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Coyote Speaks: Wonders of the Native American World
A one-of-a-kind compilation of beliefs, stories, and cultural artifacts from Native American tribes.
Coyote Speaks explains how to look at and appreciate Native American culture. For thousands of years, tribal ways and wisdom have been passed down in story, song, dance, and art from elder to child, from tribe to tribe, and from Native peoples to the world at large. This book gathers many of these beliefs and traditions, enabling the outsider to appreciate the vast and diverse world of the First People. Among the subjects addressed the meanings of certain animals and symbols, what shamans and medicine people do, and how the natural world, the animal world, and the spirit world interact. Of the more than five hundred known tribes, nearly fifty are represented, from all regions of North America.
The book is profusely illustrated with paintings, artifacts, and photographs and includes a glossary of tribes and an index.
From Children's
"This generously sized and exquisitely presented mix of original poetry, retold traditional stories and linking commentary is an answer from within Native America to two centuries of decontextualized appropriation of story. Of the more than 500 tribes of North America, nearly 50 find expression in this meticulously crafted collection that opens windows onto indigenous traditions while avoiding the pitfalls of essentialism. The stories are contained within chapters focused on medicine people, word magic, creation, the magic of art and artifacts, hero figures, guardians of wild places, trickster and related animal characters, and stories from tribal memories. A final chapter looks forward, addressing mythmaking in the 21st century. Within each content area, however, the lines between story and commentary are gently blurred, so that form and content both reflect societies with story at their heart. Even the introduction begins with brief text that erases distinctions between what we think of as real and imaginary, then moves through a Cherokee ballgame story and concludes with this "When we walk the lands of these stories in our imaginations, it is vital to understand that we are guests and need to tread softly." The retellings are simple, vital, fluid and direct, each in a style fitting to the story. Some like the transformation tales are short and pointed. Others like "The Daughter of Sun" span vast periods of mythic time, so we can feel the sweep of the storyteller's prose. Still others such as "Song of the World" (Pima) employ both prose and song. Here the tale moves from its launching in primordial time, through the journey of the first man, and then in a swift one-twoconclusion, arrives right into the reader's here and "He picked up the sun and placed it in the sky, and it is still there, just as he made it." Parchment-effect pages showcase the rendering by Berk of selected petroglyphs. The book is additionally enriched by the incorporation of a range of artwork from photographs of southwestern kachinas and bone artifacts from the Arctic, to stunning contemporary art such as Hazel Merritt's iconic painting of a satellite dish with a Navajo wedding basket design on it. As an example of how text and form are perfectly married, the facing page carries a poem titled "Beautyway" that evokes both the Dine ceremony and the troubled ecology and history of the Four Corners region. Back matter contains a list of tribes and nations mentioned in the book, a select bibliography, a note on sources, extensive illustration credits and an index. In all, Coyote Speaks is a gift offered up with a delicate and caring touch, inviting both young readers and adults to explore its pages again and again."
Uma Krishnaswami
Coyote Speaks explains how to look at and appreciate Native American culture. For thousands of years, tribal ways and wisdom have been passed down in story, song, dance, and art from elder to child, from tribe to tribe, and from Native peoples to the world at large. This book gathers many of these beliefs and traditions, enabling the outsider to appreciate the vast and diverse world of the First People. Among the subjects addressed the meanings of certain animals and symbols, what shamans and medicine people do, and how the natural world, the animal world, and the spirit world interact. Of the more than five hundred known tribes, nearly fifty are represented, from all regions of North America.
The book is profusely illustrated with paintings, artifacts, and photographs and includes a glossary of tribes and an index.
