Sensing Sasquatch Exhibition Opens at the High Desert Museum March 2, 2024
Sasquatch is part of the experience of Indigenous peoples of the High Desert. Mask by Rocky LaRock (Salish).
What does Sasquatch—also known as Bigfoot—represent to you? The unknown? Adventure? Mystery?
Sensing Sasquatch is a major new exhibition opening March 2 at the High Desert Museum examining primate-like, reclusive, and elusive beings in the context of the High Desert region. The exhibit will be on view through January 12, 2025.
Native peoples of the Plateau have long encountered and told stories about Sasquatch. Sensing Sasquatch will explore Sasquatch’s past, present, and future in the High Desert region through an Indigenous lens.
Works by five Indigenous artists will be on view, including: Phillip Cash Cash, Ph.D. (Nez Perce, Cayuse), HollyAnna CougarTracks DeCoteau Littlebull (Yakama, Nez Perce, Cayuse, Cree), Charlene “Tillie” Dimmick (Warm Springs), Frank Buffalo Hyde (Nez Perce, Onondaga), and Rocky LaRock (Salish). Rather than the popular, mainstream view of Sasquatch, this exhibition will show Sasquatch as a protective entity for many Indigenous peoples of the High Desert.
From left, Phillip Cash Cash, Ph.D., (Nez Perce, Cayuse); artist Frank Buffalo Hyde’s study for his exhibition piece; a mask by Rocky LaRock (Salish); HollyAnna CougarTracks (Yakama, Nez Perce, Cayuse, Cree); Frank Buffalo Hyde (Nez Perce, Onondaga).
The original word for Sasquatch is “Sasq’ets,” which comes from the Halq’emeylem language of Coast Salish First Nation peoples from southwestern British Columbia. Sasquatch is bipedal and much taller than a human. Sasquatch’s habitat is often associated with the wet rainforests of the coastal Pacific Northwest, but in the High Desert, Sasquatch strides among the dry canyonlands, ponderosa pine forests, and shrublands.
The question of whether Sasquatch exists is irrelevant to the exhibit’s theme since, in many Indigenous traditions, Sasquatch is a bona fide living, breathing, sentient being. Indeed, for many tribes across North America, Sasquatch is regarded as an elder, a relative, and a spiritual guide who appears to deliver important messages to humans. So, when Sasquatch suddenly comes into view and interacts with humans, it can be a life-changing experience.
HollyAnna CougarTracks stands beside one of her Sasquatch sculptures.
Before entering the exhibition, there will be an homage to the pop culture icon that Sasquatch has become, but visitors will be asked to leave these ideas and perceptions behind to consider another side of Sasquatch’s story. Outside the exhibition, a “bring-your-own” sticker interactive will encourage visitors to reflect on the popularity and kitsch of mainstream Sasquatch representations. Visitors will place their stickers on the back of a car that’s driving away into the distance, symbolically transporting away their Sasquatch stereotypes and entering a new realm of experience and insight.
Ready to explore the wonders firsthand? Plan your journey to the museum and find all the details for your visit. For inquiries or to speak with museum admissions, call 541-382-4754, ext. 271, and start your adventure today.
Learn more at highdesertmuseum.org/sensing-sasquatch.
