🎬 See all available Tlingit masks & drums: https://youtube.com/shorts/JWy0A8GkXsA
"Bigfoot is known all over North America — in our legends, and still here today."
— Fred Fulmer, Xuna/Hoonah Tlingit Elder and Cultural Bearer ANV Alaska Native Voices Educational Institute - Tlingit Cultural Interpreter representing the Xuna/Hoonah Tlingits 2024-2026
The Story Behind the Mask
I have been wanting to carve a Bigfoot/Sasquatch mask for a long time. These beings are known across North America — sighted, experienced, and woven into the legends of Indigenous peoples from coast to coast. I have family members with their own experiences related to them. This is not folklore from the outside looking in. This is knowledge from within.
I began shaping this mask from a piece of Keishish/Alder wood during Season 2025 aboard cruise ships in Siteeyi Gheeyi/Glacier Bay, Alaska. My wife Ivy would join me on these cruises. Working as a team, we showcased Tlingit culture, answered passengers’ questions, and shared stories of the Xuna/Hoonah Tlingit people. The mask began its journey there — on the water, in our Ancestral homeland.
This mask was one of four that I started in Siteeyi Gheeyi/Glacier Bay during the 2025 season — each one carrying the energy of that place with it.
Morning studio view · All four masks started in Siteeyi Gheeyi/Glacier Bay, Season 2025 · Bigfoot No. 1, Bigfoot No. 2, Humpback, and Brown Bear Mauling mask · Fred Fulmer Xuna/Hoonah Tlingit Elder-Cultural Bearer
Bigfoot/Sasquatch in Tlingit Tradition
Bigfoot is not a modern mystery to the Tlingit people. These beings have long been part of the oral traditions of Northwest Coast Indigenous peoples. They are known, respected, and acknowledged as part of the natural and spiritual world — not a legend to be dismissed, but a presence to be understood. Our people have always known they are here.
In our oral stories, Bigfoot/Sasquatch are forest dwellers — ancient beings who move among the old growth trees, unseen but present. They belong to the forest the way the Keishish/Alder belongs to the riverbank. It felt right to carve this mask from wood — because the wood and the being share the same world.
Why Old Man’s Beard Lichen Belongs on This Mask
On the crown of this mask, I added natural lichen I collected from trees in the forests of SE Alaska over the years — Old Man’s Beard — grows on ancient trees in the woods where Bigfoot walks. It belongs on this mask for the same reason the wood does: because Bigfoot is a creature of the forest, and every material on this piece reflects that truth. The wood, the lichen, the paint — all of it points back to the same place. The old growth forest. The world Bigfoot calls home.
The Drum Connection
Ivy Fulmer created a 10-inch Bigfoot/Sasquatch drum that is now in a private collection — proof that this subject resonates across mediums in the Fulmer studio. A similar drum can be commissioned. Contact Fred or Ivy directly →
Watch the Carving · Season 2025 · Siteeyi Gheeyi/Glacier Bay
This video documents all four masks started in Glacier Bay during Season 2025 — including this Bigfoot mask, the Humpback, the Brown Bear Mauling mask, and Bigfoot No. 2. It also features the 4.5 ft tall Laax/Red Cedar mask at 95% completion — a landmark piece in Fred’s carving legacy and a rare look at monumental-scale Tlingit carving in progress:
Kooxe'edaa/Paint Brushes Are Out · Fred Fulmer’s Most-Watched Video
With over 9,100 views since July 2023, this is where thousands of collectors and cultural learners first discovered Fred Fulmer’s studio practice — a rare window into a working Tlingit carver’s world.
🎬 Kooxe'edaa/Paint Brushes Are Out Ready To Xeet/Paint · Fred Fulmer Tlingit Elder-Cultural Bearer
Other Masks From This Season
These masks were started alongside this one in Siteeyi Gheeyi/Glacier Bay during Season 2025 — each carrying the same Ancestral energy:
• Voice/Satu’ For The Yaay/Humpback Mask · Season 2025
• Tlingit Brown Bear Mauling Mask · Season 2025
• See All Tlingit Kaats’/Masks by Fred Fulmer →
Acquire This Mask
"Priced to be accessible. Valued as the irreplaceable, hand-carved Indigenous art it is."
Keishish/Alder Bigfoot-Sasquatch Mask No. 1 · $1,700.00
Dimensions: 16 in H × 12.5 in W × 6 in D
Materials: Keishish/Alder wood, natural lichen (Old Man’s Beard), acrylic paint, tung oil
Carved in Siteeyi Gheeyi/Glacier Bay, Alaska · Season 2025
Interested in a commission? Contact Fred or Ivy →
