BUFFALO, NY - He is known by many names, Big Foot, Sasquatch, Yeti, and the question remains; is he real? Historian and story-teller Mason Winfield says that just about every area with wooded terrain also has sasquatch sightings. He adds that Western New York is no different.
Winfield points to sightings in the areas surrounding Allegany State Park, all the way north to the escarpment in Lewiston. So with all of the reports, why has the animal remained so elusive? Why has nobody ever been able to capture one? The Native American traditions may hold an explanation.
Michael Bastine is an Algonquin healer, story-teller and spiritual teacher, who believes that it may be a being that can travel between realms. He points to an ancient story of the creation of mankind.
According to the story, around the beginnings of mankind, there were also beings called stone giants. They were given many powers, including the ability to make wind, thunder and even move trees and mountains.
One day the creator checked up on the stone giants and one of them asked the creator to close his eyes. He said he had something to show him. When the creator opened his eyes again, the stone giant had moved a mountain slightly closer. The creator then told the stone giant to close HIS eyes. WIthin a second he said 'open your eyes', the stone giant turned his head and smashed his nose on the mountain that was now directly in front of him, a sign of the creator's great powers.
The creator told the stone giant that they would all be banished from the earth for his abuse of the gifts that had been given them. The stone giant pleaded and said if he allowed them to stay, they would never abuse their powers again and would exist as protectors of nature and sacred areas. Bastine says that many believe the sasquatch to be a stone giant.
The story of the stone giants and sasquatch sit at the intersection of ancient teachings and modern superstition, and within the Unknown Stories of WNY.