Clark, Ella E. “Northwest Indian Coyote Tales.” Northwest Review, Vol. 6, Num. 3, Summer 1963 pp. 21 – 36. https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/docview/1299904322?accountid=14656&pq-origsite=summon&imgSeq=1. Accessed April 7, 2021.
A decent source for tales about Coyote and his adventures is Ella E. Clark’s “Northwest Indian Coyote Tales.” Clark, during her lifetime, actively sought out storytellers in order to record traditional oral stories, such as the ones told in “Northwest Indian Coyote Tales,” in order to make them more accessible to the general public. The written form of these Coyote tales is prefaced by Clark, who explains the various roles Coyote takes on, such as the “trickster, tribal progenitor, shape-shifter, culture hero, Creator” (Clark 21) or a combination of these. The first three tales come from the Flathead of Salish Indian tribe and were recounted by Pierre Pichette. These three tales are very specific to the region and make mention of notable landmarks and regions that hold meaning to those familiar with the region. In the first tale, Coyote is depicted as an authoritative figure that even the mighty Chief Grizzly Bear is weary of. This tale also combines Coyote’s trickster ways with being a hero, as through his tricks, Coyote kills the frightening Grizzly Bear chieftain, allowing the tribe to choose a new chief – Golden Eagle – one who is much more agreeable than the previous one. The second tale seems to do away with the trickster antics of Coyote, who is instead a prophesying, authoritative figure who garners respect from those who would listen. The final Flathead Indian tale on Coyote again has him as a prophet of times to come. However, in this instance, Coyote seems to be the one who is tricked by Rabbit who has given him too much power over the animals through teaching him and his sons a song. This power song leads to the deaths of four of Coyote’s children, who perform the song in order to bring animals to the forest for them to hunt. Coyote, however, will not be outdone, as he has another four of his children protect him while he himself performs the spirit song, summoning the animals of the forest, allowing him to take his revenge. The final Coyote tale is told by Lake Indian, Jerome Quill, and is perhaps a more familiar version of Coyote to those taking ENGL 372. This version of Coyote is boastful, and susceptible to the tricks of Magpie and Turtle. Readers are also introduced to Fox, an important character alongside Coyote, who has the ability to resurrect him by jumping over him three times (Clark 23 & 33).
Elliot, Michael A. “Coyote Comes to the Norton : Indigenous Oral Narrative and American Literary History.” American Literature, Vol. 75, Num. 4, December 2003, pp. 723 – 749. DOI: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/51005. Accessed April 5, 2021.
Michael Elliot, dean of Emory College of Arts and Sciences, analyzes the mythological trickster, Coyote, from North American Indigenous storytelling in his article titled “Coyote Comes to the Norton: Indigenous Oral Narrative and American Literary History.” As the title of Elliot’s article explains, the article itself is focused on the addition of Native American storytelling, in particular the story of “Coyote – Hist Myth” (Elliot 723), that was added into the fifth addition of The Norton Anthology of American Literature. The article further explains how while the addition of Indigenous stories to the Norton is an important step, the stories themselves lack the original orality nuances, and therefore, the message and moral of the stories may be lost on those not fluent in Native American Literature studies. Newer translations of “Coyote – His Myth,” as the first rendition of the text is found in Franz Boas Chinook Texts, have attempted to rearrange the text in order to mimic what they think the original storyteller told the story, such rewrites cannot be made canonical as the translators were never able to hear the story told as it should. Other issues that arise in the case of “Coyote – His Myth” is the fact that there is a lot of repetition in the story itself. Elliot explains that while the repetitive nature of the text may appear “dull to some readers” (Elliot 737), by removing or summarizing this feature, the text itself loses a function of the story itself. While Coyote is one well known mythological trickster, he is by far from the last, as many Native American tribes have these “transformative and . . . comic character[s]” (Elliot 724). It is through the humor and comedic value of these trickster characters “produce simultaneous laughter, practical instruction, and perhaps even moral education” (Elliot 734).
Lawson, Angelica. “Coyote’s Way: Missy Whiteman’s Indigenous New Media” Studies in American Indian Literatures , Vol. 29, No. 1, Digital Indigenous Studies: Gender, Genre, and New Media. Spring 2017
Angelica Lawson at the time of publication was an assistant professor at the University of Colorado in the Departments of Film and Ethnic Studies. In her paper, Lawson unpacks how new media allows for better self-representation and complete control of artistic productions for Indigenous creators. Lawson focuses her topics on her own personal experiences as well as looking into Missy Whiteman, an Indigenous Director, Writer, and Producer. Throughout the essay Lawson focuses on Whiteman’s contributions to “Indigenous media sovereignty” and the importance of addressing Native media representation.
Lawson’s paper points towards how Indigenous creators are taking back control of their cultural narratives to tell their stories. Many sections of this text will aid in our research understanding of how and why folk narratives like Coyote have continued to grow and change to represent cultural importance in Indigenous narratives. So many Indigenous artists and creators are reclaiming their cultural narratives to explore the complexities of colonization and their heritage through modern storytelling. Recently, a new Table Top Role Playing game has emerged to present a world where colonization never happened in America. Connor Alexander, creator of Coyote & Crow, created this game to create a space for Indigenous peoples to explore their stories without the entanglement of colonization. I believe that through our continued research on Coyote and its use throughout varying narratives we will continue to see this trend of reclamation amongst Indigenous storytellers and their stories.
Miller,Jackson B. “Coyote’s Tale on the Old Oregon Trail: Challenging Cultural Memory through Narrative at the Tama ́stslikt Cultural Institute”(2005) Journal of Text and Performance Quarterly, Vol.25, No.3, August,19, 2006
Jackson B. Miller is the Chair of the Department of Theatre and Communication Arts and a Professor of Communication Arts at the Linfield University, McMinnville, Oregon, United States. With a primary focus in Performance Theory and Methodology, Communication and Cultural Identity, Nonverbal Communication and Oral History. Miller focus the article around the narrative presentation of storytelling in Indigenous mythology, by closely examining the representation Coyote.
Miller points to the role played by Coyote to represent the voice and experiences of the entire Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla tribe in his existence. Formulating a dialogue between the visitors and the storytellers, through Coyote as a trickster. Miller focuses on this depiction of Coyote as it allows for him to cross a series of boundaries in the hopes of preserving the stories as well as depicting a voice both for and about the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla tribes. Miller takes a look at the performative aspects of Coyote, and the Theatre of the storytelling, in the differing tales.
Ridington, Robin “Coyote’s Cannon: Sharing Stories with Thomas King” Journal of American Indian Quarterly, Vol. 22, No. 3, Summer, 1998
Robin Ridington is an Anthropologist, with a focus on Indigenous cosmology, tribal history, and the Anthropology of the arts, poetics and narration. He is a professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia, with the department of Anthropology. In his 1998 article, Ridington focuses on the difference between Indigenous theorization and non-Indigenous theorization done by scholars, with an emphasis on the contrasting presentation of dialogue versus monologue.
Ridington, focuses on Thomas King’s novel, Green Grass, Running Water as it presents North American literature, literary theory, history, and popular culture through the images and genres of Indigenous oral traditions. By examining the conversations being had between non-indigenous texts alongside King’s Green Grass, Running Water. As well as the flexibility of Coyote as the character can take on many names and roles to serve the morals of the story.
Stolte, Gretchen. “Heart of the Monster: Knowledge between Land, Story and Monsters.” Journal of Australian Studies, vol. 44, no. 2, 04/02/2020
Dr. Gretchen Stolte is a Foundation Research Fellow at the Anthropology and Sociology Department at the University of Western Australia and the Berndt Museum. Her area of study primarily focuses on the material culture of Indigenous peoples, both in North American and Australia. In her paper Stolte stresses the importance of the individual experience of knowledge when it comes to Indigenous narratives and stories.
Stolte focuses on the Nez Perce creation story of “Coyote and the Monster of Kamiah”. Throughout the paper, Stolte relays the connections of this story to the land, the language as well as the ties between ancestral stories and modern understanding.
The paper showcases not only another alternative retelling of Coyote and their connection to the Creation myth, but also provides important points as to why we have experienced so many iterations of these stories.
“Coyote, the Trickster | Okanagan College.” Okannagan College, www.okanagan.bc.ca/story/coyote-the-trickster. Accessed 11 Apr. 2021.
King, Thomas. “Green Grass, Running Water.” CBC, 21 Feb. 2017, www.cbc.ca/books/green-grass-running-water-1.3992352.
Ravenheart, Jules. “More than Just a Trickster: The Many Faces of the Coyote.” Fractal Enlightenment, 18 Jan. 2018, fractalenlightenment.com/40732/culture/just-trickster-many-faces-coyote.
“A Quarterly of Criticism and Review.” Canadian Literature, canlit.ca/tricksters-on-stage-contemporary-first-nations-theater-and-drama-in-canada. Accessed 11 Apr. 2021.
An interesting take on Coyote’s role as a trickster is in the introduction done by Crash course Mythology, and PBS’s telling of Hopi Origins Story, (Both videos are linked below) I think its interesting to see the oral explanation and visual presentations of the characters in modern times as it plays with the ideas Jackson B.Miller points to in the performative aspect of Coyotes story.
I have linked a few of the other oral tellings of Coyotes tales below as they are done by Indigenous persons. As one is presented by Navajo Traditional Teachings and the other is a TED talk by Larry Cesspooch.
The Navajo Traditional Teachings channel covers series of Coyote’s Tales and presents them in the oral tradition the tales are commonly experienced through.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D53yGnJwjT0 – The PBS story
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D53yGnJwjT0 -The video by crash Course
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gv201ILHXhc – Larry Cesspooch TED talk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTAfvAvz8a0 – Navajo Traditional Teachings telling of the first Coyote Story
It goes to show that there are as many oral and visual tellings of Coyotes Story as there are stories about Coyote. specially as the pairing of Coyote and the Raven are the focus of Stephanie Westlund’s article which focuses on Peter Cole’s collection of stories, to understand identity, colonization and storytelling.
