by K. L. Nichols

  In the Native American oral tradition, the vulgar but sacred Trickster assumes many forms.  He can be Old-Man Coyote among the Crow tribes, Raven in northwestern Indian lore, or, more generically, "The Tricky One" (such as Wakdjunkaga among the Winnebago or Manabozho among the Menomini), to mention just a few of his manifestations.

Coyote and the Monster

         A long, long time ago, people did not yet inhabit the earth. A monster walked upon the land, eating all the animals--except Coyote. Coyote was angry that his friends were gone. He climbed the tallest mountain and attached himself to the top. Coyote called upon the monster, challenging it to try to eat him. The monster sucked in the air, hoping to pull in Coyote with its powerful breath, but the ropes were too strong. The monster tried many other ways to blow Coyote off the mountain, but it was no use.
         Realizing that Coyote was sly and clever, the monster thought of a new plan. It would befriend Coyote and invite him to stay in its home. Before the visit began, Coyote said that he wanted to visit his friends and asked if he could enter the monster's stomach to see them. The monster allowed this, and Coyote cut out its heart and set fire to its insides. His friends were freed.
         Then Coyote decided to make a new animal. He flung pieces of the monster in the four directions; wherever the pieces landed, a new tribe of Indians emerged. He ran out of body parts before he could create a new human animal on the site where the monster had lain. He used the monster's blood, which was still on his hands, to create the Nez Percé, who would be strong and good.

Whatever else he may be, Trickster is also a SURVIVOR who uses his wits and instincts to adapt to the changing times. He still appears in many guises in modern Native American literature, sometimes as the trickster outwitting the whites or as the shaman-artist in Gerald Vizenor's post-modern hybrid world of native lore and contemporary technology.

Coyote Makes People

Coyote made the world and all the animals and birds that lived in it.

When he had finished he said to himself "Now I will wander around and admire my good work."
He was amazed at the beautiful things he had created.
The shimmering lakes, high mountains shrouded in mist and broad sweeping plains covered in lush grass.
He saw the eagle gliding gracefully, high in the sky.
He watched the powerful grizzly bear lumbering through the forest and laughed at the playful antics of the otters as they splashed about in their river home.
After a few months Coyote decide that one more thing was needed.
"Hey Baldy!" he shouted to Eagle as he glided by. "Call all the animals and other birds to a meeting. I have something big to announce!"
"OK Chief, consider it done!" replied Eagle. And flapping his broad wings he soared away across the sky, shouting the news.

He waited until all the murmuring, scratching of fur and rustling of feathers had stopped.
"I've decided to create another creature - called human people" he announced.
"And I want suggestions from all of you on what they should look like and the special skills they should have."
The animals and birds started chattering, growling and screeching all at once.

"They Should have fur"  "No, they need feathers"  "You're wrong! They need..."

"Hold on!" yelled Coyote. "I can't understand you when you all talk at once. Now, one at a time."
Mountain Lion growled. "People should have a loud roar like mine to frighten other creatures - and strong teeth and claws."
"Huh!" snorted Grizzly Bear. "If people go around roaring like you do, they'll scare everything off and not catch anything to eat. I agree about the teeth and claws - and they should have fur to keep warm!"
Otter shouted "They should be able to swim and hold their breath when they dive under water!"
"They don't need to swim! They need to fly and have big claws" screeched Eagle. "Then they can swoop down on things from the sky and carry them off!"
"No! They don't need to fly" shouted Beaver. "Otter is right. They do need to swim - but they need a large flat tail like mine to help them build their home."
"Antlers! They need antlers" snorted Stag, proudly showing off his huge set.
"Oh great! Give them big antlers that will get caught in trees and bushes" squeaked little Grey Mouse. Everyone started talking at once again.

"Fur...""Teeth...""Wings...""Big tail...""Four feet..."

