Update: Pine Ridge Shooting & Timeline
Posted by: Loren Coleman on August 7th, 2006
Was Chiye-tanka killed at Slim Buttes?
From speaking with people in the midst of the Pine Ridge situation, it appears clear that placing a rumor out there that a Bigfoot had been killed may have been someone’s idea of a joke. People there feel it is false.
I was told overnight, for example: “This is a small rez and it would be very hard to keep something like Bigfoot being killed ‘hush hush.'”
Please examine the following timeline I’ve created as a key to the sightings. It develops that the events of August 6, 2006, which were reported to have begun at 1:20 a.m., took place at the Oliver Red Cloud home (a detail not released until now). This is one of the names mentioned for the supposed smudging of the Bigfoot allegedly shot last Tuesday, August 1, 2006.
Someone on or near the Pine Ridge Reservation who started the Bigfoot kill rumor must be familiar enough with the real local people’s names to place them in this created fiction. Until someone shows all of us the body, I think this rumor may have to end up in the “soon-to-be-emptied” trash file. It seems to be getting rather full of late.
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Timeline: Oglala Lakota Sioux Encounters with Chiye-tanka (Bigfoot) at Pine Ridge
Ancient to Present: Chiye-tanka or The Big Man is mentioned, including references by anthropologists and journalists in works about the Lakota, e.g. In the Spirit of Crazy Horse (NY: Viking, 1980).
1990s: During frequent visitations by one (?) Bigfoot reportedly 7-9 feet tall, it leaves footprints that are 18 inches long, 7 inches wide.
2005: Locals see Bigfoot.
Late July 2006: Eyewitnesses see Bigfoot peering into windows on the reservation.
July 28, 2006: 11:30 pm – People again view Bigfoot looking into windows. Bigfoot said to be as tall as the gutters on buildings.
July 29-30, 2006: Overnight – Bigfoot’s eyeshine appears in police unit’s headlights. Police see Bigfoot.
August 1, 2006: 2:00-2:30 am – Woman reports dogs barking, bad odor nearby. Police officer responses and sights Bigfoot.
August 1, 2006: Alleged night of the shooting of Bigfoot near the Slim Buttes area. Several medicine men including Wilmer Mesteth, Oliver Red Cloud and Tom (?) Janis invited by the police, smudge the body with burning sage and cedar, and say prayers. Body is wrapped up and taken to the lab at the School of Mines & Technology in Rapid City. Definite rumor; probably hoax or prank story.
August 4, 2006: Night – Several young women see Bigfoot.
August 6, 2006: 1:20-1:55 am – Near Oliver Red Cloud’s home, a woman reports a “tall, dark, smelly, hairy man” (Bigfoot) on the road. Police arrive, dogs give chase, and return scared.
Check in to discover what happens next regarding these Bigfoot sightings in South Dakota….
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
Having lived on the res a few years ago, I also think the shooting is a hoax. He’s definitely there and normally very reclusive and come down for water. I also heard a story of a giant spider who lives in a marsh near Yellow Bear Dam; and of course there are the “Little People” who one reliable source claims they came hundreds of years ago to help his people. There’s a lot of UFO activity there. Perhaps these creatures are extraterrestial.
Good morning Loren…
Thank you for clarifying the timeline…as Zola says…the Big folks are there from time to time foraging for food and water…but then we already knew that….I hope the shooting report is a prank…JMHO
Giant spiders and little people…that’s your area…
No bucks…no bigfoot…
ole bub and the dawgs
I’m just going to go on the record now stating that if I ever do finally come across a bigfoot, I am going to chase down and tackle that thing immediately. I figure, if it’s another hoaxer in a suit — hoax over, and he shouldn’t be too hard to handle. If it’s a real bigfoot, well, I may get my arms ripped off, but at least I’ll make history as the guy who tackled bigfoot.
I thought this was false anyhow.
It seems to me, a novice in the murky world of CZ, that the Native Americans are so at ease with bigfoot, accepting it as part and parcel of the land, of their heritage and spirituality.
Why do the rest of us get all excited about it? let the big fella be and focus on diverting any attention from it.
If one has been shot, then it’s criminal. To kill one of natures most enigmatic creatures before we have had any chance to study it is wrong.
Given the circumstances in this case, shouldn’t the BFRO or some other unit, Biscardi not included, have set up surveillance around the reservation? that way we may have had proof of existance and the satisfaction of knowledge, which I for one would not share with the media.
