Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal: Bigfoot on Oregon Indian reservation (audio)

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Bigfoot on Oregon Indian reservation (audio)

Richard Cockle, The Oregonian (Bigfoot or animals? Strange sounds coming from swamp..., Jan. 25, 2013); Wisdom Quarterly; Knapp News (Coast to Coast AM, Jan. 27, 2013)

Nobody ventures into this soggy wetland on the edge of Mission on the Umatilla Indian Reservation after dark when the shrieks begin (Richard Cockle/The Oregonian).

Bigfoot (Godd of War, comicvine.com)

PENDLETON, Oregon - Baby foxes[, other animals,] or Bigfoot?

The eerie late-night serenades began in November [2012] and emanate from a brushy swamp on the Umatilla Indian Reservation east of Pendleton.

The cries range from high-pitched screams to basso profundo roars.

"It's causing an uproar around here," said Sylvia Minthorn [photographed above with mother Denise], who lives in a tribal housing unit near the swamp, where she used to play as a child.

Bigfoot hair samples (paranormalutopia.com)

She's seen grown men's hair stand on end when the shrieks commence.

Colleen Chance, a tribal housing authority employee, keeps a recording of the howls on her iPhone.

"It's kind of spooky," she said. "Some say it's foxes, some say it's a female coyote and some say it's Sasquatch. I don't know what it is."

LISTEN: (Download MP3)

Buddhist Bigfoot, the Yeti (Mickjim/flickr)

So far no one's pinpointed the source of the noise on this rugged 178,000-acre reservation that extends into northeastern Oregon's Blue Mountains and is home to about 1,500 people. The swamp in question borders the old reservation community of Mission, in a canyon north of the Wildhorse Resort and Casino.

Phone calls about the wails started coming in last month to the housing authority, and the office has had a half dozen so far. More could come in because the cries are continuing from time to time....

Some members of the Confederated Umatilla, Walla Walla and Cayuse tribes believe the noises come from Bigfoot, the mythical manlike creature said to roam Pacific Northwest forests.

Bigfoot is part of the tribal culture, tradition and spiritual beliefs, said Luke, a follower of the Washat, or Seven Drums religion, and a longhouse drummer and singer. "We have stories about it," he said.

[Tribal Indian] Bigfoot lore

To Bigfoot hunters, the Blue Mountains of Oregon and Washington around the Umatilla Indian Reservation have been a hot spot since a Walla Walla cyclist named Pete Luther found 19-inch-long bare footprints in 1966 along Tiger Canyon Road, east of Walla Walla on the Oregon-Washington border and just north of the reservation.

(nabigfootsearch.com)

The Blues' celebrity for giant, hairy hominids even survived the 2002 death of 84-year-old prankster Ray L. Wallace of Centralia, Wash. Wallace's family revealed after his funeral that he'd gleefully used strap-on wooden feet to make tracks around the West since 1958. Wallace was, they said, the source of the Northwest's Bigfoot tales.

Carl Sheeler, wildlife program manager for the tribes, said several animals in this corner of Oregon are known for making strange noises, including cougars. "When they are breeding, it is absolutely hair-raising," he said. More

Triangle-shaped UFO above Earth (NASA)

Occasional Coast to Coast radio host George Knapp shares news items that have recently caught his attention, including this intriguing photograph [of a triangular UFO] posted on the NASA website. In addition to his fascinating guests tonight, here are other stories: