Missing for 75 Years, First Nation Sasquatch Mask Returns Home

A Sasq'ets mask, commonly know as sasquatch (photo: Cliff Barackman)

"Much of the [premier] episode was filmed on the historic Sts' Ailes First Nations Reserve in British Columbia. While there, I was allowed access to the traditional sasquatch mask that had been "lost" for 75 years..." --Cliff Barackman

Around May of 2014 the Canadian Press syndicated a story about a mask that was lost for 75 years. In the article it described a James Leon's 16-year journey to recover the Sasq'ets mask. The way he finally re-discovered the lost artifact was serendipitous.

Leon was at a repatriation event for another First Nations artifact held by the Vancouver Museum when he asked the lady sitting beside him if she knew of the ape-like mask partially covered in bear fur.

"Her eyes lit up and she said 'We were just looking at that mask the other day.' And they were gracious enough to go get it for me," he said with a chuckle.

The mask disappeared in 1939 from Sts'ailes First Nation, near Harrison Hot Springs in B.C.'s Fraser Valley.

Community elders told Leon that the mask had been taken by J.W. Burns, a teacher at the Chehalis Indian Day School, and a man obsessed with the sasquatch legend.

Burns, who is often credited for bringing the word "sasquatch" into common use, donated the mask to the Vancouver Museum.

Cliff Barackman posted on his Facebook page that the Season 9 premier episode of Finding Bigfoot will take him to the Sts' Ailes First Nations Reserve in British Columbia.

Photo from 1938 Sasquatch Days Festival

Although the First Nation people refer to the mask as sasquatch, some skeptics think we should be more cautious how we reference these artifacts. Sharon Hill of Doubtful News writes, "The article makes a connection to Sasquatch as described by indigenous people but I’m not clear how solid that connection is. How do we know that the mask represents the same entity that we now refer to as “sasquatch” or Bigfoot? Or are we jumping to conclusions?"

She ends the article with a warning, "It’s a potential hazard to jump to conclusions and call this a representation of Sasquatch."

It is not clear if the warning is for the readers or the aboriginals who actually refer to the mask as a representation of sasquatch. In fact, in the article itself, a representative of the Sts' Ailes people makes a direct reference to sasquatch.

"We do burning for the sasquatch. It's our belief that his primary role is to ensure that the land is being taken care of. Because everyone of us, as Sts'ailes people, we carry an ancestral name, a rich name from the land."

The video below is a video uploaded by Tom Yamerone. Known for his Bigfoot Songs.