Stephanie Westlund (2008) Coyote and Raven Go Canoeing: Coming Home to the Village, Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education, 2:4, 311-313, DOI: 10.1080/15595690802352689
Coyote’s role in Indigenous mythology is a vast and interesting one. Through my research, I looked at a few myths that were very specific in their locale – specific landmarks are mentioned that have meaning only to those who know the locations. It is fascinating the number of tribes that Coyote’s myths are present in, as you named three more from Jackson B. Miller’s article. I am curious, does Miller recount any myths dealing with Coyote from the Cayuse, Umatilla, or Walla Walla tribes in his article? In my own research, the character of Coyote changes quite drastically from the Flathead or Salish tribe to the Lake Indian. Pierre Pichette’s three tales, from Flathead origin, has Coyote as a more authoritative figure, while Lake Indian Jerome Quill is a more amusing tale that sees Coyote being tricked by Magpie and Turtle. It is interesting that even just in the Northwest Indian tribes, the depiction of Coyote can change somewhat drastically.
I totally agree that it is amazing to see the different variations of Coyote across the different tribes. It makes me think of how we can have the classic story of Sleeping Beauty for example. Most of us are familiar with the Disney version, and then usually the Grimm brothers version as well, but there are similar stories from within Europe that have varying retellings even though the character of “Sleeping Beauty” is essentially the same. It’s interesting how easily most people assume that all Indigenous narratives are the same, even though it has been proven time and time again that they are not.
I cannot help but think of broadcasters such as CBC and the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) when I read the annotation on Angelica Lawson’s article. Throughout this course, we as a class have read or watched videos on novels or authors, i.e. Thomas King’s Massey Lectures, on the CBC.ca/ideas website. While in a previous course, I have watched Indigenous produced and directed documentaries on life on the reserves on NFB. Both these broadcasters have wide varieties of Indigenous made content free for viewing to those with access to the internet that allow Indigenous creators to have the complete control you mention. Beyond film making, authors, such as Eden Robinson, who wrote the Son of a Trickster book series, is another prime example of how Indigenous people are taking control of cultural narratives. Son of a Trickster is a fantastic representation of how the Indigenous Trickster is a character that is able to be adapted to even modern settings. While I personally recommend the CBCs Trickster show – it is full of Indigenous Canadian actors who portray the characters of the book wonderfully – I do recognize that the recent scandal surrounding the director may prove to be a little off-putting for some audiences. After conducting my own research on Coyote and his many adaptations, I look forward to how new media will push the character into new roles as performed by Indigenous storytellers.
The perspective of Lawrence is extremely interesting given her background, as I have found the visual and oral telling of Coyotes tales to effect the story greatly and change the language of the story, without effecting the narrative. I wonder if perhaps the new media coverage of Coyote can be perceived as a new culture, taking on the ancient story. Lawson’s point towards how Indigenous creators are taking back control of their cultural narratives to tell their stories, reminds me of the article written by Sarah Francis, The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative (Thomas King, 2008). where she focuses on Kings ability to tell five stories about coyote. Francis covers Kings belief that Indigenous writers are telling indigenous stories, and the concept of Indigenous identity. Though she points to King as the focus of her research I did find some similarities between her work and Lawson.
Francis, S. (2019). The truth about stories: A native narrative (thomas king, 2008). Antistasis, 9(1), 176-185. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/trade-journals/truth-about-stories-native-narrative-thomas-king/docview/2309751317/se-2?accountid=14656
Elliots Focus on repetition is extremely interesting as It provided a new definition for understanding Coyote. It Provides a definition to the experience of Coyote, being seen in the role of the Trickster through a majority of stories. The deeper dive into the role of the trickster is specially important. I think Elliots research helps to further the understanding of Coyote. Elliots works also pushes me to think of how there is the repetition in the oral manner Coyotes tale is traditionally presented. It’s also interesting to see the mention of other trickster figures in myth and lores and perhaps the connection they share with Coyote. The change in perspective of Coyote called for a great deal of reflection and it allowed for me to reflect on all the social presentations of Coyote like figures and the connection between all comic relief characters.
As you mentioned, I also think there is great significance in acknowledging the oral traditions of Coyote. Repetition in this kind of storytelling has come up across various authors including Thomas King and his novel, Green Grass Running Water. As with many cultures, storytelling isn’t just beholden to print, but can come through various methods, even dance. I found these two amazing TedTalk videos that discuss Hoop Dancing, and the importance of the circular nature of life throughout many Indigenous cultures. This might be something interesting to keep in mind as we all continue our research, I have found it very fascinating to learn about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niRs_VIqzYU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaZbaPQnXE0