The term “Coyote Pedagogy” appears to be an apt term to describe the role of Coyote within the novel. King uses Coyote as a means of conveying a number of important lessons; some I found to be more obvious than others and some that I likely have yet to realize. As much of the questions throughout this course have prompted me to do, I was compelled to do a little background research into the subject matter. A quick search of the role of the trickster within the stories of First Nations’ people led me on an interesting journey, to say the least. Although the role of the trickster seems to vary from story to story, it largely seems to embody a creator who, as Warn puts it, is ever-changing; a transformer. King uses Coyote as a transformer in Green Grass Running Water, I believe, to urge readers to consider stories from various perspectives. As we have been doing throughout the course, Coyote urges us to uncover different stories and narrative voices and, in doing so, allows us to interpret these stories in our own ways.
The role of Coyote is multifaceted. King’s descriptions of Coyote suggest that he is constantly questioning and transcending the boundaries of supposedly established knowledge. Coyote’s questions may be considered uncomfortable by those who are attached to the idea of knowledge as hierarchical and fixed. Consider the following quotation from King:
“There are no truths, Coyote,” I says. “Only stories.”
“Okay,” says Coyote. “Tell me a story.” (326)
What role is Coyote playing in the dialogue shared? My interpretation of the quote is that Coyote serves to help the reader question the frameworks that govern our daily lives. Truth, for example, is being questioned by King through Coyote’s inquisitive nature and the reader, in turn, is being urged to question the truth and the dominant narratives we come to accept as truths. In Green Grass Running Water, Coyote has a dream which takes an enlivened form and calls itself “God”. Coyote, however, refers to the self-proclaimed God as Dog upon seeing that Dog misinterprets the details of the creation stories being told by the nameless narrator of the tale. “Dog” represents the Colonial worldview; a perspective fixated on a singular conception of truth and knowledge. In Coyote’s engagement with this dream-come-to-life, the reader becomes wary of the problems of only being receptive to a singular interpretation and this reminded me of an earlier lesson in which one of the questions asked us to discuss some of the barriers we face in understanding first stories. Coyote’s role is to bring forth the complications of preconceived notions of truth and falsehoods and the oft-held perception that we can only subscribe to a singular conception of truth. Coyote goes beyond being a character and becomes, instead, the guideline you loosely follow in subversion of the hegemony and in pushing the established boundaries.
“A burning bush!” says Coyote.
“Where do you get these things?” I says.
“I read a book” says Coyote.
“Forget the book,” I says. “We’ve got a story to tell. And here’s how it goes.” (King 291)
Forget the book? What an impossible notion for those of us entrapped within western academic discourses! What is King trying to say!? In opting for the telling of an oral story and the “forgetting” of the book, King urges a reclamation of “alternative” voices that have been silenced within the discourses of the colonial encounter. Once again, I believe, Coyote’s encounters are being used to urge the uncovering of non-dominant narratives and to exhibit the relationship between First Nations’ resistance and colonial dominance and further, to not privilege one medium of storytelling over another.
Throughout my research, I happened upon an interesting read in which the author makes a statement that resonated with me: “Coyote, then, helps me to reflect and to gain understandings, challenging and comforting me just like a critical friend” (Archibald 7). As Archibald mentions, Coyote does not draw out understandings for the reader. These understandings are gained from critical reflection and it is up to the reader to uncover these. Do not fear boundaries, they have been created; ask questions and ask them often – that is what I learn from Coyote.
Works Cited
Archibald, Jo-Ann. “Indigenous Storywork.” UBC Press, 1 Jan. 2008. Web. 9 Mar. 2015.
Kallu, Shamina. “2.2 – Question 2.” Canada Muffled Voices and National Narratives. WordPress, 6 Feb. 2015. Web. 9 Mar. 2015.
Hi Shamina. I like your interpretation of Coyote, especially the part where you quote Coyote and the narrator on the book. Coyote acts like a bridge between many borders or boundaries that King sets up: the borders between styles of story telling, the borders between shapes (Coyote as a transformer), and the borders between students and teachers. Do you think that it is important for the teacher to be the ultimate source of information, or is it just as helpful for the teacher to be a student as they guide us through the lessons, as Coyote seems to do?
Hi Charlotte! Thanks for the thought-provoking comment. I am glad you enjoyed my interpretation of Coyote, so thank you for that comment as well. In my opinion, I do not think it is important or necessary or even desirable for a teacher to be the ultimate source of information. In some sense, I think this can actually be problematic. The role of the teacher is often conflated with impenetrable authority and the problem with this, I think, is evident in situations where the teacher’s narrative becomes privileged and we are caught, as we so often are, in a hierarchical and imbalanced power system. I do not believe anyone can be a perfect authority on anything and I think, for this reason, it is useful to acknowledge the importance of a symbiotic relationship between teacher and student, in which both parties will and should assume both roles to gain a more holistic understanding of whatever the subject may be. I hope that makes sense and answers your question! What about you, Charlotte?