Start ” So in the beginning [1] End: “Gha!”, said the Lone Ranger. … “Okay?” “Okay” at bottom of page [11]

Water- Water is a prominent part of Creation stories in cultures both modern and ancient. Tales from Mesopotamia, the Bible, India and even Norse legends feature water as a key component in the ‘beginning’ of life and our world (History World).

Coyote- Focus West notes that in North American Native literature and folklore, Coyote ‘is often referred to as a creator of “the world-as-it-is” (Focus West). Coyote is fond of thievery and trickery, singing and seduction. Coyote’s primary symbolic function is one of chaos and of being a transformer.

Dream/ eventually Dog- Dreams hold a great deal of symbolic power and significance within First Nations cultures. Dog spelled backwards is, of course, God. It is also worth noting that a dog is somewhat of a domesticated form of none other than a coyote.

Lionel- An Indigenous character, and quite an important one within the context of GGRW. Mother is Camelot, aunt is Norma.

Lone Ranger – A fictional, heroic cowboy who fought outlaws and for justice. An article from The Root notes that he may in fact have been based off the life and adventures of an African- American man named Bass Reeves. Lone Ranger history chronicler Art T. Burton wrote, ‘Had Reeves been a white lawman it is quite possible he would have been as popular as any ever written about during the late 19th century’ (The Root).

Hawkeye – A name and character that has been used in James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans. Described as ‘an experienced, independent, astute man, who knows the wilderness like the back of his hand’ (Novel Guide).

Robinson Crusoe – A name and character used in eponymous novel, Robinson Crusoe. Described as an ‘intrepid hero, who draws on reserves of ingenuity and bravery to survive incredibly against the whims of nature and fate’ (Lit Charts). Also worth noting is Crusoe’s gravitation towards and subsequent dependence on Christianity as a means of coping with his plight.

Ishmael – A name and character used in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. Also a personage in the Old Testament of the Bible. 

Works Cited

“Coyote as Literary Symbol.” Focus West. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 July 2015.

Jr., Henry Louis Gates. “Was the Lone Ranger Black?” The Root. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 July 2015.

“The Last of The Mohicans: Character Profiles.” Novel Guide. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 July 2015.

“Robinson Crusoe: Characters.” LitCharts. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 July 2015.

Zavada, Jack. “Ishmael – First Son of Abraham.” About Religion. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 July 2015.

‘Coyote pedagogy requires training in illegal border-crossing’ (131). This is the line from Margery Fee and Jane Flick’s piece ‘Coyote Pedagogy: Knowing Where the Borders Are in Thomas King’s Green Grass, Running Water’ that stood out most to me. What this sentence means to me is that Coyote, one of the central characters in GGRW, enlightens readers through the use of tactics that break down the boundaries of what they believe, or think they do. I felt that Coyote’s quirky way of almost challenging the narrator and of halting the flow of the story was a refreshing change. As an English Literature major, I have become accustomed to reading seamlessly narrated and/or organized works- I am comfortable with what is predictable, at least in terms of the way a narrative unfolds. GGRW challenged this by not only featuring two equally important storylines, but also by making Coyote feature prominently in both of them.

I found Coyote charming. I felt that his frequent interruptions of the narrator and his seemingly incessant stream of questions were meant to emulate the manner in which a curious and even precocious reader would be responding to the narrator’s storytelling. What I mean by this is that I felt as though my internal monologue, were I in Coyote’s place, would be similar to Coyote’s external comments and queries.

Additionally, I felt that Coyote (and many of the other personages in GGRW) were instrumental not only in the crossing of narrative boundaries, but also in the breaking down of cultural and ethnic borders. Green Grass, Running Water is a story that is rich in both Indigenous and Euro- Canadian trivia and pieces of knowledge, and this cross- border

What I found to be the central lesson attached to the character of Coyote was this: Active dreams/ imagination, a willingness to learn and a breathless curiosity are essential when reading or listening to a story. Coyote definitely embodies these traits; he is, after all, a breaker and traverser of borders and boundaries.

Works Cited

Fee, Margery, and Jane Flick. “‘Coyote Pedagogy: Knowing Where the Borders Are in Thomas King’s Green Grass, Running Water'” Canadian Literature 161 (1999): n. pag. CanLit. Web. 1 July 2015.