"Stop!" growled Coyote loudly. Everyone stopped yelling and looked at him
You're all so vain. You want the human people to look like you instead of them being different."
He scratched the fur on his chin while he made some decisions.
"I'm going to give them things called hands and fingers. Fingers are flexible and can do lots of things.
Human people will be able to shape things to hunt with, make things to wear - so they won't need fur! And they'll be able to build homes to live in. They will be smart like me!"
"Oooh! Fingers!" said the animals, nodding their heads. "Oooh! Smart like Coyote!"
"And they'll walk on on two feet instead of four!"
"Two feet?" questioned little Grey Mouse. "That's a bit strange."
"What's wrong with two feet?" bellowed Grizzly Bear, stretching himself up to his full height. "I walk on two feet when I want to!"
"Now you mention it, two feet aren't that strange", squeaked Grey Mouse, edging away from those big feet that could easily squash her.
"Wait here while I get some clay" said Coyote. He went to the nearby river bank, scooped up some red clay and brought it back to the meeting.
"Watch as I shape this and you'll see what the human people will look like

Everyone watched as Coyote shaped a figure. Hours passed and night fell.
"It's looking good" yawned Grey Mouse.
As the stars twinkled in the sky, the animals and birds fell asleep where they sat.
Coyote did not sleep. He worked through the night, moulding and shaping the red figure.
Next morning everyone woke, snuffling and snorting and rubbing the sleep from their eyes with a wing or a paw. Coyote's new creature was alive and walking around.
"What do you think?" he asked, proudly.
"So that's a human" said Mountain Lion. "I'm hungry. I think I'll look for breakfast."
"Me too" mumbled Grizzly Bear.
Beaver and Otter decided to leave before they were eaten.
"Excuse me" said Grey Mouse to the human. "Have you seen a piece of cheese anywhere? I think I've lost a bit!" And she scurried off, twitching her whiskers.
All the animals and birds began to wander off, looking for food.
Coyote watched them then turned to the human. "I don't think they're impressed with you", he said. "Never mind. You'll find your place with them soon enough."
And that was how Coyote created people.

The End

                  Coyote brings fire

Long ago, the Fire Beings were the only people who had fire.
They guarded it closely and wouldn't share it with other tribes or animals.
This didn't matter so much in spring and summer, but in winter many young children and old people died from the icy cold.
Just before the next winter, some of the animals called a meeting. "We can't let our children and grandparents die from the cold this year," said Squirrel. "We have to get fire from the Fire Beings to keep warm."
"How can we do that?" asked Chipmunk. "The Fire Beings won't share it with us".
"Let's ask Coyote for help" said Frog. "He's crafty and cunning, and he'll know how to get fire".
Coyote listened and thought about the problem. Then he smiled a cunning smile.
"There is a way to get fire from the selfish Fire Beings" he said.
"How? How can we do that?" asked Chipmunk.
"We'll take it!" answered Coyote slyly. "I have a plan. Follow me!"
Coyote lead the animals to the Fire Beings' camp on top of the mountain. The others hid in the bushes while Coyote walked into the camp.
"Who's there?" screeched one of the Beings. "Someone's trying to steal our fire".
"It's all right," hissed another. "It's only an old moth eaten coyote". "Huummph! Moth eaten indeed," thought Coyote, but he didn't say anything. He lay down by the fire and pretended to go to sleep, keeping one eye half open.
Three Fire Beings sat nearby. One was huge and ugly - with a small bald head and big rolls of fat around his stomach. Snot dripped in long slimy strands from his nose. The other two were old hags, with eyes like red stones and clawed hands like a vulture.
After a few minutes, a banging noise started in the bushes. It was Coyote's friends.
"What's that horrible noise?" cried the fat ugly Fire Being. "Who's there?" The three of them went to investigate.
Seeing his chance, Coyote snatched up a glowing piece of fire and ran off down the mountain as fast as he could. Realising they had been tricked, the two hags screamed and chased after him. The big fat bald Fire Being just stood there, with more snot dripping from his nose.
The hags were old, but they could run like the wind. They nearly caught Coyote. One of them stretched out her claws and touched the tip of his tail. The heat turned the hairs white.
Coyote threw the fire into the air towards Squirrel. She caught it in her tail and scampered off over stumps and boulders. The fire scorched her so badly, that her tail curled up over her back. She was almost caught, until Chipmunk bounded up beside her.
"Me! Me! Throw it to me!" Catching the fire, Chipmunk turned to run. One of the hags clawed her back leaving three stripes down it. Chipmunk threw the fire to Frog, but one of the Beings grabbed his tail.
"Let me go!" yelled Frog. He squirmed and struggled so much that his eyeballs bulged and he thought his heart would burst.
With one last mighty leap he tore himself free, leaving his beautiful long tail behind, still wriggling in the hag's claw.
Frog threw the fire to Wood and Wood swallowed it. The Fire Beings hit Wood and kicked him and cut him with their knives, but still Wood didn't spit out the fire.
At last the hags gave up and went home, mumbling to themselves:
"Oh dear, I think I broke a nail". "Never mind. We'll have frog's tail soup tonight." "Mmm! That sounds nice".
Coyote called all the animals together to teach them how to get the fire from Wood.
"Fire is a gift for everyone. If you rub two dry sticks of Wood together very fast Wood will get itchy and give you some fire. From now on you will be warm in winter".
"I told you Coyote was cunning" said Frog.
"Yes, but I wonder what frog's tail soup tastes like?" asked Squirrel.
And that is why today, Coyote's tail has a white tip, squirrel's tail curls around over her back, chipmunk's coat has white stripes and frog has no tail.
But everyone is warm in winter.

