Media Article:

Bigfoot Buzz

Column in The First Perspective Newsletter, The Drum

September 9, 2007

with Terence Sakohianisaks Douglas

Aboriginal People Enthusiastic About Sasquatch

Introduction

She:kon, Boozhoo. As is often the case in society, individuals with similar histories and interests tend to congregate together for mutual benefit; the wonderful world of Sasquatch is no different. Accordingly, myself, a fine Kanienkehaka (Mohawk) person, along with several fine Anishinaabe people have joined together to create a loosely organized (at present) Sasquatch research organization that will focus on the Sasquatch from the indigenous perspective. After much discussion we have decided to call our organization "Aboriginal People Enthusiastic about Sasquatch" or . . . wait for it . . . APES!

In adopting this tongue-in-cheek- moniker, it represents both our serious commitment to Sasquatch research, while at the same time not taking ourselves all that seriously. Part of APES's purpose is to research Sasquatch evidence within the Aboriginal context, whereby we will speak with people within Aboriginal communities, record the oral histories of Aboriginal communities, and to investigate Sasquatch evidence that takes place within Aboriginal communities.

APES Business

One of the first orders of business for APES was to undertake an expedition to search for Sasquatch evidence. The purpose of such an expedition is not to prove the Sasquatch's existence, as all APES members believe in the creature's existence, but rather to determine the type of creature that the Sasquatch may be. The inaugural APES expedition took place on the Victoria Day weekend, (which for our non-Canadian readers is a long weekend in May named after Queen Victoria the monarch of Great Britain for the greater part of the 19th century), and included core APES members, including myself, Lorne Olson, Lynnel Sinclair and Melissa Wastasecoot.

To buck the trend of not revealing the ultimate results of similar expeditions until the very end, I will tell you upfront that we did not see a Sasquatch while on this expedition. However, on the Monday of the long weekend some APES members, (of which I was not one of them as I was required to return home) did find what is believed to be a Sasquatch footprint although it was too washed out to say for certain. Alas, other than this alleged footprint and some very interesting stories, not much solid Sasquatch evidence was gathered.

The location of the expedition took place in and around Grand Rapids, Manitoba, which is approximately 124 kilometers across Lake Winnipeg as the crow flies from Norway House, and where sightings and other evidence of the Sasquatch have taken place on a fairly regular basis. This was the home community of APES member Lynnel Sinclair, and where she had an encounter with the Sasquatch a number of years ago. Lynnel was not only familiar with the area around Grand Rapids, she was also very knowledgeable about the encounters that had taken place in the recent past.

Sasquatch Encounters Around Grand Rapids

A few years ago, approximately thirty kilometers southeast of Grand Rapids, in an area that many people go to fish, a fisherman had an encounter that frightened him quite badly. The details of the encounter were relayed to me by Lynnel as we drove to Grand Rapids. Apparently a number of NHL hockey players had come up to Grand Rapids to fish one summer a few years ago. One of these players while fishing saw a Sasquatch in the bush watching him. Feeling quite scared, the player dropped all of his gear and ran as fast as he could back to the area where the rest of the players were fishing. This player was so unnerved by the experience that he never came back to fish.

This area southeast of Grand Rapids is fairly well known for Sasquatch sightings as a number of people have relayed to Lynnel that they have seen a Sasquatch cross the road in front of them. Interestingly, a couple of years ago in the summer APES members Lorne Olson, Lynnel Sinclair, Melissa Wastasecoot and a few other people were camping in this area. Being good Sasquatch investigators they were driving down old logging roads hoping to find Sasquatch evidence. As darkness began to fall, the group decided to pull off onto this cliff area that overlooked Lake Winnipeg. At this location, they built a small fire and settled in for the night to wait, watch and listen. Around 11:30pm, over the night noises Lorne thought he heard a wailing call. After listening to it for a while, Lorne asked if other people could hear it, to which they replied that they could. Lorne estimated that the call was around two or three kilometers away, was fairly loud, and echoed in the dark. The location of the sound came from an area that thick bush and bog; needless to say that no one was interested in investigating.

