Sasquatch as Folk Art and Material Culture

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The Folk Art And Material Culture of the Sasquatch Phenomena

Spring 2013

Dee Ansbergs

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This paper is the result of my study folk art and material

culture related to Sasquatch (also known as Bigfoot), surveying

what was found and then developing a classification system based

on concepts I learned this semester in English 6770. I also noted

additional and congruent patterns in what I found during my

research and expanded the original list that started with Pocius’

definitions of art as later outlined in this paper. This paper

will explore the history of this subject, connect it to folk art

and material culture and then draw conclusions that, I hope, will

encourage others to explore this topic further.

Bigfoot as Folk Art & Material Culture

The legends, myths, and stories of monsters and large semi-human

beings have captured the imagination and fascination of mankind back

to the beginning of recorded history. Possibly it began even before

recorded history as shown by the rock paintings of Sasquatch/Bigfoot

found in California and other historic sites in the United States and

in Canada. Ancient Native American Indians left pictographs across the

length and breadth of North America. Many, like the “Hairy Man”

below, Fig. 1, are frequently drawn proportionately in scale to the

animals they are drawn with and the example below showed three, a

male, a female and a juvenile. The adult was 8.5 feet tall. "This is a

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hand-drawn replica of Hairy Man as depicted—at 8 ½ feet tall—in a Central California

pictograph estimated to be several hundred years old." (Kathy Moskowitz

Strain/Stanislaus National Forest) (Sandsberry, 1999-2012)1

Figure 1

“The name Sasquatch comes from a little known Native American

language called Halkomelem or Salish.  …the name Sasquatch was coined

between 1925-1930, primarily from the Salishan

language of southwestern British Columbia by JW Burns, who as a hobby,

collected Chehalis (Native American) accounts of Bigfoot..  Sasquatch

has been translated as “hairy man” or “hairy giant.”  In the United

States, Sasquatch is also commonly known as “Bigfoot.”  The Sasquatch or

Bigfoot has other names in the U.S., such as skunk ape or grass man,

dependent upon the region.  It is thought that this term “Sasquatch”

was created by combining several Native American names for the hairy

creature.  The term Bigfoot was actually coined by newspapers after 1958.

(Bigfoot History 2006-2007) 2

1 Sandsberry, S. (1999-2012). Historical Evidence for Sasquatch. Historical Evidence for Sasquatch:2 Bigfoot History Copyright 2006-2007 OurBigfoot.com http://www.ourbigfoot.com/bigfoot_sasquatch.html

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Bigfoot is also known as Skoocum, The Wood Man, Boqs, Snanaik,

Bushmen, Timber Giants, Big Figure, Bukwas/Bukwus, Wild Man of the

Woods, … Wild Woman of the Woods, evil seeker, Sne nah, or Owl Women,

Tsadjatko, or giants, Skukum, …..The Big Man, Woods Devils, See’atco,

Yi’ dyi’ tay, Tsiatko, Seatco,… Char-Man, … Skunk ape, Swamp ape,

Tornit, Ice Giant, Man-mountain, ….. Flint Monster, Kung-Lu, Stick

Indian, Tuneq, … Devil Monkey, Honey Island Swamp Monster, Catamounts,

Mount St. Helens gorillas, Ft. Worth Monster, Fouke Monster, Boggy

Creek Monster, Wild Man of the Forest or Thumquas and others still not

listed. (Unknown, 2008)

Most descriptions state that Sasquatch looks like an upright,

bipedal man-like animal, varying from 7 feet to 14 feet tall, covered

in long hair which varies in color. He moves incredibly fast, has

arms far longer than a human, weighing 600 to 800 pounds, with a body

thicker than a human being, little or no neck, and very large feet.