The End

        Coyote and the Giant

Coyote was out walking one day when he saw an old woman hurrying towards him.
"Turn back! If you keep going that way the giant will get you" she cried.
"Giants don't scare me" said Coyote, pounding his chest bravely . What he didn't tell the old women was that giants didn't scare him because he'd never seen one and didn't know what a giant was.
"This is a very, very big giant" said the old woman.
Coyote looked around and spotted a fallen tree branch. He picked it up.
"I'll him over the head with this" he said, swinging the branch like a club. "This giant will run off like all the other giants I've dealt with.
The old woman hurried on, shaking her head. She knew now Coyote had never seen a giant, but he was too proud to listen.
Coyote walked along the road, whistling and swinging the tree branch until he came to a strange cave that stretched across the road.
"What a weird cave" he said to himself. "I've never seen a cave with white boulders going all around the top and bottom of the entrance. It must be a special pass through the hills".
Coyote climbed over the strange white rocks and walked inside.
""H'mmm! The floor is very soft and spongy" said Coyote to himself.
Suddenly there was a loud groaning sound and the front of the cave closed.
"That's strange" said Coyote. "But it doesn't matter because
I'm not going back that way".
He walked on until he met a very thin women crawling along the cave floor.
"Hello. What's the matter with you?" asked Coyote.
"I'm like this because of the giant" answered the woman.
"Where is that giant?" asked Coyote angrily swinging the tree branch through the air. "I'll hit him over the head".
The woman laughed. "You can't see him because you're already inside his stomach. That wasn't a cave you entered, it was the giant's mouth".
"That explains the strange white boulders around the entrance" said Coyote. "They're his teeth".
More thin weak people crawled over to Coyote and the woman.
"None of you look very well. Has the giant made you all sick?" asked Coyote.
"No, we're too hungry and too weak to stand" said a man. "Once you're in here there's no way out and no food".
"But there's food all around you" said Coyote. "If this cave is the inside of the giant, you can eat the giant!".
"We never thought of that" they said.
"You're not as smart as me" said Coyote.
"You're inside the giant too" the woman reminded him.
Coyote didn't answer. He took out his knife and started cutting pieces out of the cave wall. Then he gave the meat to the people
There was a loud rumbling noise.
"Stop that! Who is cutting pieces out of my stomach" roared the giant.
"It's me Coyote. Let us out of hear or I will cut you some more".
"I won't let you out" rumbled the giant. "You will stay inside me until you die and what's left of you comes out my backside".
The people were stronger now they'd eaten the meat. Coyote said to them "Get ready to run when I tell you".
Coyote started stabbing the walls of the cave with his knife. The giant howled and roared at Coyote to stop but he kept on doing it.
Finally the giant could take no more.
"All right, you win Coyote. I'll let you out" he moaned.
"Get ready to run" Coyote told the people. The giant's mouth opened and they all rushed out into the sunlight. The giant's moaning sounded like thunder and shook the ground.
"Thank you Coyote" said the people. "Now we know what to do if we're swallowed by a giant again".
"And I know what to do if someone tells me there's a giant ahead" said Coyote.
"Go back the way I came".

The End