The Skinwalker

In the Najavo Language, yee naaldlooshii translates to "by means of it, it goes on all fours". While perhaps the most common variety seen in horror fiction by non-Navajo people, the yee naaldlooshii is one of several varieties of skin-walkers in Navajo culture; specifically, they are a type of 'ánti'įhnii.Navajo witches, including skin-walkers, represent the antithesis of Navajo cultural values. While community healers and cultural workers are known as medicine men and women, or by other positive terms in the community's Indigenous language, witches are seen as evil, performing harmful ceremonies and manipulative magic in a perversion of the good works medicine people traditionally perform. In order to practice their good works, traditional healers may learn about both good and evil magic, in order to protect against evil. But people who choose to become witches are seen as corrupt.The legend of the skin-walkers is not well understood outside of Navajo culture, both due to reluctance to discuss the subject with outsiders, as well as what Cherokee Nation academic Adrienne Keene says is a lack of the necessary cultural context the stories are embedded within. Traditional Navajo people are reluctant to reveal skin-walker lore to non-Navajos, or to discuss it at all among those they do not trust. Keene, founder of the website Native Appropriations, has written in response to non-Navajos incorporating the legends into their writing(influenced by a couple of writers) that when this is done, "We as Native people are now opened up to a barrage of questions about these beliefs and traditions ... but these are not things that need or should be discussed by outsiders. At all. I'm sorry if that seems 'unfair', but that's how our cultures survive."

Animals associated with witchcraft usually include tricksters such as the coyote, however, it may include other creatures, usually those associated with death or bad omens.  They might also possess living animals or people and walk around in their bodies. Skin-walkers may be male or female. Skin-walker stories told among Navajo children may be complete life and death struggles that end in either skin-walker or Navajo killing the other, or partial encounter stories that end in a stalemate. Encounter stories may be composed as Navajo victory stories, with the skin-walkers approaching a hogan and being scared away.Non-Native interpretations of skin-walker stories typically take the form of partial encounter stories on the road, where the protagonist is temporarily vulnerable, but then escapes from the skin-walker in a way not traditionally seen in Navajo stories. Sometimes Navajo children take European folk stories and substitute skin-walkers for generic killers like The Hook. 

The Skinwalker Ranch

Skinwalker Ranch, also known as Sherman Ranch, is a property of approximately 512 acres located southeast of Ballard, Utah, that is reputed to be the site of paranormal and UFO-related activities.Its name is taken from the skin-walker of Navajo legend concerning vengeful shamans. 

Background
UFO reports in the Uintah Basin were publicized in the 1970s.Claims about the ranch first appeared in 1996 in the Salt Lake City, Utah, Deseret News and later in the alternative weekly Las Vegas Mercury as a series of articles by investigative journalist George Knapp. These early stories detailed the claims of a family that allegedly experienced inexplicable and frightening events after they purchased and occupied the property.
The ranch, located in west Uintah County bordering the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation, was popularly dubbed the UFO ranch due to its ostensible 50-year history of odd events said to have taken place there. According to Kelleher and Knapp, they saw or investigated evidence of close to 100 incidents that include vanishing and mutilated cattle, sightings of unidentified flying objects or orbs, large animals with piercing red eyes that they say were unscathed when struck by bullets, and invisible objects emitting destructive magnetic fields. Among those involved were retired US Army Colonel John B. Alexander, who characterized the NIDSci effort as an attempt to get hard data using a "standard scientific approach". However, the investigators admitted to "difficulty obtaining evidence consistent with scientific publication".
Cattle mutilations have been part of the folklore of the surrounding area for decades. When Robert Bigelow, founder of the National Institute for Discovery Science, purchased the ranch for $200,000 in 1996, this was reportedly the result of his having been convinced by the stories of mutilations, that included tales of strange lights and unusual impressions made in grass and soil told by the family of former ranch owner Terry Sherman.

But maybe that's enough, since we all know this already, especially from wikipedia and TV shows. Native Americans always have fascinating stories, and we love them because they are full of mysteries and dressed up in a mystical guise, like the skinwalker legend. Who believes in it and who does not should be decided by everyone.The ACCRD was created to resurface these stories, to record them, to share their opinions with the world and to listen to the opinions of others about cryptid beings and their associated stories.

Now let's look at some skinwalker stories.

I think everyone knows the story of the Sherman family. The ranch was a lot of phenomena that kept the family in fear, and to this day ordinary people and researchers are preoccupied with what is now called the skinwalker ranch. The strange lights in the sky and the circles in the pasture are nothing compared to what Terry Sherman encountered one night. He said he saw a creature at the ranch that looked like a wolf but was much larger than average.Terry tried to shoot the animal, but the bullets didn't catch him, and then the strange animal suddenly disappeared into nothingness, almost disappearing into a fog. We think about it, it must have been a skinwalker, because what animal could just disappear like that in no time? or was Terry just his imagination? I don't think so. Must there have been something there that night, maybe a wolf that grew bigger than its companions? But this, unfortunately, does not explain the other phenomena.We believe that if these things hadn't happened, Terry certainly wouldn't have sold the ranch within two years.  

Now let's talk a little about Robert Bigelow and NIDSCI. He founded NIDSCI (National Institute for Discovery Science) in 1995 to fund his research into UFOs and paranormal phenomena.He was the one who bought the Shermans' wrinkle in 1996. For the eccentric millionaire, it was like a playground, but even a lot of expensive audio and visual equipment couldn't prove the phenomena that haunted the ranch, we're talking about the same phenomena that the Shermans experienced, or if Bigelow found some world-changing evidence at the time, he might have kept it to himself.  NIDSCI could only report the same reports as Sherman's, although one story about a mutilated cattle being found on the ranch, including one that had been killed in broad daylight, raised some questions, especially since the animal had been seen alive an hour before, and that the cow was not only mutilated, but completely lacked blood. This is a bit like chupacabra stories, where the animals lacked blood or are the two one and the same? or is Chupacabra just a skinwalker?NIDSC stories definitely add to the mystery of the skinwalker, but after years of research and millions in funding, we never got answers to our questions unless we really have the answers, but they don't want or can't tell it.NIDSC disbanded in 2004, but retained ownership of the property until 2016. Then the ranch has a new owner again, who is also researching the same paranormal phenomena there as Bigelow did before. The ranch is carefully closed to prying eyes and distracts anyone who comes near it. But if you think about it, it can also be some kind of proof that something is there and will be.   

However, I would like to add a few more thoughts to this whole thing, the fact is that we know little about the world around us, and in the absence of evidence it is difficult to establish anything whether it is true or not true. But that's what makes these legends and stories so good and exciting that we don't know, believe or don't believe in. However, every story like this has its foundations. There are a lot of videos on the internet that are either carefully designed and played, or created with various assistant apps, but there may be some that are real recordings, unfortunately they are difficult to determine.But to mention the Native Americans, the Navajo, their culture, they should be respected for their great stories, and for trusting us to share with us.
 

Jennifer