Introduction

This book is about the giant bipedal, forest-dwelling, hirsute hominoid entities. For as long as humans have been around Northern Canada, the activities of these giants have been observed in many places around this great land, but only a few persons have taken the time to share their stories of coming in contact with these forest giants. In the North, they have been given many regional names, such as Nahganne and Kietch Sa’be, but they are most commonly known as Sasquatch.

Although I have some 150 reports about Sasquatch on file at this time, only 70 reports are in this book, the majority originating from Yukon Indigenous Peoples, including Dene, Dena, Gwich’in, Tlingit, Tutchone, Tagish, Champagne and Aishihik, Tahltan, Métis, Kwanlin Dün, and Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in. The reports not included lacked substance, specific details, or clarity; or were false, not really plausible, or not fully investigated.

When investigating a report, I try to study all the details in order to get a full idea of what actually took place—this includes where, how, and when did it take place, who witnessed the event, and is the witness dependable and reliable. Only the facts are included in my final reports. Sasquatch gender is not specifically identified in most of the following case study reports or stories so I have used they/their and sometimes it/its instead of conjecturing female or male gender.

Being of mixed Huron/Algonquin and European ancestry myself, I understand the reluctance of many Indigenous People to come forward with their Sasquatch experiences, yet in my views, they are the most experienced persons on the subject matter, along with “bush wise” white folk.

The term Sasquatch was coined by John W. Burns in 1929. Burns was then a schoolteacher and government agent at the Chehalis First Nation Reserve, just west of Harrison Hot Springs, in the Province of British Columbia, Canada.

At the time, he was writing about activities of interest for a local newspaper, and most of his stories were about these forest giants. So, in order to make his work more interesting, he borrowed the Halkomelem dialect word “Sasq’ets,” from the Sts’Ailes First Nation, and made up the term “Sasquatch” to describe these gigantic, hair-covered, human-like bipedal creatures that members of the local First Nations had come in contact with on many occasions when venturing out hunting or fishing.

In the 1930s and 1940s, Burns described a number of accounts concerning various Sasquatch sightings along the Fraser River Valley; one of these articles was actually published in Macleans Magazine. The encounters with these forest giants he wrote about were reported to him by members of the Chihalis and Sts’Ailes First Nations.

Many people interested in the existence of these uncatalogued and unclassified hominoids have advanced the notion that the North American gigantic wild hominoid species, identified as Sasquatch, are actually the descendants of the Asian Gigantopithecus Blacki.

The term Gigantopithecus Blacki was originally coined by the German paleontologist Ralph von Koenisgswald (1902–1982) when referring to the hairy Asian Gigantic Apes, which were known to exist in Asia when, in 1936, gigantic molars were found in Hong Kong.

The German Anatomist Franz Weidenreich (1873–1948) made a controversial assertion by writing that “Gigantopithecus Blacki” was “more human-like than ape-like,” in his book entitled Apes, Giants and Man published in 1946.

In 1956, a massive jawbone, dated to be about one million years old (1 Mya) was discovered in a cave at Liuchen, China, and was identified by Chinese scientists as being the remains of a Gigantopethicus Blackie. Later, in 1965, twelve gigantic teeth were discovered at Wuming, also in China. These were dated to be 350,000 years of age. Since then, upward of one thousand gigantic teeth have been found throughout Asia, all of them identified by Chinese scientists to be from Gigantopethicus Blackie. From these findings, it was deduced by the same Chinese scientists, that Gigantopethicus Blackie would weigh some 545 kilograms (1,200 lbs.) and be about 3.05 meters tall (10 ft).

In North America, only a few scientists have taken the time to seriously study the subject of Sasquatch; one of these scientists was Dr. Grover Krantz (1931–2002), who, in 1992, used the term “Gigantopithecus Canadensis” to describe the North American Gigantic Apes in his research and the many resulting books he wrote on the subject.

Recent writings by Dr. John Bindernagel (1941–2018) in North America’s Great Ape: The Sasquatch, published in 1998 and The Discovery of Sasquatch: Reconciling Culture, History and Science in the Discovery Process, published in 2010, are serious presentations of evidence proving the actual existence of this hominoid. Besides providing valuable evidence, Dr. Bindernagel’s objective studies may have helped sway the bias against this controversial subject within the scientific community.

It is the opinion of Dr. Krantz, along with a few other scientists and writers in this field of research, that the Sasquatch’s ancestors were from Eurasia, which would mean they simply followed the Homo sapiens during their migrations from Asia to North America by way of the Isthmus of Beringia. During two periods of time, colder temperatures resulted in the build-up of more ice around the northern seas. This resulted in opening an isthmus, a mostly dry piece of land, connecting the continent of Asia to the continent of America, first from about 38 to 34 Kya and then again between 30 to 15 Kya. This route often called the Beringia Land Bridge, became the doorway to North America.

