Robert Leiterman BFRO Curator/Investigator

"So, where am I going with this?" You ask. "But Bigfoot has nothing to do with religion, let alone a religious term!"

You’re absolutely right! ...I think!

I’m often asked by well, meaning individuals, "Have you actually seen one?" or "Do you believe there really is a Bigfoot?"

They ask in a way, as if even contemplating the thought of their possible existence, makes you an active member of a religious cult of some kind.

My honest response is very simple, "No, I have not seen a Bigfoot! But, I’m very interested in the Phenomena!"

They then give me a strange look; you can almost read it in their eyes.

"Why...!"

I then find my self, reciting the past and present chapters of the Bigfoot Lore 101.

I begin to start thinking; "maybe they’re right! Repent, open up your mind and do some homework, you non believer!"

So, like any good researcher, I decided to look up the word Cult, in my Oxford American Dictionary, I keep handy on the top of my desk.

Their interpretation of the definition is as follows:

Cult (kult) n. 1. A system of religious worship. 2. devotion to or admiration of a person or thing; the Elvis Presley cult, his devoted group of admirers. Cultist n.

Well, I don’t know! Sounds like an individual thing to me!

Has Bigfoot ever been a guest on the X-Files?

It seems more people believe in extraterrestrial life than, the possibility that a large, bipedal primate like creature could inhabit the wilds of almost every Continent. Stop me if I’m wrong, but I think this could also include the wild, undeveloped areas near where we live.

After all, its very human-like, to believe that we have all of the answers. Well, I’m sorry to brake it to you, we don’t!

As a people, we’ve gotten where we are today by taking the time and energy to look a little beyond the end of our noses.

Around the time of Christopher Columbus, remember him, ("In fourteen hundred and ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.") a very large percentage of the educated public had reasons to believe that the world was flat. That sailing off in a straight, westerly direction, towards the horizon was a suicide mission. If it wasn’t for a few open-minded people, taking the time to look at the whole picture, we would not be as advanced as a society today, or, would we!

People love sensational or very interestingly different stories and the media knows this. They work very hard at looking for an edge over their competitors. The entertainment value of a good, well-written Bigfoot article is right up there on the interestingly different scale. Surprisingly, not all the write-ups take a poke at the Bigfoot phenomena. That is where I first heard about John Freitas, interesting work on sound recordings. I’ve found out, that an interestingly entertaining article, that even talks about the Bigfoot phenomena visiting a Park, can capture the attention of certain individuals and stimulate some form of guttural response. Some positive, and unfortunately, some negative.

You know you’ve made contact, when you stimulate a response.

I find quite of few closet Bigfooters, who become, very nervous when asked what they believe. It’s that religious thing again!

We all have our own reasons for believing what we do. Some for self-enrichment some out of curiosity and others for solving a mystery. It’s in the search for the truth, that some see it as an opportunity for fame or prestige. Some even possibly to a point of hoaxing! Who knows, I speculate as I say those very words!

I have to admit, that will be a very powerful day, when the final verdict is in, and it is proved, beyond reasonable doubt, weather or not a large, hairy bipedal primate actually inhabits the wilds of almost every continent. Team work will bring us to the truth sooner of later.

The American Indians of North America had a very rough time fighting for their sovereignty. They prayed to the Great Spirit, to stop the Westward Movement that was forever changing their lives, their religious beliefs and their existence as a nation. In the late 1700’s, an opportunity presented its self, that could have change the coarse of history, as we know it today. Born in 1768, under an impressive shooting star, a Shawnee Indian by the name of Tecumseh was born. He had almost accomplished an incredible feet. He almost managed to unite most of the Indian Nations of the East in one common force against the western movement, to write the history books differently. It was the conflict within his own people that put an end to his dream, of uniting the nations. His own jealous brother kept the Indian Nations of the east, from uniting to fight their common goals.

Who says we can’t learn anything from history?

So, wear your Bigfoot stigmata proudly, if you dare!