On a different note, if a bigfoot was shot, perhaps the other sighting are of it’s mate looking for it, following an ever fading scent trail around the rez.
Who knows? not me, but I hope the great spirit is protecting these elusive marvels.
Good morning Dark et al…
First…in over thirty years of dealings, including representing the Comanche, Kiowa, WCD, Ft, Sill Apache, Creek, Cheyenne and Arapaho Nations in negotiating Tribal control of unrestricted mineral rights with the Department of the Interior (BIA)…the only miscreants I’ve encountered were BIA and MMS bureaucrats…
I have the utmost respect and trust in Native Americans, as individuals and collectively more so than any other group especially regarding sasquatch and environmental concerns…one of my partner’s is a world reknown Native American artist… a wondrous older gentlemen with a serene peaceful spirit. We have drilled numerous wells on “restricted” and tribal lands…and yup ole bub is part “Baton Rouge” hisself…just not sure what part…
Dark…I try to keep my comments concise, cogent, thought provoking and humorous…most of the time.
Seeing is believing or No Bucks…No bigfoot…both are…JMHO
all the best…
I suspect if — and I believe it is — this is a prank by someone so familiar with real people’s names. The entire reservation will soon know exactly who did it. Probable a bored kid, who is about to learn some lessons from his elders.
“hundreds of years ago” the lakota-speaking groups lived on the east coast, they didn’t move west until the beginnings of the modern European settlement (except for the Catawba, who stayed). So I wouldn’t look for Floresian hobbits in the Black Hills.
Now, I have never been to Pine Ridge Reservation myself, but from what I am able to understand from what has been written here, it would seem to be a foolish place to dress up in a sasquatch costume. Not only would that person become really unpopular amongst the people who live there, but there’s the risk of gettin shot to consider as well! I certainly don’t believe, as One Eyed Cat suggests, that a bored kid could be behind all of these sightings and what else is going on, hoaxed or not. Also, there has been talk of a government cover-up, I think there is a possibility that that’s what they have been doin for a long time. Who knows anything for sure?
I meant no cruelty in my remark. It was more directed to your ‘seeing is believing’, which reminded me of The Santa Clause film… 😛
Anyhow, everyone has the ability to lie and it is foolish to think otherwise. Then again, such a mass sighting can not be attributed to hysteria or lies. The creature may exist, but, if no body turns up or if this is a hoax, I would not be surprised.
I think someone should contact the Tribal Police and ask some questions. Such as… Have any of your staff actually seen Bigfoot recently on patrol, as reported? Can we speak to that person?… and so on.
I would tend to believe what the police have to say in this situation. Why would they lie? Any volunteers?
Come on folks…perhaps we should all think…before we squeak…
I’m sure the Bloggers are on top of this thread and the Lakota Tribal Authorities have much more on their plate than hand holding folks blogging about unknown creatures…
Shoot to wound…there’s a novel idea…perhaps you could interview the woundee while it rips your arms off…and give’s the wounder an a$$ whupping…JMHO
No bucks…No bigfoot…
“Dances with fat feet” and the dawgs
Hi all,
I don’t think there would ever be a shooting of a big guy on the pine ridge rez. He is a messenger to the lakota people, a precurser if you will, whenever they see him it is like an omen. The only believable part of this is, that I believe that the tribal police would contact the sages if one was shot, cause it would be a bad thing, very bad thing. I hope this is a bad rumor.
As far as the hobbit story, the origional home of the Sioux was around Minnesota , part of the eastern woodlands culture, where hobbits and stories of them prevail. look for applesnitches in Pennsylvania, a nice cross reference is washington irvings “rip vanwinkle” or gullivers travels, lots of little people in cultures all around the world, anyway this belief could have stayed with the Sioux.
Maybe the big guy is looking for his mate, that’s the only reason he would be making himself visible, and taking the chances he is taking, he is too smart for this.
Back to bigfoot communication, ask yourself, “If you had no language, how would you think?”
Just chiming in, interesting story, later.
old bub, you are a riot, lol :.)
Much Obliged Drift…
I resemble that…actually I stole “think before your squeak” from Simian1…but he’s off fishing…those Brook trout cost about two hundred dollars a pound…
What makes ya think they don’t have a language…my dawgs speak sasquatch…it’s just hard to type…LOL
Have you folks bought Loren’s and John’s books or joined TBRC yet…if not why not?
