“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.

First Impressions: The Paper

When I first read the story of the paper, I was immediately taken back to the UK. More specifically, going to university in the UK made me see just how inconvenient their fervent love of paperwork is. Nothing is real unless it goes through a group of third-party white collars with a rubber stamp. Work took 3 months to be handed back, and sometimes it would be marked by some person you’ve never even met. Sometimes, you couldn’t take the courses you need because it didn’t follow the Order of the Paper, and you certainly couldn’t drop courses because it’s already in ink.

I don’t know if this was just my school, but it was just a really weird experience. The fact that all my work were marked anonymously created a barrier between teacher and student. All the extraneous parties involved created a huge, impersonal gulf.

The Paper that Coyote the Younger stole signified a contract or even law. By coveting, prizing, and moving something so permanent as a legal document, Coyote the Younger has devalued anything that is mutable. Which is to say that everything can only be Black and White. Further, things can only have one side: the side most preferable to the party that possesses the white Paper.

“Although the Boasians had recorded hundreds of Aboriginal oral narratives, they had limited themselves to a single genre: the so-called “legends,” “folk-tales,” and myths set in prehistorical times” (Wickwire 22). In a way, this claim is a bit like the children of Coyote the Younger returning the Paper. There is a feeling of good intentions, but such an ignorance of Coyote the Elder’s culture that it seems to do more harm than good.

Paper is really one of the most powerful tools in our society. It allows a permanent record of events as told often by a single writer, reaching out to a readership of numbers. The ideas that the holder of the Paper gets to spread have huge impacts, but those without the Paper are left with ever-changing ideas that gets passed along, altering a little every time, to a small audience of willing listeners.

The Coyotes

The separation of the two Coyote brothers is a really interesting concept to consider. The fact that they were twins considers the notion that they are same on the surface, but different at heart. The general attitude between the Indian and the White Man seems to be that we are all human beings, yet They are so different, They cannot possibly be from the same stock as Us.

And yet, there is a familial bond too. In family, there is always forgiveness. Despite Coyote the Younger’s selfishness, Coyote the Elder seeks to make peace between the two. The story of the Black and White reveals a time when forgiveness and harmony is a real possibility if not for the English King’s insincerity.

However, the relationship between the descendents of the two brothers are not black and white. Like Robinson says in his stories, the Black and White was not a reflection of the law. Rather, it’s more of a reflection of the difference between the natives and the settlers. A quick crash course in US History will show how complicated the relationship really is.

The bottom line is: there can be no harmony between the two Coyotes. While the two different groups began as brothers, the deception and insincerity is passed on through generations. The queen’s promise to the Coyote’s children is locked up and set aside to make it as difficult as possible to achieve equality.

Strangely enough, I don’t read bitterness in Robinson’s story. Rather, there is sadness, helplessness, and resignation when he says, “That’s the way it was nowadays” (Wickwire 85). Perhaps if the Paper was available to all, and not held above our heads, we could form a mutually beneficial relationship with each other. Perhaps if we corrected Coyote the Younger’s mistake rather than trying to cover it up, we can all exist in harmony.

Works Cited

“Ass Coverage.” Mimi and Eunice. 24 June 2011. Web. 8 Feb. 2015.

“The Natives and the English – Crash Course US History #3.” YouTube. YouTube, 14 Feb. 2013. Web. 8 Feb. 2015

Paperwork. 2011. Mimi and Eunice. By Nina Paley.

“This Land Is Mine.” Vimeo. 1 Oct. 2012. Web. 8 Feb. 2015.

Robinson, Harry, and Wendy C. Wickwire.Living by Stories: A Journey of Landscape and Memory. Vancouver: Talon, 2005. Print.