Dr. Jeff Meldrum, a respected Professor of Anatomy and Anthropology at the Idaho State University and Editor-in-Chief of the scientific journal The Scientific Inquiry, wrote an enlightening scientific book entitled Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science, published in 2006. In this book, Meldrum provides “undisputable, evidence-based scientific analyses concerning the Sasquatch, with unparalleled open-mindedness, thoroughness, and objectivity,” according to Dr. Esteban Sarmiento, of the American Museum of Natural History, in New York.

Dr. W. Henner Fahrenbach, retired Zoologist and a reputed scientist at the Oregon Primate Research Center’s Electron Microscopy Laboratory, published an article in the scientific journal Cryptozoology in 1998 entitled “Sasquatch Size, Scaling and Statistic.” This article included a number of graphs using material from Sasquatch researchers and writers John Green, J.R. Napier, J.A. Hewkin, and P. Byrne to depict aspects of the Sasquatch based on accumulated reports of large human-like footprints. When asked about most scientists’ reluctance to do more research on the subject of Sasquatch, Fahrenbach replied: “It is easy to be put off, if you don’t know anything about it...however, this is generally uncharacteristic for a scientist to respond that way.”

French-born cryptozoologist Dr. Marie-Jeanne Koffman spent over twenty years researching the Almasty (Sasquatch) in the Caucasus Region from the South Russian steppes to the plateaus of Anatolia in Armenia and Iran. In December 1994, she wrote a scientific paper, with an addition to it in January 1995, entitled “Relic Humanoids in Antiquity.” In it, she describes Sasquatch in detail and relates it to past hominoid encounters through world history.

A specific content of her paper is the interpretation of a Phoenician plate dated from 700 BCE, upon which a hairy man-like bulky biped is depicted. She further describes a cup dated from around the 5th century BCE that depicts the capture of an “unidentifiable anthropomorphic troglodytic ape” which resemble a “giant hairy human being.” In addition, she further explains the existence of the “Wild Man Enkidu”, as part of the Epic of Gilgamesh, dating this Wild Man from about 2,650 BCE. Further in her paper, she makes mention of many beasts looking like “giant hairy humans” that can be found in the content of various bibles and other religious books.

The well-known Belgian-born scientist, explorer, researcher, and writer in the field of zoology, Dr. Bernard Heuvelmans (1916-2001), better known as “The Father of Cryptozoology,” spent his entire life researching unknown, unclassified and uncatalogued creatures from around the world. In many of his books, he mentions the relationship between Homo neanderthalensis, Homo sapiens, and Gigantopithecus, the unclassified gigantic apes discovered in Asia.

As reported by the US writer Michael McLeod, in his book entitled Anatomy of a Beast: Obsession and Myth on the Trail of Bigfoot, published in 2011: “In recent years, fossils of Gigantopithecus Blacki and of Homo erectus have been found together in both China and Vietnam, thus showing evidence they coexisted.”

The first mention of bushmen (Sasquatch) in North America is traced to the Hudson Bay Company explorer and fur trader, E. Umfreville (1755–1799), who in 1790 wrote about the local Indigenous people talking about “large human-like creatures,” referred to as “Weedegoag,” while he was working along the North Saskatchewan River, in what is now Alberta, Canada.

In 1811, the fur trader David Thompson (1770–1857), working for the North West Company, came across a number of “large human-like footprints” measuring some 35.56 cm (14 in) in length, around the area of present-day Jasper, in Alberta as well. In 1818, a trapper named Ross Cox (1793–1853), who was trapping along the Columbia River, in what is today the state of Montana, mentioned about the “wild and huge human-like beings,” that he had observed during the period of 1812 to 1817.

A Protestant Missionary by the name of Elkanah Walker (1805–1877), wrote reports about “giant bipedal primates” living in the area of the present-day state of Washington and province of British Columbia, in 1840. The Irish adventurer and frontier artist Paul Kane (1810–1871) was a short distance away from Mount St. Helens in the state of Washington, when, on 26 March 1847, he wrote in his diary “...that mountain has never been visited by either whites or Indians; the latter assert that it is inhabited by a race of beings of a different species, who are cannibals, and whom they hold in great dread ...”

In 1892, Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), the 26th President of the United States, wrote a book entitled The Wilderness Hunter, in which he described his adventures in the Pacific Northwest and wrote about an “apelike creature of gigantic stature covered in hair... and which left behind large, deep human-like footprints.”

In 1893, E.R. Young (1879–1905), a Methodist missionary, mentioned that “Weendagoos were often observed” in what is now Alberta.

In the Yukon, the first report of Sasquatch dates back to 1899. At the time, a number of prospectors were working in the area of the Indian River, just south of present-day Dawson City, and they reported observing some “giant hair-covered beings, looking like men.”

This happened during the famous Klondike Gold Rush, when some forty-thousand men and women rushed in, expecting to find gold wherever they looked. People did not pay much attention to reports of these sightings by fellow prospectors at that period of time, as they were too busy searching for that elusive Klondike gold and making money through various enterprises. They wanted nothing but money, gold, or souls.