No bucks…no bigfoot…
ole bub and the sasquatch yodeling dawgs
What if Sasquatch was here first..and “we” are the interlopers…
Perhaps we should be thankful…apparently they don’t have bullets…riparian rights, or reparations…stir that into your Manifest Destiny and sip on it…JMHO
No bucks…No bigfoot…
ole bub and the dawgs
nope, havent joined just yet, but thinking bout it. I’m way up here in ny, kinda a fer piece from texas. I did buy “meet the sasquatch and the sierra recordings, went to play them in the hill country, definitely not something for the faint of heart. Almost sounds like what I heard one day while hunting, but not as loud, what i heard was LOUD!
I am thinking bout buying mary green’s book about fox, that could be a very interesting book.
Right now I’m trying to get a hold of a book that tries to trace the native cultures language and dialects thru migration, very interesting concept. I wonder if the douglas dialect is like the african bushman, clicks and whistles, just a hunch.
I do subscribe to ancient american magazine, very interesting stuff, examples, an ear of corn was found carved into royslen chapel in scotland, built in the 12th century. The dna of corn traces to southwestern united states, things like that. Boring to some, but interesting to me.
Did you ever check out the “wallum olum”or red record? interesting stuff.
Loren i like this site alot!
My reference to a bored kid was to this rumor that a BF was shot. Nothing else.
Remember one name given is of a person that actually lives there, so it stands to reason the rumor starter is a local. So if a local kid decided to play a prank, I suspect he/she is about to get a lesson about his/her heritage and the importance of respecting it, as soon as his/her ID is discovered.
We have known for years that the only thing that will convince sceptics of the existence of sasquatch is to shoot one. Well, let them carry on being sceptics. Why should one of these magnificent creatures (if they are real) have to die to satisfy the criteria of a load of desk bound know-it-alls in NY?
And why shoot at it anyway? Has it commited a crime? If is has, arrest it and read it its rights (anything you do grunt may be used etc…)
Ol Bub, I bet the tribal police would take a call from us layfolk!
“stir that into your Manifest Destiny and sip on it”
Well said, Ole Bub, although I imagine that brew would still taste quite bitter. As for Driftinmark’s comment, I have read the Wallum Olum and various interpretations of the work. Even did a report or 2 on it when I was in college (Helped I had a History teacher whose main interest was the Cherokee printing presses, so he was sympathetic). I have lived almost all my life on lands that were once theirs, and hold them in high regard as territorial predecessors. I personally balk at the rather racist theory that the Red Record was an attempt to emulate the bible and give weight and history to the Lenape people, they already had plenty. The Lenni Lenape were considered the “grandfather tribe” by most other Algonquin-speaking peoples, and linguistic evidence suggests that the other Algonquin languages are branches of that spoken by the Lenape. I am personally of the opinion that the Red Record is a genuine, pre-Columbian native account, and one that at least partially details the migration of the Lenape from Beringia to their ultimate destination prior to European contact- New Jersey.
On a related note, I have also been greatly intrigued by the similarities between Bigfoot and the #2 figure in the Lenape pantheon- Mesingwe or Meesinghawlikun, the keeper of game. He is both the protector and patron of the game animals and the one who sends these same animals into the path of grateful hunters. Definitely someone you want on your side if you live in a forest and want to eat meat. He is basically a big, wild, hairy man, and something of a boogie man figure to Lenape youth (At least long ago he was, not sure if that tradition has continued). Some folklorists have mentioned the Jersey Devil legend as a possible European adoption of Mesingwe as a boogie man figure.
Good for you Mark…
You might want to check out “The Locals” by Thom Powell…maybe do a little more research on Tennessee habitutation…before you take that plunge…JMHO
I’m sure the Tribal Police have their hands full with wildfires, the Pow Wow, six legged mountain lions and Sturgis…not to mention the big folks…JMHO
No Bucks…No bigfoot…
ole bub and the dawgs
mnynames,
very interesting comments, I love history, one of my strengths, spelling on the other hand isnt to great.
the lenni lenape for all others are now known as the delawares, named after lord del la warre, from when his guys came on an expedition to the hudson, I think.
the senecas know them as the grandfathers also, I’m in western ny, seneca lands, after they took it from the cherokee, I think, but that is for another post.
sorry to hijack this thread, but the thing I would like to talk about is the need for a body.
