Shawnee Dream Walker Shares First Bigfoot Encounter at Age Six

There's something special about hearing firsthand accounts from people with deep roots in the land, and a recent episode from the YouTube channel Myths, Monsters, and Mullets delivers exactly that. Host John Methamp sits down with Donna Copus, a woman of Shawnee descent who goes by the name White Wolf Woman and is also known as a "dream walker" within her family. The conversation is rich with generational knowledge about encounters that stretch back well over a century, and it offers a perspective on Sasquatch that you don't often hear in mainstream coverage. Donna's family history with these beings goes way back. Her grandmother was born in the 1800s and was the youngest of 17 children, and Donna has letters dating back to 1797 from her Irish grandfather who came to America and married a Shawnee woman. That kind of lineage matters when it comes to understanding why certain families have such consistent encounters across generations. Donna still maintains hidden Shawnee burial mounds on land that used to belong to her family, and she speaks with real authority about the connection between her people and the woods they share with these elusive beings. The story that really stands out is Donna's first encounter at just six years old. Her dad, a hunter and trapper who raised tobacco on their farm, took her into the woods to dig yellow root (also known as golden seal) so she could earn money to go to the county fair. While they were working, her dad suddenly stood up, laid his chewing tobacco on a nearby stump, and told his little girl they were leaving. When Donna looked back, she saw a massive black figure standing up about 30 feet from where she'd been sitting. Instead of panicking, her dad calmly told her, "You leave him alone, he'll leave you alone. Just watching you. He ain't going to hurt you." That phrase, "just watching you," is something that resonates with a lot of longtime researchers and witnesses. The idea that Sasquatch are observers rather than aggressors is a common thread in many traditional accounts, particularly from Indigenous communities across North America. Donna's family refers to them as "the watchers," a term that captures this behavior perfectly. Her dad, who had clearly had his own experiences, treated the situation with the kind of calm respect that comes from knowing these beings intimately over a lifetime. What makes this interview particularly compelling is the way Donna frames her ongoing relationship with these creatures. She talks about being "schooled" from a young age on how to interact with them, which aligns with what many researchers have documented about traditional knowledge being passed down through families and communities. Her Shawnee heritage adds another layer to this, as Indigenous perspectives on Sasquatch (often called different names in different tribes) have long recognized these beings as part of the natural world with their own roles and behaviors. The episode runs long and covers a lot of ground, including Donna's family history, the conservation efforts around her grandfather's grave, and the unique plants and animals in her region of southeastern Ohio. If you're someone who values firsthand witness accounts, especially from people with deep cultural and familial connections to the subject, this is definitely worth checking out. John Methamp has a way of letting his guests tell their stories without too much interruption, and Donna has a lot to say. You can find the full conversation over on the Myths, Monsters, and Mullets YouTube channel. It's a good one to put on while you're doing chores around the house, and it might just give you a new perspective on what it means to grow up alongside Sasquatch in Appalachia.