Monkey Beach

Nineteen-year-old Lisa (Lisamarie Michelle) Hill is concerned because her younger brother Jimmy has gone missing while on a fishing expedition. For two days, there has been no contact from Jimmy’s boat. Lisa and her family live in the village of Kitamaat in British Columbia, Canada, and are part of the Indigenous group called the Haisla. Lisa discusses the location of Kitamaat, explaining that “it really should be called Haisla” (5).

Lisa hears crows speaking in the Haisla language, stating the phrase La’es, meaning, “Go down to the bottom of the ocean” (1). Lisa’s parents, Gladys and Al, listen to the radio, hoping to hear news of Jimmy. Lisa’s mind wanders to childhood memories. She remembers a story her father told about a sasquatch or B’gwus, the “wild man of the woods” (7). According to her father, the sasquatch surprised a pair of hunters, and one was killed. After hearing the story, Jimmy wants to get pictures of the B’gwus and make money by selling them to a tabloid newspaper. He convinces his father to take the family to Monkey Beach, where the sasquatch story took place. Lisa’s Uncle Geordie and Aunt Edith join them.