When casted, the footprints range from 12-24 inches long and 6-8

inches wide. Most footprints show a double-balled heel and no arch.3

3 Where Legend Meets Science. Muldrum, Jeff. Tom Doherty Associates Books, NewYork. 2006

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4

Figure: man, gorilla, Sasquatch

Image from Patterson-Gimli Film

The fascination with the Sasquatch phenomena has been passed from

generation to generation in many forms, including personal and second

hand narratives, personal encounters, songs, pictures of all kinds,

images, body decoration, myths and other cultural ways, beliefs and

life-ways. (Note creative outlet/how folk art becomes material

4 http://www.exploringtheunexplained.com/sasquatch.htm

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culture. Archetype (quote) Linking sentence. Sasquatch images have

made their way into children’s playground chalk drawings, coloring

books, and individually carved jack-o-’lanterns, and beyond.

Whether one is the creator, artist, writer, publisher,

interviewee, seller, consumer or wearer of the material object, it is

apparent that each has their own unique perspectives and purposes in

the process.

So what is it that makes people WANT to believe in Sasquatch? Why

are images of Sasquatch found in so many places, from the mass media,

to individual artists, to objects mass produced and available on the

internet? What is the need that drives us to want to believe that

there may be a large, man-like, hairy creature that is smart enough to

5 Cryptomundo http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/major-art/

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stay out of our sight? Lacking a body, or any real “proof” WHY do we

WANT to believe?

Methodology/Theoretical Applications

Using Jones’ description of the folk group as “any like-minded

group defined ethnically, regionally, or geographically who had some

traditions peculiar to them”,6 in this case the interest in, belief in

or hope that Sasquatch is a biological entity present in North America

designates this as a folk group.

The following genres were used to classify information, with

related subcategories added as needed and shown in Appendix A. The

genres are: Adornment; Fakelore; Festivals, Folk Art; Folk Art

Museums; Folk Music; Food; Mass Media; Material Culture; Narratives;

Performance, and Uncategorized for those that don’t fit neatly into

the previous genres. Next, Following Pocius’ definition of what

constitutes “art”, I have collected and categorized many (but not all)

elements of the Sasquatch phenomena into categories as listed below.

* Art as Product (implied in every category)

*Art as Performance

* Art as Behavior-both on the part of the artist and the consumer.

6 Modern Arts & Arcane Concepts in Exploring Folk Art—20 years of Thoughts on Craft, Work, and Aesthetics. Utah State Press, Utah. 1987.

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* Return to Skill/Skillful Behavior (most common among Native

American tribal members with beliefs 7related to Sasquatch or artists

creating individual portraits related to the subject studied.)

and *Art as Entertainment,

*Art as Sensory Experience (Jones)

*Art as Sacred-primarily found in Tribal cultures and rituals.

*Mass production-which allows material culture related to

Sasquatch to be readily available.

Art as Product, Art as Performance, Art as Behavior (on the part

of the artist and the consumer) and Art as Skillful Behavior are the

first four elements. I have added the last four additional elements

which appear in most Sasquatch related folk art and material culture

that jumped out at me. Art as Product is also a category that is

almost universal so my categorization system doesn’t separate it out.

Each category and subcategory was assessed according the above with

the following as a Key to understanding the system. E=entertainment;

B=behavior; PR=product (inclusive in all items listed); SB=skillful

behavior; SE=sensory experience; S=sacred.

How one determines folk art from fine art can be a confusing

process and was one we discussed in our class this semester. So for

7 What is Art. Pocius

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the purposes of this paper the folk art includes the combined

characteristics from these three definitions:

“All human activity may assume forms that give them aesthetic

value”. 8;

“the folk are culturally or geographically isolated populations

who preserved the old ways of doing things that had survived from

an earlier period.”9 (most common in tribal societies)

“Like-minded people has at least one factor in common…and

everyone who interacts with other people conceives of himself as

belonging to a group”, Boas, 1955)10 in this case those who

believe or are searching for confirmation of their belief

Sasquatch is a living, biological entity.

