Multiple encounters, by Simeon Retz, from California

Multiple encounters, by Simeon Retz, from California:

Howka howka (how is the fire burning within) SunBow,  

It is so good to make you acquaintance. Thank you so much for your words and all the information you provided… I appreciate it. 

A little introduction, We are from Southern California, we live on the Viejas Indian Reservation. My wife’s people have lived in this region since time immemorial, with no migration, as shared in their creation stories.

I grew up in Palm Springs CA and my family moved to this area when I was around 9 years old. My wife and I have known each other and each others family since we were both between 8-10 years old. We’ve been together raising a family and married for over 23 years now.

Obviously my wife and her family have a deep connection to the land, the water, the animals, the elements and all those relations. The connection has been interrupted or disrupted but never severed. The stories are still told, songs sung,  – the memory is intact. I’m fortunate although mixed I come from family that still connected with the land and I have a great great grandmother that was Blackfoot. My father’s side was Mennonite and my mother’s side were Russian Jewish, Irish, Scottish etc, my grandfather grew up on a farm in Tennessee. This has keep us open both my wife and I. 

What’s amazing to me is the paranormal activity in and around our families. My wife has had alien experiences. My father has also seen things. So has my siblings seeing things from ghosts, fairies to ufos. My mother in law has had 3 experiences with Bigfoot, seeing him from her kitchen window, on another occasion smelling Bigfoot and another time finding rock stacking & feeling watched. She also tells stories of other tribal people seeing Bigfoot as well on the Rez. In addition she’s shared stories of the little people being called from the mountains with traditional songs etc. We do family lodge here and had several of occurrences.  

My experiences started in my early 20’s if not earlier. I was in Washington Peninsula back around 1993, we were camping at the hot springs, attempting to catch a Rainbow gathering but we just missed it. This was before cell phones.  Myself, my brother and about 7-10 other folks were camped and we started drumming.  The night sky started lighting up, we were catching the tail end of Northern lights from further north. As the drumming and light show was climaxing this yell echoed from what seemed like the top of the mountain above us and echoed throughout the valley.

There was no mistake this was massive and no way a human or any animal. Somehow we all knew its volume equaled something larger and more massive than even a bear. It was absolutely otherworldly and amazing. It was the perfect apex to the evening and this Bigfoot summed up how we were all feeling with that joyful yell. It felt joyful – full of gratitude- it felt we were sharing a moment.

Then a couple years later, my brother, his wife, child, two dogs and myself moved to Willow Creek. After being there a few months we found ourselves with the opportunity to care take a cabin a top a mountain range in Witchapeke, which bordered the Hoopa reservation. We had only one neighbor on this entire mountain.

This is when I had my face to face encounter. I was hunting for wild mushrooms going down one creek on the north side of our cabin and back up the adjoining creek on the south side of the cabin. Both creeks converged west of the cabin. I was at that West Point turning to go up creek and back to the cabin when I heard rustling coming down the creek towards me.

I thought it was our two dogs so I hid behind a rock to wait and see how close they would get to me before they’d notice me or if they’d get close enough I could jump out and surprise them. To my shock the noise stopped about a 100 feet away from me right before they would come around the corner and I’d be able to see them. I waited then a head popped up, looked straight at me we locked eyes. Then it stood up and it was big. I could see it from about its waist up. What confused me is it was white in color. One of our dogs was mixed with white wolf and I struggled to comprehend what I was seeing.

My mind wanted to believe it was our dogs still. But then it stepped out from cover and took one large step across the creek, at which point, I could now see its full body arms and legs in that iconic stride it has. It then took two easy steps up the embankment and was off into the woods. I immediately took off running towards it to get a second look. Again I couldn’t believe what I had just seen my mind was still trying to comprehend what I saw and I kept trying to reason how it could be the dogs jumping simultaneously and my mind put the image together.

