February 12, 2010

Kathy Strain Reviews Native American Calling

Kathy Strain listened to this program that Loren Coleman mentioned here on Cryptomundo yesterday. I asked her if she would review the program exclusively for our Cryptomundo readers.

I tuned into the live nationally syndicated radio program “Native America Calling” today to listen to their show on Sasquatch and Native American beliefs. The show’s host is Harlan McKosato and he interviewed two guests – Harvest Moon, a Quinault who regularly shares native stories with the program and Gwen Perkins, Co-curator of the Washington State History Museum, which is hosting the current “Giants in the Mountains” exhibit. I had high hopes when Mr. McKosato began the show with some very important questions – what purpose do monsters stories have in native culture and what happens when monster stories meets reality? He implored listeners to call in and tell the rest of the audience what their tribes and elders believed about this creature. I was totally jazzed – how cool would it be to listen to native people talk to each other about my favorite subject? Unfortunately, maybe due to the length of the show, the questions weren’t really explored. There were tidbits here and there that hinted about traditional tribal beliefs, but it was as elusive as the beast himself.

The host did, however, mention an interesting story from a native source – apparently a family of Sasquatch had been seen right after the Battle of the Little Bighorn looking at the fallen soldiers. If anyone has heard this story before and knows the source, please contact me.

I was surprised when the host stated that he thought the Patterson-Gimlin film had been proven to be a hoax. All the native people I know feel the film shows a real Sasquatch. Ms. Perkins did a good job conveying the facts – but it’s a good reminder that mass media has its influence even in Indian country. I was pleased to hear that Bob Gimlin, Harvest Moon and Dr. Jeff Meldrum will be at the museum on June 6, 2010 as part of their Sasquatch Day.

I could say more – but I’ll leave it with a simple pleading – fewer callers would be nice (we’ve had our fill of clocking devices). I would have liked to have heard Harvest Moon tell some traditional Sasquatch stories – that would have made an ordinary Thursday morning much more pleasant.Kathy Strain

Kathy Strain is an officer and director of the AIBR, the Alliance of Independent Bigfoot Researchers. She can be contacted through the website.

Don’t forget to catch Kathy on the rescheduled show Bigfoot & Native Americans on Coast to Coast AM. The show was originally scheduled for January 24, but has been rescheduled for February 28.

Filed under Bigfoot, Bigfoot Report, Cryptomundo Exclusive, CryptoRadio, Folklore, Reviews, Sasquatch, Windigo, Women in Cryptozoology