I have been fascinated by the legend of Bigfoot since I was a boy and saw the 6 Million dollar Man episode where Andre the Giant played the creature. I will say upfront that I have never had a bigfoot encounter, and I am not 100% sure they exist. What I do know is that there is a lot of anomalous evidence.
Bigfoot Sightings
Like UFO sightings, I believe many bigfoot sightings can be explained away. I think a lot of times, people are seeing bears or hunters from a distance. I also think there certainly have been hoaxes.
But not everything; every photo, video, footprint, hair sample, anomalous DNA sample can be easily explained away.
Bigfoot Lore and Cultural Phenomena
It would be easy to dismiss stories of bigfoot as a modern cultural phenomenon. However, stores of large hominids permeate cultures worldwide - from the Americas to Asia to Australia. This tells me that large hominids have lived alongside humans for tens of thousands of years or are a feature of the collective unconscious.
Below are just some of the names for bigfoot from different cultures:
Skookum: A term used by the Chinook people of the Pacific Northwest, meaning "strong" or "powerful."
Ts’emekwes: The Lummi people, also from the Pacific Northwest, refer to a similar creature by this name.
Dzunuk’wa: The Kwakwaka’wakw tribe of British Columbia have this name for a giant, humanoid creature in their mythology.
Tso’apittse: From the Shoshone tribe, this name refers to a cannibalistic giant, which parallels the Bigfoot legend.
Chiye-tanka: A name the Sioux uses, meaning "big elder brother."
Stiyaha or Kwi-kwiyai: The Yakama and the Klamath tribes of the Pacific Northwest have these names for a creature resembling Bigfoot.
Yahyahaas: The name used by the Yakama tribe, referring to a similar creature.
Boqs: Bella Coola people of British Columbia have this name for their version of Bigfoot.
Oh-Mah: This name comes from the Hoopa tribe in California. It refers to a creature similar to Bigfoot found in their local folklore.
Bukwas: Among the Kwakiutl tribe of the Pacific Northwest, this name refers to a wild man of the woods.
Nuk-luk: This term is used by the Dogrib tribe in the Northwest Territories of Canada.
Rugaru: This name, found among the Cree people, is sometimes associated with a creature similar to Bigfoot.
Amayi-yok'op is from the Choctaw tribe and refers to a forest-dwelling giant.
Saskehavis: A term used by the Halkomelem-speaking peoples in the Pacific Northwest.
Yeren: Though not from North American tribes, this term is used in China and is sometimes compared to the Bigfoot/Sasquatch legends.
Yowie: Similarly, this is an Australian Aboriginal term for a creature resembling Bigfoot, included here for its parallel in indigenous folklore.
Gitxsan: Used by the Gitxsan people of British Columbia, this name refers to a large, hairy, man-like creature in their folklore.
Kecleh-Kudleh: This name from the Cherokee translates to "hairy savage" and resembles the Bigfoot legend.
Xing-xing: A term from the Catawba people, similar in description to Bigfoot.
Na'in: This term comes from the Gwich'in people of the Northern United States and Canada.
Loo poo oi'yes: This is a term used by the Paiute tribe, referring to a Bigfoot-like creature.
Madukarahat: From the Karuk tribe of California, this term refers to a large, nocturnal creature.
Nantiinaq: The Dena'ina people of Alaska use this term for a large, hairy creature resembling Bigfoot.
Siatco: A term used by the Coast Salish people, particularly in the area of what is now known as British Columbia and Washington state.
Nyalmo: This term, used by the Beothuk people of Newfoundland, refers to a large, hairy man-like creature.
And I’m sure there are hundreds more. So, why would all of these different cultures have names and lore surrounding these creatures?
The Evidence Against The Existence of Bigfoot
Scientifically, you can’t prove that something doesn’t exist, but you can show that evidence is weak or debunked. You can say that evidence is not strong enough to support a hypothesis.
For many people, the existence of a massive hairy hominid will not be confirmed with a body or a live specimen. This is understandable, given the hype, misinformation, and hoaxes.
Healthy skepticism does leave one open to possibilities, but reserving belief until something has been satisfactorily proven. Believers and non-believers on both sides suffer from cognitive biases and will place more weight on evidence that confirms what they already believe.
It is not for me to tell you, in this post, whether Sasquatch is real, but to present an idea about the phenomenon from a shamanic perspective.
One Shamanic View of Bigfoot
Lately, I’ve been watching the show Expedition Bigfoot on Max. This is a reality TV show where investigators, including a primatologist, look for evidence of Bigfoot using high-tech equipment. In the episodes I’ve seen, the investigators will frequently get large hits of some upright-walking creature on thermal cameras, which then just seem to disappear.
In some cultures’ lore, these creatures can camouflage themselves, turn invisible, or disappear.
In practicing shamanism, I often encounter what we call nature spirits. These are the non-human people different cultures call fairies, pixies, elves, gnomes, hobgoblins, etc. These “mythical” creatures are or were very real spiritual beings in almost every culture on the planet.
Many years ago, before practicing shamanism, I had a number of experiences with these beings that were witnessed by others. I tend to discount things where I am the only observer, as my eyes can play tricks on me, too. From a shamanic perspective, some nature spirits can cross into our physical world and interact with it.
If your ideas about the fae come only from media like Tinkerbell movies, you may think such beings always appear small. This has not been my experience. I have witnessed enormous spiritual beings in the pine barrens of New Jersey, the woods of Maine, and the Anza Borrego desert.
From my perspective, bigfoot may be a natural spirit capable of walking between worlds. Indeed, this would fit with much indigenous lore. And it would explain why the creature is so elusive and can seem to disappear at will. Some indigenous people associate bigfoot with opening portals between worlds.
As for “paranormal phenomena,” I think this is a blanket term for things we can’t yet explain. To a shaman, these things - ghosts, nature spirits, alternate times, are normal - not paranormal.
Someday I hope we will learn more.