I also draw on Boas and Jones’s concepts of what distinguishes a

group as “folk”: “Like-minded people has at least one factor in

common…and everyone who interacts with other people conceives of

himself as belonging to a group”, (Boas, 1955)11 in this case those who

believe or are searching for confirmation of their belief Sasquatch is

a living, biological entity. This would also logically apply to the

art of this folk group. As Jones writes in his conclusion of Modern

8 “Primitive Art” Boas, 1955. Pg. 99 Modern Arts and Arcane Concepts. Exploring Folk Art..Jones, Michael Owen. Utah State University Press, Utah. 198710 “Primitive Art” Boas, 1955. Pg. 911 Primitive Art. Boas,

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Arts and Arcane Concepts, “the study of Folk Art can be expanded in regard

to subject matter and analysis.”12

Moving from Folk Art to Material Culture

How Folk Art weaves into material culture is an intricate process

that with the advent of the Internet and modern media interest in

this particular topic. Images of Sasquatch can be found in thousands

of sites. Running a search from www.google.com with the word

“Sasquatch” I located 5,870,000 sites alone. This is far more sights

than I could adequately explore or add, so my categorization within

this paper is a limited one.

From tribal sacred art focused on the Spiritual or protective

spirit of Sasquatch, to ritual objects, masks, and body art, Sasquatch

remains a vital aspect of many tribal societies, such as the Hoopa

Nation in California, who maintain a Bigfoot Museum, sponsor a Bigfoot

Festival yearly and have been the subjects of several investigative

books. (Paulides, 2008)13 From Appendix A, one can see that the sacred

aspects of Sasquatch seem strongest, as one would expect, in tribal

belief systems and cultures.

12 Modern Arts and Arcane Concepts in Exploring Folk Art-Twenty Years of Thought on Craft, Work and Aesthetics. Utah State University, 1987. PG 94.13 “The Hoopa Project-Bigfoot Encounters in California-Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the name Bigfoot” DavidPauides. Hancock House Publishers. Blaine, Wisconsin. 2008

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Tribal Carvings from the West Coast area of California. 14

Breakdown of One Genre

Under the Genre of Festivals, we have several subcategories,

including: Folk Art Festivals, Folk Music Festivals, Sasquatch Music

Festivals and Anti-Bigfoot Celebrations. Not having attended one of

them yet, my information is gathered from reading about them through

their advertising, listening to some of the music offered, looking at

some of the band names that play each year, and posters and programs

public shared on-line related to the annual activities.

The largest is the “Sasquatch Music Festival,” a four day music

festival held each year in the Gorge Amphitheatre of Quincy,

14 https://www.google.com/search?q=sasquatch&client=firefox-a&hs=z3e&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=Gw5_UajrJsa9yAHN94DQDA&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=933&bih=424#client=firefox-a&hs=L6e&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB%3Aofficial&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=tribal+art+sasquatch+sculptures&oq=tribal+art+sasquatch+sculptures&gs_l=img.3...13543.17517.2.17774.15.13.2.0.0.0.108.1152.11j2.13.0...0.0...1c.1.11.img.R3rQYYNw3kc&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.45645796,d.aWc&fp=fcf3b9ccbe30603c&biw=933&bih=424

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Washington on Memorial Day Weekend. The amphitheater has a capacity of

23,000.15 I traced the festival back to the year 2002. Sellers of

Sasquatch related items can purchase a tent or booth to sell their

wares. Most people coming from a distance camp out and enjoy pre-show

and post-performance activities. Others living nearby purchase four

day passes and attend as they wish. One of the videos from previous

years festival showed a band singing songs called “The Legend of Boggy

Creek”, and “The Legend of Tom Green” both relating to the place and

one of the men who took the famous film now called ‘the Patterson-

Gimlin Film” which purports to capture a female Sasquatch moving along

a ridge near Bluff Creek, CA in September of 1967. 16

When I was a young girl in my teens I was in a foster home. They

were friends with a then young folk-singer named Stompin’ Tom Conners,

(who later became a well-known Canadian Folk Singer), known for taking

a piece of Canadian plywood and stomping his heavy boots to keep

rhythm with his music until he wore a hole in the wood. (This

generally was auctioned at the end of his performance and the proceeds

went to local charities.) He would stay with my foster parents if he

had a ‘gig’ close by, and I was frequently privileged to hear him sing

many of his songs. He sang one song, “Playing Hopscotch with 15 The Gorge Amphitheater, George, WA. http://www.gorgecamping.com/16 History of the Patterson-Gimlin Film. Murphy, Christopher L. http://www.bigfootencounters.com/biology/pgf_history.htm (and multiple other sites)

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Sasquatch” then, in the early 1970’s and recorded it in 1999 on an

album called “Moving Along With Stompin’ Tom”17.