If you read the accounts from when the european men came here and started digging up their farm lands, you will find many, many references to rather large bodies, skeletons, some over 9 feet tall, something not known to a lot of people, there has been a lot of skeleton finds from here to way past ohio, and lots of mounds. I don’t know if these are the big guys or a giant race of native americans, but I have pondered both.
George henry harrision was born here in my hometown, father of american archeology, many of his works were lost upon his death, but one of these days I’m going to get to the rush -rees library and see what is left, rumor has it that he had a copper plate with a mastodon on it, wearing a harness, sound interesting? I thought so.
ole bub, thanks for the book names, I will be reading them.
I stick with the idea that this all may be an elaborate lie. People who claim to have seen the creature spark the fire in other people’s minds to likewise lie.
This is why its so hard to decipher fact from fiction. If any of these sightings are real, how would we tell other than investigate and look about?
In order to get the world believing we need a corpse. Or even part of one, other than Biscardi props.
It reminds me of ‘The Bray Road Beast.’ One person’s first account suddenly makes people remember or come out with their claims. Come on… Honestly!
As sad and cruel as it sounds, killing one (just one) may be the only way to prove its existance.
poodpood:
No offense but THIS sight is a form of “the media” too.
If you mean that you personally would keep it quiet, then more power to you and the experience would be no more than a personal/spiritual experience and it (probably) wouldn’t matter to you if anyone else believed.
If you mean you would only share it with “believers” on forums such as this, again, this is a form of “media” and once it was here, it would leak to the other media, and that, honestly, would only be fair.
If we had proof of BF it would be only fair to share that with all the other armchair enthusiasts and researchers and the like out there who might not be so tech savvy and checking up on the web forums everyday.
Fred (3) – I like your style! 😀
MMMM, bigfoot, giant spider, little people. Wow seems like pine ridge has alot of crypto activity.
Almost like an enchanted forest like region.
Just glad we have folks who give of their time and energy to investigate rumored events and report on them. Thanks, guys.
Bigfoot and little people –
Who was it that referred to the modern hairy men stories as the re-emergence of trolls? Or something to that effect.
And who was it that knew exactly where trolls came from? Taboos, unspeakable forces deep in the human psyche that breathe life into legends and steer the human community of blind adventurers ever forward into the fate of their own double helix? Nah, that is going too far…
But, it is sort of interesting that it is nearly impossible to look at north american cryptids without running headlong into the unresolved, unatoned, almost undescribable and certainly undefined-by-modern-science capitalist subjugation of hundreds of unique cultures. Oh, for the old days of trolls and moonlit frolics with Satan, somewhere near the New England shore…
Our society will ‘discover proof’ of Bigfoot one day, the new legends predict, and it will never be too late.
It sounds as if the fire from Pine Ridge has spread to the forum. Does anyone know linguistics in case “Bigfoot” starts to post comments?
Another claim shot down. Darn.
Okay, well first of all I’ve been at the powwow all weekend. As usual it was packed full of people and it was very dusty and hot. I really don’t know who would be in a BF suit in that kind of blazing hot weather. I highly doubt a BF was killed either. But let me tell you guys one thing, those names stated (Oliver Red Cloud, Wilmer Mesteth, and Tom Janis) are very well known around the rez. Everybody has heard those names at least once if not all the time, I know I do, my mother even knows Wilmer. As for some of the sightings being reported around Slim Buttes area. I would say that is very likely, because that would be “considered” BF terrain. It is very woodsy with lots of trees.
If anyone cared to know my family just had a ceremony with one medicine man in Porcupine. He did talk about the BF sightings. The more traditional policemen came to him and asked what to do. He said BF was a “dark spirit”. Anyone who lives out there is supposed to put food and tobacco out for him as a notion to “go away”.
Also, along with the BF reports there have been sightings of the telephone man. Supposedly he is 12ft tall and wears a long black trenchcoat. He was seen peering into windows (ironcally just like BF). He is really skinny and he runs really fast. They say he has a chalky white face almost like a skeleton. There are lots of stories of this guy around Pine Ridge, after all he did obtain a name (the telephone man). Anyway this isn’t your normal “urban legend” he’s been around and has been sighted for years. Its written up in the Lakota Journal in this weeks issue alongside the BF reports. If anyone wants they can check it out themselves.
Excellent work Loren!
Thanks for the timely and thorough update.
I believe to leave the big guy alone, but would also love to learn more about him/it. Also rozz_b the telephone man sounds creepy keep us posted.
“Telephone Man” AKA someone on painter’s stilts looking in windows wearing a holloween mask?
Wayne