Lynnel also relayed other encounters that took place within Grand Rapids itself, including a story where a Sasquatch came up to a house one evening to enjoy a quick meal. Apparently the people at this house had set out the grease drippings and whatnot from a roast for their dogs to eat one evening. However, the woman upon collecting the pan in which the drippings were in interrupted a Sasquatch enjoying an evening snack. Although the exact manner in which the Sasquatch ate the drippings was not stated to me, apparently the woman had told Lynnel that the Sasquatch was eating drippings and that upon being discovered put the pan down and walked back into the surrounding bush.

There are numerous stories of Sasquatch coming into the community to look for food. There is even a sighting where a Sasquatch was seen one evening crossing the concrete bridge over the river that bisects the community. What is amazing to me is that the Sasquatch crossed a bridge that is at least three hundred feet across and lit by street lights; pretty gutsy for a Sasquatch in my opinion. As evidenced by the stories I heard, the Grand Rapids area seemed to be a perfect location for an expedition.

APES Inaugural Expedition

As I mentioned earlier in the article, the APES did not turn up any Sasquatch evidence other than a washed out footprint that may have been a Sasquatch. However, my time spent out in the bush was not wasted as I learned some very important lessons for future expeditions.

Lesson #1

No matter how prepared you think you are to deal effectively with a Sasquatch, the chances are that you are not. When reading or listening to people who have encountered a Sasquatch, I have often thought to myself "Why did you not take a picture with your camera"? The fact is that things happen quickly in the bush, and it takes time for the human mind to comprehend what is taking place before reacting. Given that most Sasquatch encounters are over in a matter of seconds, and usually the "flight" instinct kicks in with the adrenalin, it is a rare person who can remain calm, react quickly, and snap off a clear picture or two of a Sasquatch as it moves quickly in the bush.

Lesson #2

During the expedition the group broke up into individuals to search for footprints along an old logging road. I went into the bush for about twenty yards and squatted down to see if anything would happen. I was lulled into a state of calmness while listening to the birds, but then everything went quiet. At this point I noticed some movement in the bush directly in front of me. Just as I was focusing in on what was making the movement, a partridge burst forth from the bush directly towards me. Falling backwards I quickly realized it was not a Sasquatch, and laughed at myself.

The partridge for its part perched about fifteen feet away keeping an eye on me. It would have made a beautiful picture, but of course my new digital camera was sitting in the car approximately fifty yards away. I realized that if you are going into the bush to look for the Sasquatch, always bring your camera.

Lesson #3

One of the APES members wanted to stop at all the sand and gravel pits that were along the logging roads that we traveled. She informed me that berries always grew along the edges of these pits, and accordingly would make an ideal spot for a Sasquatch to get a quick berry snack. In stopping at these pits, I noticed that most of them had been quite soft at some point when it was raining. If anything had walked through the soft sandy solid when it was raining, or shortly thereafter, the imprint left behind would dry out so that they would be preserved. We saw a number of deer and wolf prints in this manner.

Lesson #4

Investigating Sasquatch evidence is hard work. As one APES member stated, "It is like trying to find a needle in a haystack". Unless there is a fresh report of Sasquatch activity in any given area, the chances of actually finding something of value is quite remote. Accordingly, I thought that as a Sasquatch investigator a person would have to really enjoy the bush-life as otherwise they would give up and go home in frustration. To look for Sasquatch evidence in the bush, a person needs to not expect to find anything but predominately treat it as a walk in the woods with a secondary intent of finding Sasquatch evidence. With that being said, I am amazed at those people that go into areas with a history Sasquatch activity and always come back with sounds, encounters or footprints.

Conclusion

Although the inaugural APES expedition did not turn up anything of importance, it was good to stretch our APES legs and get out in the bush. I did collect some more encounters of Sasquatch, and hung out with some very nice people. APES will be back to Grand Rapids at an another time, and we are currently planning an expedition sometime in the fall into Whiteshell Provincial Park that sits on the border of Manitoba and Ontario. We are also planning a possible conference on the Sasquatch from the Aboriginal perspective sometime in the fall as well.

If anyone has any comments on this article, or has a first-hand report or oral history that they would like to share with me, please contact me via sasquatch1969@hotmail.com. Until my next article, remember there are APES among you!

Whether you believe it is myth, spirit, supernatural, or physical, your responses are welcome here. Please email: bigfootbuzz@taiga-communications.com Meegwetch! Ekosi!

Reprinted with permission from Terence Sakohianisaks Douglas

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