“Playing Hopscotch with Sasquatch” Lyrics

“ One day at midnight, the sun was so bright. The moon had no light,

but I could see. This big ol' sasquatch, said he was top-notch, at

playin' hopscotch Way up in a tree. So I bet my wrist watch, that big

ol'd sasquatch. Would never play hopscotch way up in a tree Now,

there's a sasquatch, up in a tree

Crotch. He's got my wrist watch, and he's laughin' at me. I told the

mounties, throughout the counties To put some bounties all over B.C.

And stop that sasquatch, from playin' hopscotch. 'Till he gives my

wrist watch, right back to me. Then Corporal Savern, he found a

tavern, in an empty cavern. Where the sun don't shine. And he found a

sasquatch, drinkin' blue blotch. Wearin' a wrist watch, lookin' just

like mine. So he asked the sasquatch, where he got the wrist watch.

And that big ol' sasquatch, he began to lie. Said he got the wrist

watch, while playin' hopscotch. Up in a tree crotch, with a stupid old

guy. So the mountie told him, he could never hold him. He'd have to

17 CD: Moving Along With Stompin’ Tom, by EDI recordes, 1999. http://www.discogs.com/Stompin-Tom-Connors-Move-Along-With-Stompin-Tom/release/1983036

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scold him, for doing no harm. So they played some hopscotch, until the

sasquatch. Had the mountie's wrist watch, on his other arm. Now all

the mounties, throughout the counties. They're placing bounties all

over the land. And that big ol' sasquatch, he won't feel top notch.

When they get their sasquatch, like they get their man. 'Cause if that

sasquatch keeps playin' hopscotch. There won't be a wrist watch, for

miles around. 'Cause he'll play hopscotch, 'till he gets your wrist

watch. Up in that tree crotch, and he'll never come down. So don't

play hopscotch, near any old tree crotch. Until that old, watch

stealin', big feelin', hopscotchin' sasquatch is found.18 Here is the

link to the above song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix87NJVr89o

One popular band on the Sasquatch music festival train is a band

called “Sasquatch Wristwatch Broadband”, a reference to the above

song. I located 12 professional-style bands with the name “Sasquatch”

or “Bigfoot” in their names, which is not a complete list. The bands

have on-line websites where DVD’s are sold and their music can be

downloaded for a fee, adding to the abundance of material culture

related to Sasquatch.

Within the bands listed on Pg. 5 of my Categorization Chart

(Appendix A) is a list of the music genres related to Sasquatch which

includes: Amateur, professional, country, rock, rap, Sasquatch Rape 18 [ From: http://www.metrolyrics.com/the-sasquatch-song-lyrics-stompin-tom-connors.html ]

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Rap, Love Songs, Ballads, Comedy, Blue Grass and Rockabilly,

alternative rock and comedy arts.

During the Sasquatch Music Festival in Quincy, Washington, some

people go to great lengths to come up with the most ‘accurate’ or

realistic looking costumes, and wander around in the crowd dressed in

this manner. This festival shows all but one of my elements listed as

key in my categorization guide of common elements: Behavior,

Entertainment, Product, Sensory Experience, and Skillful Behavior.

Sacred is not mentioned in any of the literature I read related to

this festival. I felt uneasy when I found the sub-genre of Sasquatch

Rape Rap by a group of women singers called “Bigfoot Chicks” and also

located multiple books and fantasies written on the same topic.

