can be definitely identified, and of course humans are obvious. The petroglyph head seen on the left is in Bella Coola, BC, a prime area for sasquatch-related incidents. It does not appear to be a human head (there are also images of human heads and this head is totally different). It is somewhat similar to the stone heads which are thought to be sasquatch-related. |
A petroglyph in California that Native people say is the “hairy man.” Descriptions provided for the “hairy man” and a pictograph (rock painting--see First Nations Pictographs section) of the creature match the descriptions we have of the sasquatch.
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These petroglyphs were found in New Mexico. The first photograph show the familiar “whistling lips” seen on “sasquatch” masks created by First Nations
people in British Columbia. Could it be that the images were created as a warning that the creature inhabited that region? The second photographs shows footprints. The print on the right is similar to the stone foot (see First Nations Stone Carvings section). |
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First Nations Pictographs |
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Pictographs showing humans at the
same site as the “hairy man” image. A distinct difference is seen.Pictographs are paintings on rock faces.utilizing natural pigments. Ancient Native people created them for the same reasons they created petroglyphs (communications, religious, art-expression purposes). The most famous sasquatch-related pictographs are in central California. They depict what the Native people refer to as the “hairy man” along with with his mate (wife) and child. The “hairy man” seen here is about 8.5 feet tall. In addition to appearance similarities, Native stories of the “hairy man” provide several behaviors and characteristics that correspond with what we know about the sasquatch. There appears to be little doubt that, real or mythical, the hairy man and the Pictographs showing humans at the same site as the “hairy man” image. A distinct difference is seen. 
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The information presented here was from research done by Kathy Moskowitz Strain, Forest Heritage Resource and Tribal Relations Program Manager for the Stanislaus National Forest, California. Kathy has authored a remarkable book on bigfoot in Native culture. She provides valuable insights on understanding Native traditions and values related to the sasquatch. |
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First Nations Wood Carvings |
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A D’sonoqua mask (top) and a ‘buck’ was mask depicting what we have come to call a sasquatch.
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Generally speaking, most wood carvings
(masks and totem poles) depicting the sasquatch are those of the Kwakiutl Tribe in British Columbia, Canada. The carvings depict either the female sasquatch which has long hair and whistling lips, or the male which has no hair and a straight, open mouth with exposed teeth. The female is called D’sonoqua (several spellings and a proper noun). The male is called a buck’ was, or just buckwas (not a proper noun). The interpretation is either “wild woman of the woods,” or “wild man of the woods,” as applicable.” An example of each mask is shown on the left. However, the most ape-like mask ever found was one created by a native of the the Tsimshian Tribe, also of British Columbia, as illustrated below. 
This mask was created in about 1850
and invites considerable speculation as to what inspired the artist to create it. Native people in British Columbia, (homeland of the sasquatch) appear to have created most of the wood carvings showing the sasquatch. Just how far they go back in history is difficult to determine, but definitely long before non-Native people took an interest in the creature. |
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