Exploring Tool River Indian Tribe's Bigfoot Pictographs & Mythology

In a recent video from the YouTube channel Log Cabin Mysteries, titled "The Hairy Man of Painted Rock," the focus is on indigenous views of Bigfoot, specifically those of the Tool River Indian tribe located east of Porterville, California. The video discusses a research article published by the U.S Forest Service on the Mayak Datat, or "hairy man pictographs," of the Tool River Indian tribe. The Tool River Indians equate the hairy man to Bigfoot, and the pictographs are said to represent this important cultural character for the residents of the reservation. The tribe prefers to be called Tool River Indians, and their traditional language and history are associated with the larger ethnographic group known as the Yokuts. At contact, the Yokuts occupied the entire San Joaquin Valley of California, from the Sacramento River to the Kern River and from the Sierra Foothills to the coast ranges. Painted Rock, located on the Tool River Indian Reservation, is a rock shelter associated with a prehistoric village. The site includes bedrock mortars, pitted boulders, midden, and pictographs. The pictographs are located within the rock shelter and are painted on the ceiling and walls of the shelter. They include paintings of a male, female, and child Bigfoot, known as the family, coyote, eagle eating the moon, beaver, bear, frog, caterpillar, centipede, humans, eagle, condor, lizard, and various lines, circles, and other geometric designs. The most dominant pictograph at Painted Rock is that of the hairy man, also known as Hairy Man. He measures 0.6 meters high by 1.9 meters wide and is red, black, and white. The painting represents a two-legged creature with its arms spread wide, and he has what appears to be long hair and large haunting eyes. The Yokuts identify the lines coming from the eyes as tears because Hairy Man is sad, according to their creation story. The pictograph is in very poor condition due to weathering and vandalism. A hairy man petroglyph is present at the site, but it is likely a modern addition due to the rareness of this rock art style in the Sierras. The site also features an entire Bigfoot family, with the mother measuring 1.8 meters high by 1.2 meters wide and the child measuring 1.2 meters high by one meter wide. The Village at Painted Rock was called "which means markings painted rock." The tribal band that lived at Painted Rock were called the oching ITA or people of painted Rock. The Village at Painted Rock was first described by Mallory in 1889, who stated that the paintings were famous and well known in the area and likely created by being pecked, painted, and then pecked again to ensure a long-lasting effect. In the video, John Stone began gathering some of the traditional stories told by members of the reservation in 1973. The daughter of a tribal Elder who had been the caretaker of the pictograph site in the early 1900s identified Hairy Man as being the same as Bigfoot. Johnstone further noted that Hairy Man was described by the Tool River Indians as a creature that was like a great big giant with long shaggy hair, and since Bigfoot also meets that description, the two were the same. The video also touches on the Yokuts' mythology, which has been the subject of many ethnographers. Lata recorded a story called "The Giant of awani," but no other myths describing a hair-covered giant are documented. Yokuts myths, however, are dominated by animal characters that are often referred to as the first people. To sum up, the video from Log Cabin Mysteries provides an interesting look into indigenous views of Bigfoot, specifically those of the Tool River Indian tribe. The pictographs at Painted Rock offer valuable insights into the modern idea of a hair-covered Giant and the tribe's beliefs and stories of Hairy Man. It's a fascinating topic that sheds light on the rich cultural history of the Tool River Indians and their connection to Bigfoot. We encourage our readers to watch the video and learn more about this intriguing subject.