Fakelore

Dorson, (1977) coined the term Fakelore to describe

“inauthentic, manufactured folklore presented as if it were genuinely

traditional. The term can refer to new stories or songs made up, or to

folklore that is reworked and modified for modern tastes.19 If one

goes to www.youtube.com and type in Sasquatch or Bigfoot in the search

function, most likely the first videos that come up are those that

fall into the genre of Fakelore. Just now there were 660,000 results

19 Dorson, Richard M. (1977). American Folklore. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 4.

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and under the word “Bigfoot” 1, 150,000. They fall into varying

degrees of silliness, mockery, comedy, downright fake, improbable, and

a few that are clearly not Fakelore and leave the viewer wondering.

The vast majority have images that are shared via these videos

demonstrate some of these types: Sasqblob (name assigned to a blobby

looking fuzzy image), a man in a fur costume, gorilla-like, child-

like, alien looking, and a few that make you wonder if just maybe it

is something we don’t know or is scientifically unclassified . There

is one man who analyzes frame by frame all videos posted that are

clearly not fakery in great detail. I was unable to find out his name

or contact information. This unknown gentleman spends a lot of time

debunking the Fakelore, but occasionally states he can’t determine one

way or the other about a few that are posted.

Richard Dorson (1950) defined Fakelore as inauthentic,

manufactured folklore that is presented as if it were genuine and

traditional. Its primary element is that it is presented as ‘real’,

misrepresented with an intent to trick people. Given the number of

video’s that purport to be a Sasquatch and are clearly a man in a

gorilla suit, fakelore is a large piece of this phenomena. There are

varying levels and degrees of ingenuity and skill as shown below.

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Man in gorilla suit Character from T.V.Show called “Sanctuary”.

Man at a Sasquatch Music Festival in a Sasquatch costume.

From the sheer volume of the videos posted on youtube, it seems

that pretending to be a Sasquatch is a pastime enjoyed by a great many

people. Not quite as common are by those who ‘debunk’ everything

related to the same topic.

A few people are making a career of claiming to find or kill

Sasquatch, (Rick Dyer) who was arrested in Jan. 27, 2011 for fraud

related to Sasquatch20 or like veterinarian Melba Ketchum, make

unsubstantiated claims to have proved via DNA evidence that Sasquatch

bears both human and animal DNA. 21

Observations

20 “Bigfoot Hoaxer, Rick Dyer, Arrested for eBay Fraud” Edwards, Guy in Bigfoot Lunch Club website. http://www.bigfootlunchclub.com/2011/01/bigfoot-hoaxer-rick-dyer-arrested-for.html 21 Melba Ketchum Continues Bigfoot DNA Research with Bones

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In comparing folk art and material culture, related to Sasquatch,

I found the categories are much broader and more heavily populated. I

am including items now found in popular culture and many of the items

are used by people to set themselves apart; to self-identify

themselves as different from those who don’t believe. Some items

overlap categories. It is also apparent that if one is the creator,

owner, purchaser or consumer of material culture items, one’s

perceptions and the purposes served may change. Grassby (2005) states

that “material culture sheds light on how people understand themselves

…articles have both practical and symbolic functions.22

“Symbolic properties may be less influential than the personal

search for identity. …the inherent meanings of goods is dependent on

the knowledge of beliefs and perceptions external to the objects

involved…..display of goods demonstrates new status, protected the

existing hierarchy within and announced social standing and

allegiance.23

As Jones related in 1987, there has been an expansion in what is

considered folklore. I think this expansion has now entered into

popular culture and is demonstrated, in this occurrence, of an

expansion of interest in Bigfoot/Sasquatch. Boaz stated that “All

22 Material Culture and Cultural History in The Journal of Interdisciplinary History. Vol. 35. No. 4. (Spring 2005) Grassby, Richard. 23 IBID

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human activities may assume forms that give them aesthetic values” 24

Jones (2005) writes further that recent concepts about folk groups

that those members within that group’s behavior is or becomes similar

through the unifying factor, group behaviors which lead to a sense of

identity that makes them a folk group. 25

Analysis

Folklore, folk art and material culture can and do effect the

scientific community. The scientific community is beginning to develop

strategies and search techniques to search for substantial evidence

that a “relic hominid” exists in North America. Jeff Muldrum, from

Idaho State University said: “I am merely asserting that there is

credible evidence that should motivate any scientifically-mined person

to take a closer serious look. I find those who are the most dogmatic

in their opinions are generally the least informed on a subject. I am

the first to acknowledge that lacking a type specimen there is no

definitive “proof” of Sasquatch in the scientific sense.” 26 This

demonstrates that folk art and material culture can be a strong enough

influence to encourage scientific exploration of what was once

considered ‘only’ a myth or legend.

