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Sasquatch And The Law: The Implications Of Bigfoot Preservation Laws In Washington State, Joan Ilacqua

Graduate History Conference, UMass Boston

The American Pacific Northwest is characterized by its lush wilderness, mountain ranges, salmon, Starbucks coffee, and most recently, by “Portlandia”-esque hipsters. The Pacific Northwest is also the home of the elusive, and potentially bogus, Sasquatch. The first Sasquatch, or Bigfoot, story was published by pioneer missionary Elkanah Walker in 1840 and a long tradition of publishing Bigfoot stories has proliferated since. Bigfoot searches and stories culminated in the 1967 Patterson-Gimlin film of a supposed female Sasquatch, although the myth has found resurgence in modern Bigfoot hunting television shows. Whether or not the elusive Sasquatch exists, ultimately the stories serve as …