Navajos Welcome a Californian in a Bear Suit

A significant sighting:

A 33-year-old California man in a giant teddy bear suit of his own creation is walking through Diné Bikéyah.

...To raise money – on GoFundMe – for multiple causes such as autism, cancer and the environment, Larios is walking from Los Angeles to Times Square in New York City.

Larios on July 29 arrived in Kinłání-Dook’o’oosłííd, where he visited the Museum of Northern Arizona. He dressed as a bear he named “Bearsun,” which has a padded head, round red cheeks, and a bobble tail.

...“Until he started entering Arizona, that’s when (Bearsun) really caught my eye,” said Laughter, who learned of Bearsun about three weeks ago. “When he got to Seligman and Williams, I said, ‘Oh my god! He’s pretty close!’

...Since then, Bearsun has stopped in several places, including Oatman, Kingman, Peach Springs, Seligman, Ash Fork and Williams, sharing photos of himself in the foreground of the famed Steam Engine No. 3759 at the Locomotive Park, walking down Route 66, on the Grand Canyon Skywalk at Eagle Point, visiting Bearizona and petting donkeys.

In Flagstaff, Bearsun learned about the tribes of the Colorado Plateau and posed next to the Hopi R2D2, a droid from the museum’s art exhibit “The Force is With Our People,” which reflects Star Wars themes such as endurance and rebellion. 

The museum staff also presented him with a Zuni shash fetish, which Larios said he accepted but didn’t know what to say about receiving an “awesome” Native gift of a “bear with a backpack,” meaning the medicine bundle tightly bound with sinew which symbolizes strength and healing. 

“And I have a backpack!” Bearsun exclaimed.