24 Primitive Boas25 Modern Arts and Arcane Concepts. Jones, Michael Owens.26 “Search for Sasquatch” in Outdoor Nation. Muldrum,Jeff. Feb. 13, 2013

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One example: Scientists are taking a serious look at the

Sasquatch phenomena in “The Falcon Project”, which will launch a high-

tech, remote controlled blimp with a FLIR (heat seeking) camera to fly

in grid searches over the Pacific Northwest. These will then be

analyzed, known heat signatures eliminated with the hope of locating

unidentified human-like biological beings which have remained

undiscovered until know. 27

Recreation of a “Gigantopithicus

Relic Hominid”. 28

27 “The Falcon Project” Muldrum, Jeff. Bindernagel, John. Idaho State University. http://the-falconproject.com/main_site/?p=54428 Recreation of a Gigantoppithicus Relic Homind. http://everythingbigfoot.blogspot.com/2012/06/gigantopithecus-bigger-than-bigfoot.html

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It is notable that the elements of Behavior, Sensory Experience,

and Performance are the most common elements among the majority of the

genres and subcategories. Skilled behavior and mass production are

next most common, and the element of Sacred is the least common. I

hesitate to add ‘Skilled Behavior” to some categories, specifically

‘reality television,’ but I recognize that as a personal bias.

Shukla, in “Grace of Four Moons” discusses how important adornment is

to communicating a sense of self and identity. So how might this be

applied to those who adorn their bodies or their environment with

images of a semi-mystical or non-existent being we call Sasquatch?

The answer might be not only in how the public uses the objects,

but how the creators may intend for them to be used. This might relate

to objects such as T-shirts, jewelry, jackets, jeans, coats, and other

apparel. Drawing attention of the observer to the person while making

a statement about a person’s beliefs about Sasquatch might be part of

the reason they are so popular. Displaying posters, paintings,

sculptures, and wall or yard art in one’s environment certainly makes

a statement, and each

person may do so for a different reason.

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Mosaics are pretty cool, beef jerky is pretty cool, and Sasquatch would probably be pretty cool if only he’d come out of hiding and chill with the bros like a chillbro to show how cool he is. To celebrate National Beef Jerky Day—artist Jason Mecier created this mosaic portrait of Sasquatch outof beef jerky which related to a series of advertisements about aspecific kind of beef jerky that were dubbed “Messing with Sasquatch”.

Attracting attention to a particular place or person is certainly

a result of placing a large statue of Sasquatch in front of a store,

or other business establishment. The following picture is of the

Bigfoot Discovery Museum in Bluff Creek, California which shows a

wooden statue of a Sasquatch carrying a child on its back near the

front door.

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Jones: shifting the emphasis from the object to the artist?

When studying folk festivals, some parts are mass produced, at

least the items that are sold and the programs, etc. Others such as

hand crafted jewelry and original artworks created by professional

artists or folk artists. However the attendees and folk groups are all

highly individualized. It would be interesting to continue to explore

this subject by attendance at a few Sasquatch-themed festivals to make

further observations.

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Advertisement for

Sasquatch Music Festival, Gorge Amphitheater, Washington state. 29 The

names written in are the performers and bands scheduled to appear at

the Festival. The symbolism and individuality seems clear in how the

names are place on the poster, with the use of different fonts, sizes

and areas of space. “Mumford & Sons” make a the festival circuit and

headline at most Sasquatch related festivals, from the number of

festivals that list them as their major performer. There is also some

juxta-positioning of genres, with the band “Vampire Weekend’ receiving

29 Advertisement for the “Sasquatch Music Festival” on Memorial Weekend, 2013 at the Gorge Amphitheatre, in Washington state.