From Children's
"This generously sized and exquisitely presented mix of original poetry, retold traditional stories and linking commentary is an answer from within Native America to two centuries of decontextualized appropriation of story. Of the more than 500 tribes of North America, nearly 50 find expression in this meticulously crafted collection that opens windows onto indigenous traditions while avoiding the pitfalls of essentialism. The stories are contained within chapters focused on medicine people, word magic, creation, the magic of art and artifacts, hero figures, guardians of wild places, trickster and related animal characters, and stories from tribal memories. A final chapter looks forward, addressing mythmaking in the 21st century. Within each content area, however, the lines between story and commentary are gently blurred, so that form and content both reflect societies with story at their heart. Even the introduction begins with brief text that erases distinctions between what we think of as real and imaginary, then moves through a Cherokee ballgame story and concludes with this "When we walk the lands of these stories in our imaginations, it is vital to understand that we are guests and need to tread softly." The retellings are simple, vital, fluid and direct, each in a style fitting to the story. Some like the transformation tales are short and pointed. Others like "The Daughter of Sun" span vast periods of mythic time, so we can feel the sweep of the storyteller's prose. Still others such as "Song of the World" (Pima) employ both prose and song. Here the tale moves from its launching in primordial time, through the journey of the first man, and then in a swift one-twoconclusion, arrives right into the reader's here and "He picked up the sun and placed it in the sky, and it is still there, just as he made it." Parchment-effect pages showcase the rendering by Berk of selected petroglyphs. The book is additionally enriched by the incorporation of a range of artwork from photographs of southwestern kachinas and bone artifacts from the Arctic, to stunning contemporary art such as Hazel Merritt's iconic painting of a satellite dish with a Navajo wedding basket design on it. As an example of how text and form are perfectly married, the facing page carries a poem titled "Beautyway" that evokes both the Dine ceremony and the troubled ecology and history of the Four Corners region. Back matter contains a list of tribes and nations mentioned in the book, a select bibliography, a note on sources, extensive illustration credits and an index. In all, Coyote Speaks is a gift offered up with a delicate and caring touch, inviting both young readers and adults to explore its pages again and again."
Uma Krishnaswami
160 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2008
1 person is currently reading
92 people want to read
About the author
Ari Berk
32 books156 followersAri Berk is a writer, artist, and scholar of literature, folklore, and myth. Former student of and assistant to Pulitzer Prize winning writer N. Scott Momaday, Ari has written everything from academic works on ancient cultures to popular books about myths and legends for children and adults and, most recently, a trilogy of novels. He works in a library filled to the ceiling with thousands of arcane books and more than a few wondrous artifacts. When not writing, he moonlights as professor of mythology and folklore at Central Michigan University. He lives in Michigan with his wife and son. Visit him at www.ariberk.com.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 5, 2017
I was suppose to be in a dead run to finish reading two books by this time but although I got started on the bigger one, which seemed to be more my type I started to eyeball this one. Flipping to the end I noticed that it had a smaller amount of pages and so in mid-flip I turned my reading choice to this one and I am so glad that I did since I loved it.
This book is a strange combination of presenting aspects of Native American life, especially the various beliefs, thoughts and cultures that they had. Meanwhile interspersed with the exploration of these subjects the reader found themselves also being given poetry, songs and even stories of the various tribes that would help the reader to understand just a little bit more and on a more intimate level what the subject is being discussed as.
As one other reviewer has pointed there is a strange tone to the book and I think that it is the fact the book is more directed towards a Native American audience than it was for any other groups. There are hints and suggestions that give more of a shove to the Native reader while at times it was more like I was invading the book and its secrets although there had been parts that I had heard before or stories retold from another Native American legend book.
The illustrations were a collection of photographs of actual artifacts from the days of the Ancient Ones and some more modern uptakes. They weaved together to carry on the message that seemed to recur throughout the book on when the past becomes the present and the present carries on the past so that one or the other isn't lost.
All in all it is a deep book but one that is easily readable and provides the reader whether Native American or not with an intimate look at a time when the world was definitely not what it is now. It is truly another gem that I want to wrap my arms around and hold close while re-reading all the parts that spoke to my own soul.
This book is a strange combination of presenting aspects of Native American life, especially the various beliefs, thoughts and cultures that they had. Meanwhile interspersed with the exploration of these subjects the reader found themselves also being given poetry, songs and even stories of the various tribes that would help the reader to understand just a little bit more and on a more intimate level what the subject is being discussed as.
As one other reviewer has pointed there is a strange tone to the book and I think that it is the fact the book is more directed towards a Native American audience than it was for any other groups. There are hints and suggestions that give more of a shove to the Native reader while at times it was more like I was invading the book and its secrets although there had been parts that I had heard before or stories retold from another Native American legend book.