I knew what I saw but my mind didn’t want to accept it, for many years truly. Crossing the creek there was no way I could do it in a single stride and going up the embankment I had to crawl up because it was at least 45 degrees- pretty steep. I ran in the bush till I thought this may not be too wise.

What was unusual to me is it was white, I didn’t smell anything and unfortunately I didn’t notice or think to look for footprints. It didn’t match the stories we heard growing up or the idea I had of Bigfoot. He should have been brown or dark, smelly etc. 

When I got back to the cabin my brother, sister and law and the dogs were in the cabin. I asked if they were there the whole time and he said yes. He then asked me if I’d seen a ghost. I asked why and he said because I was white as a ghost as if I had just seen something. I then shared the experience with them. 

It wasn’t until another several years later, listening to George Knory on Coast to Coast, that I heard of white Bigfoot. I wondered if he was shifting Inter dimensionally – was that why he was white and I didn’t smell him. Yet it could have been just as we do white with age. I’m still not sure.

It was many years later, only about 4-5 years now, that I had a third experience. In between this time I had other experiences, particularly in Hawaii, with little people and night marchers. But 4-5 years ago, my wife, our daughter and I were traveling to Window Rock, AZ. We had a conference and meeting to attend for the Warrior Spirit team my wife is a part of.

While there, I kept feeling Bigfoot presence, so I started asking some local natives and they confirmed they’d just been having activity up by Red lake. I was told he’s been heard up there, making a sound like crying. So we drove up there after the conference, stayed the night at Red Lake and about 2:00 am, we heard him/her.  It was a different sound, almost it was like crying and it left me feeling sad. The next morning we talked to some more locals and were told stories of seeing Bigfoot around the lake probably hunting for deer.

Those are first hand encounters I’ve had. Yet been feeling the presence more and more and sightings seem to be coming closer to home again after many years of not hearing of any sightings, noises or activity down here in southern California.

3 years ago we traveled to Oregon on our way back we decided to drive up to Willow Creek and show my family where I’d had my first interactions and face to face. Unfortunately we got all the way up to Willow Creek from the coast to end up in those huge fires. We had wanted to travel the Bigfoot trail. Those plans were cut short and I couldn’t help but feel somehow those fires are purposeful to burn out our hairy brothers. I felt tremendous grief.

So we got home and a couple months later, we have graveyard cleaning, so we go to our local mountains in Santa Ysabel, where my wife’s family on her father’s side reservation is and he and his family are buried. We’re talking to the cousins and wouldn’t you know, they say on two separate accounts our cousins were out hunting and he’s been spotted down here! This was very exciting to me because it’s been 30-40 years since I’d heard stories of Bigfoot down here.

Then about a year and a half ago, my mother in law says one of our elders had a sighting here on our reservation again. To us this is a blessing and as you shared it’s a gift that they are here. When we have sweat lodge, we acknowledge our relations, we acknowledge our spirit guides and pray for ancestral knowledge, connection and guidance.

I’m very encouraged there is activity here again and I wanted to share that with you. We pray for our continued relations with our ancestors, with all of our relations. We pray for healing and peace, acknowledgement and gratitude of our place in Creator’s creation. I heard recently and connect with this “Nature is our greatest shaman.” 

It feels as if these connections are ramping up. Our relative has been bringing the bear dance back and at his last ceremony while in lodge, a Bigfoot song was sung. This was the first time I’d heard a Bigfoot song in lodge.  

Wanted to share these beautiful movements that are happening down here, even in an area (where it) “seems” (the) dominant culture has a strong hold, spirit survives and connecting is happening. Bigfoot has been seen and is felt here, we are connected Brother SunBow. Thank you for your forging ahead in a good way connecting and communicating with our Hairy brothers and bringing that knowledge, that wisdom out. 

There’s much more to share but this is a good introduction for now. 

Aho brother or as we say Eaay Ahun (my heart feels good). 

Simeon & Oletha