The Bigfoot seminar kicked off at UNM Gallup on Feb. 11, and the turnout was tremendous. So many people showed up that the original room overflowed, and the venue had to be changed at the last minute to Calvin Hall Auditorium, which still couldn’t seat everyone. People crowded in to stand and sit on the steps as Dr. Christopher Dyer began the welcome and introduction.

When he asked for a show of hands from those who had seen or heard a Sasquatch (aka Bigfoot), almost a third of those present raised their hands. Dyer assured the crowd that there would be no more skeptics at the end of the two-day event. “We know this is a real phenomena,” he said of Bigfoot.

“I’ve had a rock thrown at me by one of these things,” he added.

Dyer then welcomed Dr. Jeff Meldrum, author of Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science, to present some of his research on these mysterious creatures. Meldrum spoke about genealogy to show how humans and “relict humanoids,” or human-like creatures that are now much more scarce than they used to be, are related. Sasquatch is one of these relict humanoids. There are many others as well, including tiny “hobbits,” but most are believed to have gone extinct long ago. Bigfoot, however, is still seen and heard today.

People across the world have been creating images and telling stories about these animals for thousands of years. Yeti, Bigfoot, and Sasquatch are just a few of the common names used today. Everywhere from the Southwest to Canada to China cave drawings representing giant hairy beings can be found. Meldrum suggests that the North American Bigfoot originally came from Asia, along with many other species we consider native to our continent.

Though some people dismiss Bigfoot as a mere fantasy, Meldrum knows better, concluding that “no legend is without history.”

Rob Kryder, of Kryder Exploration LLC, followed Meldrum to talk about his experiences tracking and recording Bigfoot in the field. Kryder is working with both UNM and Meldrum to collect evidence for use in a future book on Bigfoot in New Mexico. Kryder has been studying Bigfoot behavior for years and has a lot to show for his efforts, including audio recordings, footprint casts, hairs, and scat.

He has found that they prefer to inhabit steeply-sloped, wooded areas, but will often travel along washes and streams to gather food before returning to higher ground. Sasquatch are omnivores and will eat just about anything, much like a bear. They are known to eat grubs, hunt deer with rocks, and pluck birds off their nests at night.  They even pluck the birds before consuming them, a very human-like behavior.  Unfortunately, they sometimes prey on livestock as well.

Kryder tracked a family of Bigfoot that were living in the Sandia Mountains just outside of Albuquerque and noted that they “frequent people’s ponds and water gardens” and eat birdseed from feeders. Needless to say, some of these homeowners were less than thrilled at the news of their giant, hairy, scavenging neighbors.

Sasquatch are extremely adept at avoiding humans, and are therefore seldom seen. In addition to their stealth, Kryder noted that “in a single night they could cross a 100 mile gap to get to a different area.”

This enables them to move undetected between suitable habitats in New Mexico, which are often separated by vast swaths of desert too dry to support Bigfoot populations.

On day two of the seminar, individuals shared their stories of Bigfoot encounters. Some cherish and protect these creatures, while others are worried after losing dogs and livestock to their massive hands. Victoria Stone lives in a remote area near Farmington where a family of Bigfoot also reside, and she says “they’re watching out for me and my family,” and “I have not seen anything bad about them.”

One family, however, lost three goats when they left for a weekend. The goats were killed by twisting of their necks, the blood was drained and drank through holes in the arteries, and their carcasses were left behind. It appeared to be an act of desperation driven by hunger after several days of snow and cold. Kryder theorizes that several young Bigfoot were responsible, and that the older individuals would not condone such an act because it alerted humans to their presence.

There are numerous reports of Bigfoot throwing rocks at people. It seems to be a warning response when humans get too close.  Bigfoot are extremely strong and can toss rocks over 100 pounds, but so far  there have been no reported human deaths, a testament to Bigfoot’s restraint.

Most encounters are quite neutral though. People see a Bigfoot, and it runs off, much like other wild animals. Most Bigfoot appear to keep to themselves and avoid confrontation with humans.

The popular opinion shared by Meldrum, Kryder, and most witnesses is that Bigfoot are a lot like humans. They seem to treat others the way they are treated. If you ever meet one, greet it with a smile, not with a rock, and you’ll probably emerge unharmed.

Story and photos by Shepherd Waldenberger
Sun Correspondent

Gallup Police Department requests the public’s help in locating Anderson Scott.

Scott, 38, was reported missing on July 20 by his family. He had last been seen on June 18, wearing a red and black Pendleton jacket with black jeans. He is estimated to be about 5’7” tall and weigh 180 pounds.

His family suspects he may be in the Gallup area.

If you have any information about this case, contact Gallup Police at (505)863-9365. Ask for Detective Tasheena Wilson.

Josie Paiz has been in the insurance business for over 39 years but who is counting? She also is the only woman to own a locally owned independent insurance agency that she knows of right now and she isn’t stopping there.

Ask her where she envisions her business in five to 10 years and she says “very competitive.”

“My philosophy has always been, whether their (customers) premiums are $5 or $500 or $5,000 my personal commitment to them is all the same,” she said. “And I have a lot of existing clients that are very dedicated and loyal to me that have followed me to the agency.”

She has been a life-long Gallup resident with an impressive resume that dates back to even before she turned 15 in high school, when she got herself involved in a group called, “Office Education” where she had to have an office job.

So, she did what every determined teenager would do and sought after an office job answering phones and typing policies up manually. Luckily the owner of the agency was involved in church, real estate and insurance, which would be the beginning of her career in insurance agencies.

She graduated from Gallup High School and she says that since there really wasn’t a school you could go to learn insurance. She was self-taught.

“You are either going to like it or you are not going to like it,” she said. “I’ve learned a lot from a lot of different people. All of the agents taught me different things at the agencies that I worked with. They were very detailed and very business-orientated and they taught me to not be afraid of the big agents in Albuquerque.”

She says that she worked for three separate agencies before launching Amazing Grace Insurance.

However, there came a point in her life where she was ready to step away from the insurance business until she started working for Amazing Grace Personal Care. The owner, Tom Crider, opened her eyes to a completely different field than what she was used to.

In the process of that, she and Crider started talking, and since she was already fully licensed and “grand-fathered in,” it was agreed that she would continue selling the insurance that she was already selling. So, they opened Amazing Grace Insurance.

“Tom wanted me to pick a different name – Josie Paiz’s Insurance Agency, but it wasn’t going to get any kind of patriots to Tom, and none of this would have been possible, first without the Lord, and second without Tom,” she said.

Amazing Grace Insurance has been in business since June 2015, and is a bustling office. Paiz considers it a family business because it is staffed with four people: her husband, as her assistant; her daughter as the administrative assistant, and her son, as the information technology guy.

“It’s different from anywhere else I have ever worked because it’s family,” she said. “I think that if you have that love for family and you love what you are doing and it is not about money, and it is more about pride, and your customers and how they feel and how they are going to look at you.”

She says that compared to the other agencies, here in town, Amazing Grace Insurance is small, but she is up for the challenge. Step inside her office, and it’s a lot like a home – warm and inviting – complete with pictures on the wall, whimsical and modern decor, and pretty furnishings.

Amazing Grace Insurance offers commercial insurance, which is property, liability, workers comp, bonding and anything that the business needs in order for them to function fully. They also offer policies for homeowners, automobiles, mobile homes, motorcycles, boats, and life insurance. They also offer Aflac Insurance.

“There’s only so much business in Gallup because we are a small community,” she said. “It comes down to personal service. I really believe that. We are going to do well. You have to dream big and you have to believe.”

For more information call (505) 863-8083.

By Chrissy Largo

Sun Correspondent

Rossi Bright knows she was destined to be an artist. She knew when she was a child growing up in the Midwest. And she credits her parents who she says were good about taking her to art museums.

“It just seemed to be a natural instinct I had,” she said. “My head seemed to have an imagination for such things.”

With no specific category, time frame, nor explanation, and sometimes she likes to throw in a title or two to describe her artwork, Bright opened up about the process of how she develops her work as a stream of consciousness.

“I just do it because I have to do it,” she said. “I just kind of do whatever is coming through to me at any given time. Being a clear channel for creative work to come through me, kind of like meditative practices.”

Before moving to Gallup in 1997, she lived in Brooklyn, New York and did what most starving artists and musicians did — work in the city and partake in odd food service jobs.

However, before landing herself a position with Village Voice newspaper in the display advertising department, she was part of rock band.

“I was a part of an alternative rock band called Frank’s Museum, for about 10 years,” she said. “We were part of a collective of bands, called Brooklyn Beat, that rebelled against the music industry. We were producing and recording our own music at that time.”

She recalls her life in New York as inspiring as there was a limitless energy, and people were doing countless things at one time. Since moving to Gallup, she finds that there is a whole different kind of energy that she describes as “more grounded, earthy, and raw.”

Today, she is the manager of the Open Studio/Outsider Gallery, formerly Gallery 211, located in downtown Gallup, which has been in existence since 2011 and has downsized due to cuts in arts funding. Funding for the Open Studio/Outsider Gallery was once supported by DSI/Disability Services Inc., from 2001 to Feb. 2015, but it is now funded by Dungarvin, Inc.

The Open Studio/Outsider Gallery is an inclusive gallery that features artwork of various talented and local artists, which includes Bright’s artwork.

“I have portfolios with different things in it,” she said. “I try to do various series of work to keep my creative juices and imagination going, and also, expansiveness and exploration because I think artists are ever evolving. It is a growing thing.”

One of her portfolios, titled “Dia de Muertos” offers a kaleidoscopic view of illustrations that hold a certain resonance with her as she speaks of the holiday, honoring those that have passed on.

“To me everything is alive,” she said. “Even though you may not be able to see it that way or perceive it that way, I think there is a very thin veil about what is really going on this planet plane of existence. The seen and the unseen.”

Her ink drawing series often includes feline characters, which are not the usual furry creatures.  They are meant to imply more of a metaphor for mysticism and humor.

“These little entities that are around, they are kind of like the mystic observer,” she said. “Giving people some kind of guidance, message or having some kind of exchange between the dimensions of what may or may not be happening.”

She explains that colors are a crucial aspect to her artwork because not only do certain colors work together but they possess certain vibrations together.

“It may be a little esoteric for people [the viewer], but for me that is part of what is speaking, in a piece of work is color, the composition, and the subject matter, if there is a subject matter,” she said.

Even though she’s had a mix of “some academic training”, and pays homage to the teacher that allowed her to take her artistic abilities to new heights, she was also self taught.

In her own words, “self taught in the sense that most artists continue to teach themselves and expand their craft after their academic foundations, it’s a life-long process in evolving artistically.”

When asked who inspires her, she says that many artists inspire her locally, nationally, internationally and historically.

Rossi says she feels much of her work relates to the communication between and existence of various dimensions/realms, seen and unseen, conscious or unconscious, all facilitating our growth on this plane of existence.

Bill Keeler, of Gallup Jewelry and Pawn, who has known Bright for over 17 years, added that her work is the kind of work you can’t just look at and walk away.

“It gives you pause for thought,” he said. “You really have to look at her work. There’s so much in there and a lot of stuff isn’t apparent at first glance. You wonder what she is thinking.”

Not only that, but she is fearless.

“She puts it out there for people to see,” he said. “She isn’t afraid to put her art on the wall.”

For Bright, she feels that art is more than just imagination – it is about mediation and perceiving life, people, or situations in a more expansive way.

She hopes the viewer will bring their own perception or story to the piece they are viewing, something that resonates with their own spirit or psyche.

“It is about seeing the extraordinary within the ordinary,” she said. “And ordinary life isn’t just ordinary. In fact, there is so much going on all the time, all around, within and within out of you.”

For more information call: (505) 863-0389.