After reading, researching, and studying the works of many scientists who have taken the time to seriously study this phenomenon and have written their findings about these giant bipedal ambulating entities we call Sasquatch, I am convinced they are real and do exist. Today, these Sasquatch creatures are well and alive in the Yukon. In my writings I refer to Sasquatch as “giant bipedal, forest-dwelling, hirsute hominoid entities.” These entities are still unclassified and uncatalogued.

Members of the Yukon Indigenous community have known about Sasquatch for a long time and have simply taken them for granted. However, the Sasquatch have remained mostly unknown for most non-Indigenous people, as only a few scientists have had the internal fortitude, the guts, and the courage to seriously tackle their existence.

In this book, Nahganne: Tales of the Northern Sasquatch, I describe many unexpected, vivid sightings of these creatures, the discoveries of large human-like footprints, loud unidentifiable vocals, along with other unexplainable events and strange, odd occurrences. These sightings have been experienced by a large number of Yukoners from various backgrounds and ethnicities, around this great land of Beringia, believed to be associated with the Sasquatch.

There is a myriad of names for these entities in the Yukon. Besides Nahganne and Sasquatch: I have heard of Big Man, Black Cannibal, Black Indian, Bocq, Bushman, Forest Giant, Hairy Giant, Hairy One, Hairy Man, Keecho, Kushka, Kushtaka, Loup-Garou (Often wrongly referred to as roogaroo), Stickman, Wild Indian, Wild Man, Wild People, Windago, Wood Being, and Wood Man. Oh...I almost forgot the silly, ridiculous term, Bigfoot.

It should be noted that Sasquatch is the preferred term used by serious researchers, enthusiasts, and writers, such as Krantz, Bindernagel, Fahrenbach, Meldrum, Murphy, Alley, Green, Steenburg, Napier, Hewkins, and Byrne. We have used the term Nahganne to title the book in deference to the term used by many First Nations Peoples of the North.

Sasquatch have been seen along roads and highways, by rivers and lakes, up on hills and mountainsides, deep in valleys and in dense forests. They have been seen around campgrounds and on hiking trails, sometimes looking through windows and walking in communities. They have been reported stealing fish at fish camps, stealing freshly killed animals from hunters, and generally searching for food.

Large human-like footprints have been discovered at many locations, along with handprints and knuckle prints. People have reported an odd, unidentified, strong pungent smell, perhaps used by Sasquatch as an attempt to scare and discourage people from getting too inquisitive. Various types of vocals have been heard in the woods from loud shrieks, to whoops, to roaring screams, to ear-piercing cries, to whisperings of sort and moderate whimpers. The sounds of wood knocks and rocks being banged together have been heard as well as if some of these creatures were communicating with each other, announcing the arrival of visitors into their territories perhaps, or even trying to communicate with these visitors—who knows?

Many of the Indigenous populations in North America have adopted what has become to be known as “The Seven Sacred Teachings.” These teachings are the spiritual foundation based in a firm belief in the “Great Spirit,” with the understanding that all living beings on Earth have a spirit which is the essence of life.

This is further advanced by the various ceremonial practices of each First Nation as each “teaching” is represented by an animal, such as, Truth is the Turtle; Wisdom is the Beaver; Humility is the Wolf; Love is the Eagle; Respect is the Bison; Courage is the Bear; and Honesty, which is represented by the Sasquatch under the name of Kietch Sa’be.

Honesty is defined as “Worthy of being depended upon; marked by truth, facts, real and genuine; not willing to cheat or defraud; not deceptive or fraudulent; without pretensions or false accusations.”

Some First Nations members have suggested that Nahganne or Kietch Sa’be teaches respect of the land and all its inhabitants. This creature is said to be the protector of the land and will appear when the Earth is being misused.

Back in 2006, I was investigating a number of large human-like footprints discovered close to the community of Pelly Crossing, in central Yukon, when a resident Elder of the Selkirk First Nation (SFN) told me that “Keecho will help us in time of need.”

Readers will notice the similarity between Kietch Sa’be and Keecho. While Kietch Sa’be is pronounced Kee Shae, and Keecho is pronounced Kee Shoo. So, I probably heard what the SFN Elder said to me a bit differently, due to his accent and by all indication he was talking about the same entity.

In 2019, I was talking about Sasquatch with a Roman Catholic nun who was visiting Whitehorse and she later mentioned to me that she believes “...Sasquatch are animal spirit entities, without souls.” Another woman I talked with who held a Master of Theology surmised the Sasquatch phenomena as follows: “As angels are the souls of people, Sasquatch are the spirits of animals”

Sasquatch have been observed by many people of various backgrounds and ethnicities by bush-wise white folks and by Indigenous Peoples who have lived here all their lives. These Indigenous Peoples are the keepers of this great land we call the Yukon after all . . . therefore, accepting their accounts about the actual existence of Sasquatch, should not be that difficult.