Call it Bigfoot, Sasquatch or Istiyehe: Indigenous peoples know it as Protector | Oregon Experience

Comments · 1K

• MA

  @markoenrico2684 · 9 months ago

  MY STORY AS IT HAPPENED <br>I’d set up camp just before sunset, tucked between two tall gums on a quiet ridge in the Blue Mountains. By the time the fire settled into a bed of glowing coals, the night had gone still — the kind of stillness that feels ancient, like the bush is holding its breath.<br>I was sitting there, letting the silence soak in, when I heard it.<br>A heavy crack somewhere beyond the trees.<br>I froze. That wasn’t a twig or a possum. Something big had stepped on a branch.<br>I held my breath and listened.<br>Another step — slow, deliberate.<br>Then another.<br>My heart started thudding. I’d grown up hearing stories about strange sightings out here — tall shapes, deep footprints, shadows that didn’t belong. I’d always laughed them off. But alone in the dark, those stories suddenly felt a lot less funny.<br>I reached for my torch but didn’t turn it on. Instead, I waited, eyes straining to adjust to the darkness.<br>That’s when I saw it. A shape moved between the trees — huge, upright, and far too tall to be human. At first I thought it was just the moonlight playing tricks on me. But then it stepped forward, and the breath caught in my throat.<br>It was massive.<br>Broad shoulders.<br>Long arms.<br>Dark, shaggy hair that shimmered faintly in the moonlight.<br>It wasn’t charging or hiding.<br>It was just… watching me.<br>Its eyes reflected the firelight — not like an animal’s, but with something almost thoughtful behind them. I felt a strange mix of fear and awe. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak. I could only stare back.For a moment, we just stood there, two creatures in the dark trying to figure each other out.<br>Then, from deep in the valley, a low, echoing call rolled through the trees — a sound I’d never heard before. The creature turned its head toward the noise, then looked back at me, as if deciding something.<br>With one slow step, it backed into the shadows.<br>Another step, and it was swallowed by the trees.<br>A final crack of a branch, and the night went silent again.<br>I sat there long after it disappeared, staring into the darkness, unsure if I should be terrified or honoured. Whatever I’d seen, it wasn’t a myth. It wasn’t a joke. It was real — and it had chosen to let me see it.<br>When morning came, I found a single enormous footprint in the soft earth near my camp. I stood over it, the size of it almost unbelievable, and felt a shiver run through me.<br>Some stories don’t need proof.<br>Some stories stay with you because you lived them.<br>And in the Blue Mountains, some stories walk on two legs.

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• TO

  @toddmoore5275 · 11 months ago

  Thank you tribal elders for allowing the stories to be told again

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• DI

  @dimsumcheeeks · 11 months ago

  Even if you don&apos;t believe in this being or entity, you have to admit this is such a beautiful way of thinking. We only live on this land for a short time, and yet we can spend that time treating this land and its inhabitants with utmost respect and care, not taking too much or doing more harm than necessary outside of our survival necessities. The world really needs more people like these.

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• FL

  @FlatRockland · 11 months ago

  Years ago, in the forest, I wrote, &quot;I went searching for Sasquatch, but I found myself.&quot; &nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApbXUAAeAWw&amp;t=240">4:00</a>, she says it perfectly.<br><br>Go into the forest with an open heart and clear intentions.

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• PA

  @Paughco · 11 months ago

  I got to go hunting with my dad and his brothers, and my cousins, in the Blue Mountains of Oregon. This was back around 1957 through &apos;59. Sometimes we&apos;d stop in at the old family place in Athena, Oregon. My grandma told me one time, that I shouldn&apos;t fall asleep while on an elk stand. &quot;Why?,&quot; I asked. She replied, &quot;The hairy men might come and take you away.&quot; Wait a minute. Hairy men? Needless to say, I did not fall alseep on my elk stand.

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• RI

  @richardjack4827 · 11 months ago

  Here in the Carolinas, GA, &nbsp;TN area there are a few known &quot;communities &quot; or small populations of Sasquatch or as the Cherokee refer to them Tsul &apos;Kalu which means &quot;slanted-eyed giant&quot; or &quot;sloped giant&quot;. &nbsp;In Cherokee tradition, the Tsul &apos;Kalu is known as a powerful hunter and guardian of the forest.

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• PA

  @PahaSapaRepresentative23 · 11 months ago

  We will prepare our offerings after the temperature falls a little bit more, that way there’s not a lot of people to see the way we pray. <br>Our sacred Blackhills of South Dakota are in a state of emergency, the deep underground science center, the two goldmines that are actively contaminating the water , and the Trump administration approved the mining for uranium. <br>We are all awakening to si tanka (Bigfoot in Lakota ) <br>We hear the call as the oteci sakowin, the seven bands of Lakota, Nakota, Dakota Oyate. <br>Thank you Acosia for loving all living things, ❤️

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• NI

  @Nielsplaysmusic · 11 months ago

  We had a Bigfoot experience while hiking in Mendocino CA. I have always felt they were guardians of the forest and live in another dimension like spirits, fairies etc. sometimes they can cross into ours. This is such a beautiful perspective and I hope people can understand that our forests deserve to be protected and cared for.

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• RU

  @russellwiitala9733 · 11 months ago

  You don’t find the forest people, they find you, if they choose you. When he said they only take what they need I chuckled a little to myself. About three months ago we camped in the cascades on the edge of a gorgeous valley. It was our first time there and we were greeted by the most amazing, operatic call from a matriarch , along with a few others. That night my friend was awake in his tent when I got up to relieve myself. I looked around, but I didn’t see anything. I knew they were there though. After I got back into my tent I fell right to sleep and began to snore. My friend then heard someone playing with the zipper on my tent. 🤣 An open package of Cheetos was left open and it was empty in the morning. 🤣 Also someone said “Russell “ around that time. Both my friend and I are named Russell. That was just one night out there. We went camping over a dozen times, all over southern Washington. They came every time except once. That time there happened to be a Sasquatch summit going on a few miles away. We figure they were there around the summit. I always give thanks. We are close. Less than two weeks ago two young ones came to my house. My friend had come to stay and so we got a visit. I feel absolutely blessed by their acceptance. I love this presentation. 🧙🏻‍♂️🦉💚🌲

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• JO

  @jonskitalonhenki9613 · 11 months ago

  I love this. All this makes a lot of sence to me as a Finn (from Finland). We also have same kind of forests mythologies. We used to give back to the land from our hunt and collect and things we grow. We had a rich culture like that. I&apos;m sure you did too. Also, we have this huge being in our mythology, &quot;jätti&quot;, wich to me sounds a lot like &quot;jeti&quot; from Himalaya. I&apos;m certain, these beings are or have been everywhere. And, they are spiritual, you can&apos;t catch them, ever. :)

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• SA

  @SaabAholic · 11 months ago

  There’s a saying: If you go searching for Bigfoot, you may just find yourself.

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• C.

  @c.t.murray3632 · 10 months ago

  This is some information I&apos;ve been wanting to hear for years. Thank you to the First Nation people for relating to Sasquatch as caretaker. We don&apos;t own this land and I apologize for all the destruction that corporations are doing. I wish I could change that. My intention from now on is to plant a lot more trees and say thank you again to First nation people and Sasquatch. We have to learn to be caretakers. &nbsp;if we take, we have to give in a positive way , a growing healthy way.

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