The illustrations were a collection of photographs of actual artifacts from the days of the Ancient Ones and some more modern uptakes. They weaved together to carry on the message that seemed to recur throughout the book on when the past becomes the present and the present carries on the past so that one or the other isn't lost.
All in all it is a deep book but one that is easily readable and provides the reader whether Native American or not with an intimate look at a time when the world was definitely not what it is now. It is truly another gem that I want to wrap my arms around and hold close while re-reading all the parts that spoke to my own soul.
September 2, 2024
Written for young readers, this beautiful book can be enjoyed by readers of any age. It is filled with excellent color photographs of many Native American artifacts and artworks which accompany chapter focused on different aspects of their world views which are shared in the form of stories from a wide range of tribes and bands across the North American continent. One thing that impressed me was that the authors only used stories that had already appeared in print. They worked to frame them in a way that recaptured their original feel, stripped of the "accents" of European and American collectors. The other stories, they argue, that exist only in oral tradition should remain there. Turning the pages to view the many amazing artifacts and reading the stories (perhaps aloud would be best) is to gain a small sense of the Native American world.
November 18, 2019
I really don’t know much about Native American mythology. I’ve never had the exposure, and other than one character in the Mercedes Thompson series, I’ve not read any books that feature people of this heritage. So of course, I was extremely excited and fascinated to pick up this book and learn something new. Which, this was a perfect introduction to. I now know that I want to read further along about this mythos, but as a broad overview… this was fantastic.
This broad introduction was beautifully graphic. I spent more of my time staring at the pictures than actually reading the words. It was just beautiful and unforgettable. I’ll pick this up again and again, just because I loved the layout and print of the work.
I’m well aware of how many of the world’s Indigenous cultures and beliefs are frequently disrespected. So I was very happy to find that this was not only informative and a great introduction, it was also incredibly respectful to the mother culture. Now I just need to start slogging through that great bibliography at the end!
This broad introduction was beautifully graphic. I spent more of my time staring at the pictures than actually reading the words. It was just beautiful and unforgettable. I’ll pick this up again and again, just because I loved the layout and print of the work.
I’m well aware of how many of the world’s Indigenous cultures and beliefs are frequently disrespected. So I was very happy to find that this was not only informative and a great introduction, it was also incredibly respectful to the mother culture. Now I just need to start slogging through that great bibliography at the end!
April 22, 2023
This was organized differently than I thought when I picked it up. I thought it would be a collection of tribal stories and myths, and it was, but it was interspersed with explanations and images of artifacts and art. It was a mix of stories, explanations of culture/tribal differences, and impact of those stories. Overall very interesting, but it also felt a little like a book with an identity crisis. I think I wanted more of just myths/and tales but this was probably more educational.
June 1, 2015
I really liked the way this was written. The writing style seems simplistic, but as you read, you get drawn in by it, and I realized that this is because it's almost written as though it is being spoken by a storyteller, not particularly eloquently or poetically most of the time, but in an almost childlike, magical way of forming sentences, leading with questions and presenting ideas, directing the mind to a grander, larger-than-life, yet much simpler concept of the ways and workings of the world. It also taught lessons as it taught history, indicating where the modern world could learn from the ancient people, especially lessons on respect for the earth, our ancestors and for our fellow man. The book was also full of a wide and interesting variety of pictures of artifacts and artwork, and it was well organized, so that the subjects flowed smoothly into each other. Altogether an interesting and unique blend of myth, history, legend and analysis of various Native American cultures. Definitely worth reading!
April 30, 2016
This was a really interesting book, written in an accessible way so that teens and adults can learn about Native American folklore. The author is a folklorist and has obviously done his research. There are facts in this book that I've even had a hard time finding in other Native American folklore books and websites. I wish that there were more illustrations and photos - showing and explaining symbols, for example.
March 7, 2014
The overall Beauty of this book, so far, blows me away. Not quite sure why it would be shelved as a Children's/Young Adults book.
November 17, 2013
I didn't like the style of writing and there was practically no information on the art in the book, which annoyed me greatly.
January 15, 2015
OK. Nothing great. I've read more interesting works on similar subjects.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews