The Sasquatch Champion

I met Thomas Sewid in a place where Bigfoot sitings abound, and his store, Sasquatch the Legend, caters to fans of all ages. Not only do they have the usual tourist t-shirts, magnets, and mugs, but also books, signs, and even Sasquatch art made by Tom himself.

Now, I’ve heard entertaining stories of Bigfoot through the years, but never met a true Sasquatch champion until I talked with Tom. Calling him a fan would be inaccurate. Whereas, a champion is defined as a person who vigorously supports, defends, or fights for a person, principle, or belief, acting as an advocate or protector. “Do you really believe in Bigfoot?” I asked him. “Oh, I don’t believe,” he said. “I know.” And I admit, after our visit I found myself wondering if I have been missing out on something really cool. The adventures Tom told me about were unlike any I’d ever heard, and I liked his depth of courage and sheer gumption.

Tom started working on a fishing boat at a young age and the captain worked to his dying day, telling Tom, “…if I don’t wake up, this is where you go. Astoria is that way, due east.” The weather and the waves alone would have done me in (aside from my severe motion sickness), but the idea of riding beyond the site of land and having to get home again feels intimidating, especially for a young person.

I asked Tom, “Did that ever scare you?” and he shrugged. “Nah, fishermen, they knew what to do. Like when I showed up to Prince Rupert. I was on an eighteen and a half foot aluminum speedboat. I traveled from northeastern Vancouver Island where I was doing my native watchman program, a tourism operation. I went up to Prince Rupert (roughly 200 miles), and my family and friends were up there commercial fishing for salmon and they were like, ‘Oh, what boat are you on Tommy?’ [And when I told them] they said, ‘All the way from Village Island?! How long did it take you?’ Three days! I got weathered in one night so I had to stay in a bay. ‘What did you come up here for?’ To have a beer…with you guys. I think I’m also going to go to Ketchikan to grab an ice cream cone. I looked at the weather, and it was good so I went up, entered Alaska, went to the border patrol float, and checked in. The guy goes, ‘Where did you come from?’ I told him, and he goes, ‘In that?!’ Oh, yeah. I just want to go to the ice cream stand. I like these ice creams, and I think I’ll head back tomorrow.”

Tom told me this story at sunset as we walked along the beach on a rare sunny winter evening. I found myself wishing we could sit around a campfire and share some more stories as the sky grew dark and the stars came out. I was learning how Tom, a member of the Kwakwaka’wakw Tribe, takes life as it comes and does his best with what he has. He is a skilled storyteller, artist, and wilderness guide, and I wanted to hear more.

I also asked him about the best advice he’d ever been given and he said, “The most important thing I guess I ever was told as advice would be from my grandfather and other elders when I was young. I was nicknamed Dilton [Doiley], because like [the character] in the Archie comic books I used to read. I had glasses, I always had my head in a book, I was Tommy-ten-thousand-questions—How come? Where? Why?…What’s this? What’s that? When did this happen? So, I used to irritate people. But the elders picked up that I was a sponge, that I wanted to absorb knowledge. They would say: ‘Tommy, you remember this, boy,’ and they’d talk and they’d tell me stuff that they never told hardly anyone else— happenings that took place, legends, stories…and they would end it by saying, ‘You remember this, boy.’ And…that really resonated with me. When I went to Shonigan Lake Boys Private School in grade eight, a boarding school…I was introduced to their library, and…they’d give me a key, and when I opened up that locked room, it was filled with National Georgraphic [magazines]…and I absorbed every [one]. Then I went to Life magazines, I went to Popular Mechanics magazines, I went to the encyclopedia, and in two years, grade eight and nine, I probably read well over 60% of the library. I’ve always been like that, a sponge to absorb knowledge. Now I tell people, “Remember this, boy…I’m going to tell you a story.”

Tom has been on several shows, the most recent being American Sasquatch: Man, Myth or Monster. But he didn’t seem to mind that I was just a random stranger coming into his store. His willingness to share and be open about his life and experiences was a fun surprise. He told me about the Sasquatch legends of his native people, and about his own extreme wilderness survival experiences on water and land—one that lasted an entire year. How is it that he would trust me with his stories? I said to him, “What is it about a person that would make you want to trust them?” and he said, without hesitation, “What we’re doing right now.”

Then I asked, “What do you admire most in a person,” and he replied, “…You could be the most unethical, lying sloth, a slob with no scruples, but as long as you have bravery and strength, I admire that…because from the moment we wake up to the moment we go to sleep we are at battle with life. Sometimes the battles get very hostile, be it political, financial, emotional, you’re always in battle. So you have to have those around you that you can trust and honor. Like my workers, they honor and trust me…I tell them, I was a commercial fisherman for forty plus years, a captain for almost twenty years. You’re on my deck.” He mentioned one worker in particular, describing her as a firecracker. I asked, “Do you consider her to be brave?” He said, “Oh, she’s very brave! She stands up to me…She digs her toes in. ‘I don’t think we should do it that way, Tom! You said we have to discuss things, so we’re going to discuss it!’”

Tom has written his stories in Sasquatch Island Magazine. If you’d like to hear more about his adventures in his own words, you can start with volume 1 here.

Meeting someone like Tom inspires me to keep doing what I’m doing—listening to tales from the lives of unique, creative individuals, and writing a small piece of it down on ‘paper’. In this way I try to honor other’s good influence on my life and hope it inspires you to discover the history that surrounds you too.

RootsTech is around the corner. Sign up for an adventure of your own. Here are some classes from their recently released 2026 schedule that piqued my interest…

“From Clutter to Legacy: Organizing Photos to Tell Your Family Story.”

“Voices That Vanish: How to Capture Family Stories That Matter.”

“Got Old Negatives? Scan Them With Your Phone and These 5 (Mostly) Free Apps.”