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Here are a few coyote/American Indian facts,stories and beliefs

The supernatural world of the Paiutes revolved around the activities of Wolf and Coyote!. Wolf was the elder brother and the more responsible god, while Coyote often acted the role of the trickster and troublemaker!. Stories of the activities of these and other spirit animals generally were told in the winter!.

The legend of Bryce Canyon was explained to a park naturalist in 1936 by Indian Dick, a Paiute elder who then lived on the Kaibab Reservation:

"Before there were any Indians, the Legend People, To-when-an-ung-wa, lived in that place!. There were many of them!. They were of many kinds – birds, animals, lizards and such things, but they looked like people!. They were not people!. They had power to make themselves look that way!. For some reason the Legend People in that place were bad; they did something that was not good, perhaps a fight, perhaps some stole something…!.the tale is not clear at this point!. Because they were bad, Coyote turned them all into rocks!. You can see them in that place now all turned into rocks; some standing in rows, some sitting down, some holding onto others!. You can see their faces, with paint on them just as they were before they became rocks!. The name of that place is Angka-ku-wass-a-wits (red painted faces)!. This is the story the people tell!."

Everything was water except a very small piece of ground!. On this were the eagle and the coyote!. Then the turtle swam to them!. They sent it to dive for the earth at the bottom of the water!. The turtle barely succeeded in reaching the bottom and touching it with its foot!. When it came up again, all the earth seemed washed out!. Coyote looked closely at its nails!. At last he found a grain of earth!. Then he and the eagle took this and laid it down!. From it they made the earth as large as it is!. From the earth they also made six men and six women!. They sent these out in pairs in different directions and the people separated!. After a time the eagle sent the coyote to see what the people were doing!. Coyote came back and said: "They are doing something bad!. They are eating the earth!. One side is already gone!." The eagle said: " That is bad!. Let us make something for them to eat!. Let us send the dove to find something!." The dove went out!. It found a single grain of meal!. The eagle and coyote put this down on the ground!. Then the earth became covered with seeds and fruit!. Now they told the people to eat these!. When the seeds were dry and ripe the people gathered them!. Then the people increased and spread all over!. But the water is still under the world!.



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All humans are interested in their origins and try to account for their existence through creation stories, like the one quoted above which is told by the Yaudanchi (a Yokut-speaking Nation living in the south-central San Joaquin Valley of California)!. Every native North American society has such stories recounting the actions and deeds of "power" in the past!. They commonly explain how people came to live where they do, how they acquired tools and customs, and why one should act, or not act, in certain ways!. Most commonly they contain fundamental conceptions of nature, society, and how people ought to relate to the world and to one another!.


The coyote was an integeral part of American Indian folk lore - an explanation of the orgins of the earth, the reasons for poor crops, or hunting failures or successes!. Hope this helps your curosity!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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In mythology the coyote was the trickster, a kind of benevolent, but mischievous teacher of young men!. Kind of a 'teaching by trickery' lesson!. In his own stories, he'd generally start out with good intentions, but fail think things all the way through, and there'd be some sort of Pandora's box payback at the end of it!.
Actual coyotes were an example to the hunters, not the largest of predators, or even as large as some of their prey, they became an icon of a hunter's life!. Much like the Indians themselves, they had to resort to intelligence and guile pick their time or their prey as they were neither as strong or numerous as other predators!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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~To some tribes, yes!. To others, no!. Likewise on the plains and in the west, northwest, southeast, east and northeast!.

How!? Depends on the tribe!. The legends and traits vary, although some characteristics are seemingly consistent!. I haven't read all the myriad of legends from all the hundreds of tribes to really compare and contrast them!.

Referring to American Indians as a unified and cohesive group with like legends, customs and religions is ignorance exemplified!. It is like comparing a Saxon to a Rus to a Jute to a Gaul to a Frank to a Swede to a Lombard to an Etruscan to a Villanovan to a Goth!. Although all are Teutonic, they very little in common!.

As to the why!? Probably for the same reason that legends were created in the Middle East about boats being loaded with two of every animal in the world onto a boat for a few weeks to get out of the rain, or rainbows being some covenant from the almighty or about the dispersal of mankind and the creation of diverse languages because someone had the audacity to build a tower, or about the unleashing of evil on the world because some bimbo opened a box or some other bimbo bit into an apple!. Myths and legends are created by mankind for entertainment, as a means to consolidate and keep power and wealth, or to explain that which cannot otherwise be explained because of ignorance, the lack of sufficient knowledge, or the inability or lack of tools to question, investigate, reason apply rational thought and logic and to learn!. Some folks use animals, others use supernatural beings with various degrees of supernatural powers!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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yes, they traded the furs with other native americans and when europeans started to move west they traded the furs with them too!. Native Americans would also look at the scat of the coyote to know what game was avaliable for hunting!. Www@QuestionHome@Com

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they act as sly characters!. they trick other character into doing silly things!. in some way, they are smart!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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