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a large space on the poster. I think there would be a strong

correlation between band status and placement and size given to each

band. It is something that would bear future study to confirm.

Much of the objects related to Sasquatch might also be considered

art as Jones suggested in “Modern Art and Arcane Concepts-Expanding Folk Art

Study.” There would probably also be a strong connection to Jones's idea

that anything can be art, and one could posit that the creators of

the artifacts are using mundane media to express their connection to

the mystical through the art, body adornment, music, and gatherings of

those who entertain the same positive interest in the Sasquatch

phenomena.30

It is notable that Sasquatch doesn’t fit into the general motif

of monsters that is common in many folk lore groups. In the general

monster motif, the monster represents evil in one form or another,

wanting to bring harm to the hero or heroine. Most of the encounters I

found, notably among those who weren’t actively searching for

Sasquatch, there are few accounts of Sasquatch being menacing. The

primary response reported that the Sasquatch stays still for a moment

or two, and then walks away. Next common is them ignoring the human’s

presence and walking away immediately. 30 Exploring Folk Art—Twenty Years of Thought on Craft, Work, and Aesthetics.” Modern Art and Arcane Concepts: Expanding Folk Study. Jones, Michael Owen(Utah State University Press, Logan, Utah. 1989 Pg. 86

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Folk Art is often distinguished by its having a practical

element. In the process of “believing” those who believe identify with

others sharing that belief, individuals may find their own sense of

self. By becoming members of an often geographically diverse group,

they are meeting the need for “belonging,” innate in humanity. As

Jones writes “Selected populations constitute distinctive groups of

people whose behavior is similar by virtue of their being bound

together by some underlying factor” (Jones, 1989). 31 In this case, the

interest in or belief is Sasquatch as a real entity. As Skukla

concludes, adornment can be a means of communicating with others and

Jones and Boas descriptions of what a folk group are, and thus what

that group’s folk art is.

Conclusions

Shukla comments in “Grace of Four Moons” the power of adornment

acts as artistic communication and as markers of identity. I see the

parallels in those who purchase material objects with Sasquatch,

attend various festivals, paint, record, write, sing, read, and all

the other lists of activities that are associated with Sasquatch. It

31 IBID

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causes me to ask further questions. Might the fascination with the

unknown, the need for mystery be part of the ‘why’ we want to believe?

As Shukla conceptualizes a complete model for studying adornment,

tracing modifications used as statements of aesthetic values and

beliefs by the individual, I become curious how this model might apply

if an intensive study were done on the topic of Sasquatch? There are

certainly parallels between the creator, producers, related production

processes and the consumer’s relationship to the items, their personal

and individual beliefs and those of others in their same group, using

the modern media and the Internet to exchange and share each other’s

experiences.

In the process of “believing” those who believe identify with

others sharing that belief, and find their own sense of self. By

becoming members of an often geographically diverse group, they are

meeting the need for “belonging,” innate in humanity. As Jones writes

“Selected populations constitute distinctive groups of people whose

behavior is similar by virtue of their being bound together by some

underlying factor” (Jones, 1989) 32in this case the interest in or

belief in Sasquatch. I also draw on Skukla, of adornment as a means of

32 “Exploring Folk Art—Twenty Years of Thought on Craft, Work, and Aesthetics.” Modern Art and Arcane Concepts: Expanding Folk Study. Jones, Michael Owen(Utah State University Press, Logan, Utah. 1989 Pg. 86

Ansbergs Page 28 of 28

communicating with others and Jones and Boas descriptions of what a

folk group are, and thus what that group’s folk art is.

In the end, I am left with more questions and fewer answers. Does

the display or wearing of objects, art and music related to Sasquatch

tell us something about the wearer?

If so, what? Is it an obvious way of stating that the wearer has

an interest in the unseen, the unexplained?

Does it help self-identify the self with others with the same

beliefs? Does it set the wearer apart from the ‘norm’ of society? Or

does it meet one of the most fundamental needs of humanity, the need

for a sense of belonging to a group? These are intriguing aspects for

future study that I hope to return to and hope that others will chose

to explore.