“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 first response 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.

 

In reading the story about how Coyote’s twin brother was banished from the land he called home because of his wrongdoing, my first reaction was that that the punishment seemed too extreme for for a crime as small as stealing. It also struck me that the two forefathers, one of the Indians and one of the Europeans, started out in the same place, as brothers. Then, because of a poor choice, the “white twin,” who was the forefather of the Europeans, was banished – while the “black twin”, forefather of the Indians, would stay to take care of and cultivate the land.

 

I found this particularly interesting, as this paints a picture of unity in the beginning between the two brothers. I find the fact that they were twins particularly meaningful, as it showed me how closely the two were related – and thus it had a more significant impact when Coyote’s brother was banished from the land because he first sinned.

 

It seemed to me like the only person in the wrong in the beginning was Coyote’s brother, which suggests to me that the story is partially biased toward Coyote. Then, when Coyote’s brother, the forefather of the Europeans, was to come back to “reveal the contents of the written document,” it suggested to me that he was now forgiven, and was able to return to his original home with his newfound knowledge and all of his European descendents. Meanwhile, Coyote would have cultivated the land they both called home, and he and his descendents, the Indians, would understandably lay claim to the land.

 

Regarding the stolen piece of paper specifically, it suggests to me that the Europeans first took something that did not belong to them, left with it to a ‘distant land,’ and then, using the information within the paper, took it and built upon it newfound knowledge that they would acquire in the new lands. A question also came to mind upon reading this story: why would Coyote’s brother return home? Once banished, he would be able to start a new life and experience new things – and yet, he chose to return. Regarding this, I believe it emphasizes the basic human desire to maintain bonds to things that we find familiar: we are essentially curious about the unknown, but regardless of what we look like or where we are from, all humans seek to return to a place to call their home.