2:4 – Spoken Word to Written Word

“If Europeans were not from the land of the dead, or the sky, alternative explanations which were consistent with indigenous cosmologies quickly developed” (“First Contact”43). Robinson gives us one of those alternative explanations in his stories about how Coyote’s twin brother stole the “written document” and when he denied stealing the paper, he was “banished to a distant land across a large body of water” (9). We are going to return to this story, but for now – what is your firstresponse to this story? In context with our course theme of investigating intersections where story and literature meet, what do you make of this stolen piece of paper? This is an open-ended question and you should feel free to explore your first thoughts.

Before I started reading the story of Coyote, his twin brother and the stealing of the written document, I first associated the stealing of the document with the banishment. I did not think about the effect of the younger twin brother denying that he had stolen the document. When I think about stealing and lying, I think of stealing as the greater evil. In this story, however, lying is presented as the greater evil. Perhaps if the younger twin had come clean about what he had done maybe he wouldn’t have been banished and maybe the world wouldn’t be the way it ended up being.

I think that so much of the importance of this story is emphasized in the lead up to it and through the way it is presented by Harry Robinson. His telling of stories is intriguing because unlike stories written down on paper, his are described by the narrator as including “detail, dialogue and colour” (Robinson 8). I think this emphasis on spoken stories is crucial because it is from the way in which Harry speaks that we can better understand the implications and truth in the stories he tells. I really enjoyed the descriptions of Harry Robinson as he was telling the story of the twin brothers. The narrator describes him saying “Harry sat upright, cleared his throat and began telling the story,” and the narrator frames this as a familiar pattern of Harry’s (Robinson 9). I enjoyed this set up to the story because I think it signifies how important stories are to the people who tell them and gives a view to stories that is perhaps different than the view in our world today.

Exploring my thoughts on this story further, I think the stolen piece of paper represents so much more than just paper. I think it represents the act of lying and betrayal, the significance of disregarding warnings, and the problems that arise from literature. The stolen piece of paper is represented as something significant as it is concealed by the descendants of the younger twin.

To me, the piece of paper also represents the problem with historical literature in that pretends to be able to reveal what happened in the past, but instead it has a lot of holes. I initially started thinking about this when the narrator talked about reading print versions of stories that they described as “lifeless” and missing crucial parts. However, the narrator thinks that reading as much as they can, will help them prepare for their next meeting with Harry. I think this is interesting because this idea of being prepared about something that is misrepresented in history shows that literature is still something that is valued even if it leaves things out or makes mistakes. While thinking about this I came up with the question that perhaps if we do not have access to oral history and the truth, then written history is what we turn to? But in coming up with this question, I think that if we only rely on written history than we completely miss the point of stories, their origins, and the truth lost in the translation of spoken words to written words.

I wanted to learn more about the symbolism of Coyote and I came across a short film called Meet Coyote, an Aboriginal “Legend.” Coyote is described as many things including: a base, a legend that governs a perception of the world, a trickster, a healer, a fixer, and a being that created a safe place for humans and animals to coexist. Listening to different stories of Coyote and learning about the tradition and spirituality behind him was an exceptional experience for me.    

An interesting article that discusses Harry Robinson’s stories and where literacy stands in relation to orality is “Orality about Literacy: The ‘Black and White’ of Salish History,” by Keith Thor Carlson. I did not read this article until after gathering my initial thoughts on the story of the twins, but I really like the article’s description of literacy as sitting “at the centre of the Salish world and outside of it” (Carlson 44). Literacy is further described as challenging orality and ideas of self, but it is also emphasized as something that is needed to restore balance (Carlson 44). Further on in the article, I was drawn to a description of historical accuracy as being based on memory (Carlson 57). I was drawn to this because I think that our memories are what allow us to continue to tell stories of our past experiences, but sometimes we cannot remember every tiny detail. This part of the article points out the dangers of telling and listening to historical stories that are incorrect or have missing information. I found this all intriguing to read about because it reminded me of our earlier lesson about stories and how once a story is told it cannot be taken back.

Works Cited:

Carlson, Keith Thor. “Orality about Literacy: The ‘Black and White’ of Salish History.” Orality about Literacy: 43-64. University of Toronto Press Incorporated 2011, 2011, http://web.uvic.ca/vv/stolo/2015/Orailty%20and%20Literacy%20K%20Carlson%20Chapter.pdf. Accessed 7 Oct 2016.

“Meet Coyote, an Aboriginal “Legend” – Aboriginal Tourism BC.” Aboriginal Tourism BC. 28 July 2015, https://www.aboriginalbc.com/blog/meet-coyote-an-aboriginal-legend/. Accessed 7 Oct 2016.

Robinson, Harry. “Introduction.” Living By Stories: A Journey of Landscape and Memory. Comp. Wendy C. Wickwire. Ed. Wendy C. Wickwire. Vancouver: Talon, 2005. 7-30. Print.