Giants, Cannibals & Monsters: Bigfoot in Native Culture

Interview with Kathy Moskowitz Strain on The Church of Mabus radio. One of the most informative interviews on Bigfoot in Native folklore you’ll ever listen to. Click here to listen for free.

http://churchofmabusradio.com/457/church-of-mabus/kathy-m-strain-giants-cannibals-monsters-bigfoot-in-native-culture-co-host-andy-colvin/

Kathy Moskowitz Strain is currently the Forest Archaeologist for the Stanislaus National Forest, headquartered in Sonora, California. She is responsible for all archaeological and paleontological resources on her Forest and directs education and public participation programs on archaeology and Native American cultures. Kathy is currently the chair of the Alliance of Independent Bigfoot Researchers, a non-profit Bigfoot research group.

Kathy became interested in Bigfoot as a child, and her interest lead her into the field of anthropology. Kathy received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology in 1990 and a Master of Arts in Behavioral Science (emphasis in Anthropology) in 1994. Her main field of study involved prehistoric human ecology.

In 1991, as an archaeologist for the Sequoia National Forest, she began interviewing elders from the Yokuts Tribe about their traditional Hairy Man stories. This work lead her to an in depth study of the Hairy Man pictographs, located on the Tule River Indian reservation. She has presented her research at the 2003 Willow Creek Symposium, the 2005 Texas Bigfoot Conference, and published an article in Meet the Sasquatch, by Chris Murphy. Recently, she appeared on the Giganto: The Real King Kong special on the History Channel. Kathy will be giving a presentation on southern Native American Bigfoot stories for the “Bigfoot in Texas” exhibit at the University of Texas at San Antonio Institute of Texan Cultures on April 7, 2006.In June 2006, she will also be speaking at the Bigfoot Rendezvous at Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho.

Using her specialty in human ecology, Kathy is exploring the connection between Native American adaptation of the environment and how Bigfoot might also have used similar techniques to exploit plants and animals. Comparisons may be found in habitation methods and locations, hunting and gathering techniques, resource availability, calorie input/output, seasonal movements, etc. Knowing this information may foster collection of evidence not previously associated with Bigfoot behavior. It may also allow us to develop techniques to better obtain direct observations and therefore documentation and protection of this currently unrecognized primate.

Although there are few women who conduct Bigfoot research, Kathy would like to encourage women to either collaborate with other researchers or to conduct their own research. There are many aspects to Bigfoot research, including direct fieldwork and report investigations. Those that are not interested in fieldwork can find untapped avenues in researching historical archives and documents, conducting interviews with Native Americans, studying museum artifacts for unrecognized prehistoric/historic representations of Bigfoot, or drawing eyewitness sketches.