Coyote Stories

by Mourning Dove

“We who lived the days of tribal life before our destruction began remember with gratefulness our storytellers and the delight and joy and richness which they imparted to our lives. We never tired of their tales, though told countless times. They will, forsooth, never grow old, for they have within them the essence of things that cannot grow old. These legends are of America, as are its mountains, rivers, and forests, and as are its people. They belong!”

In the time of the Animal People (Chip-chap-tiqulk), follow the adventures of Coyote (Sin-ka-lip’) the most important Animal Person that ever was. Put to work by the Spirit Chief, Coyote–despite his love for imitation and trickery–helps to make the world a good place to live for Animal People and New People alike while occasionally amusing himself with mischief.

Containing over two dozen tales from, “The Spirit Chief Names the Animal People,” to “Coyote Imitates Bear and Kingfisher,” Coyote Stories is Mourning Dove’s collections of legends recounting the history of the world in it’s youth.

Professionally typeset with a beautifully designed cover, this edition of Coyote Stories is a classic of Native and Indigenous literature reimagined for the modern reader.

Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book.



With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe.

Genres: Mythology, Native American, Folklore, Indigenous, Fiction, Fantasy, Retellings

92 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1933

About the author

Mourning Dove was the pen name of Christine Quintasket also known as Hum-Ishu-Ma.

Reviews

[hayatem · Rating 5 out of 5]

حكايات رويت بفم ٍشفاهيّ، في ضرب من اللعب الحر للمخيلة، لم تخلو من وقع الذاكرة التسجيلية، والتناص مع حكايات عالمية من هوية وذاكرة الشعوب، التي طبعت عبر محاكات زمن وعصر مختلف. قصص خلقت من إرث الأجداد بين خرافة، حكمة، وأساطير.

المميز في المجموعة هو؛ الحس المادي المشترك، و أفضلية الرمزي على المادي، و انعكاس ميراث الأجداد في مرآة السرد !

يمامة الحِداد لديها حس قوي بالواقع.
و كل الحكايات كانت بين اللغة وأشياء العالم.

الترجمة رائعة!

[زايد المرزوقي · Rating 4 out of 5]

كتاب عبارة عن مجموعة قصصية، ويحتوي على حكايات وأساطير تنتقل من جيل إلى جيل عبر الزمن لدى هنود الحمر، حكايات وأساطير عن رموزهم وحيواناتهم ومعتقداتهم وحيواتهم مرتبطة كثيراً بالوقائع، مليئة بالعوالم السحرية والنفحات الغريبة.

أحببت الكتاب كثيراً بسبب هذه الحكايات وأنها من معتقداتهم وتراثهم، فهو نافذة للتعرف على ثقافات الشعوب المختلفة.
أحببت الترجمة فقد كانت رائعة وسلسة.

[Beth Cato · Rating 4 out of 5]

These interesting stories of the Salish Plateau focus on Coyote. Mourning Dove is a good storyteller, and I found this book of tales more smoothly written than others. I also appreciated the addition of footnotes to explain regional geography, real-life incidents, and symbolism related to the myths. Mourning Dove sanitized the stories to sell to a white audience; in the back, she is quoted about how she would never be able to sell stories of Skunk as the tribe really told them. A more traditional Skunk story is added after that to illustrate; he's a very flatulent animal whose 'asset' is stolen! The notes also point out that Coyote's medicine, his source of special power, comes from his feces. This is never clear within the actual stories. This combination of good, though sanitized storytelling with deeper notes really sets this collection above many others and lends it a sense of authenticity.

[Polaris Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grew up with this book. Almost every night, my dad would read to me a story or two and I loved it. Hearing Coyote's misadventures always both entertained me and educated me, the interesting plots and simple morals expressed shaped me as who I am today.

[Shaima Faisal · Rating 3 out of 5]

تعجبني فكرة نقل التاريخ الشفهي للشعوب من خلال تدوين حكاياتهم كي لا يضيع التاريخ. وكما هو الحال في تاريخ أي شعب، الحكايات الخرافية مليئة بالترميز والميثولوجيا لاعطائها نوع من السحر العجيب لتوصيل قيم أو دروس معينة خصوصًا للأطفال.

أظن أن الحكايات فقدت جزء كبير من سحرها خلال عملية الترجمة..

[Heidi G]

This was a fun read. I've made a study of fairy tales, myths, and legends, and discovered Coyote stories while teaching my daughter 4th grade Idaho History. It's too bad it took me this long to find them!

[Abeey Morsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

حكايات خفيفة و لطيفه جدا.

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a somewhat cleaned up version of "Just How" stories of the Okanagan and other closely tribes with Coyote as the protagonist. The reason that I say somewhat cleaned up version is the fact that if you read the notes for some of the stories within the book then you will find what the author had originally changed in the stories to make them more user-friendly when it first came out.

The stories were usually short, to the point and usually included some type of tale. Coyote was usually in trouble or fixing some type of trouble - sometimes even doing both. And of course some stories didn't have Coyote at all but some of the other Animal People.

I loved how the book included facts about the culture of the tribe, how it mentioned in detail the features that were made and how changes in the history of the tribes also affected the stories that were being told. In a sense you were reading history all over again but being entertained at the same time.

Finally I enjoyed the fact the author did include some of the Native names of the Animal People and the meanings of those names. I wish there was a better pronunciation guide also for some of the words since there were a few that had me dumbfounded.

This book is truly a keeper for me :). I would really look forward to this book if they had someone of the tribes to actual do an audio recording so that way you could hear the stories being told like they were meant to and with the right pronunciation. Dreams....

[Katelynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although it’s been awhile since this collection was recommended to me, I can’t get these creation stories out of my head. During a time of erasure, they were shared by some NW indigenous communities with the goal of preservation because “These stories are valuable.” People have performed them for generations; Mourning Dove (Quintasket) spent much of her life trying to record them; New audiences might want to hear another culture’s representation of a certain creature and the history of the land. Even in this adapted form, some of the legends here are violent, abrupt, humorous, hopeful, surprising or somehow familiar, but they all double as a captivating and complex example of morals and aspects of tradition.

[Kbord · Rating 4 out of 5]

The footnotes, foreword, notes, and appendix explain well that these stories have been cleaned up for reading by white children. (Hey, it was written in the 1930s.) And Skunk stories were kept out because Mourning Dove says she would have been thrown in jail for including them (at the time). Coyote seems to me to be a mixture of creator, trickster, and clown, and also an example of how not to be.

I'm told I should have waited till winter to read Coyote stories.

[Juanita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading these stories through a lens I found when reading Wayne Arthurson's Spirit Animals: The Wisdom of Nature. Coyote stories are popular because laughter helps people be freed from preconceived ideas of the world and "become free to connect to the sacredness of the world," unlike "the European concept of taking a serious and somber approach in connecting with the divine."

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories presented and adapted here are very well written and a good introduction for a younger audience, but its a shame this otherwise good series of transcriptions were toned down and kind of 'de-grossified' by the era and sensibilities of the author.

[Irene_flowerflake · Rating 5 out of 5]

I dare say it was quite interesting. Learnig about Native American folkrole is amazing. You see the way they feel about nature and animals. You feel their respect towards both life and death. You can see their beliefs about the different realms. Good and bad, life and death, light and darkness etc. It was enlightening with just the right amount of humour!

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really lovely set of stories with enlightening footnotes, and a useful preface and afterword. I will certainly revisit these stories, and would recommend them to anyone, but especially to folks who call the northwest North American coast home.

[Treasure Island Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

These stories are a collection of Native American "why" explanations that reminded me of Rudyard Kipling's Just-So Stories. Most of the tales deal with wily Coyote who bests the other Animal People, gets killed, and comes back to life to trick and trick again.

[Moon Captain · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most entertaining books I've ever read

[Alyssa Kessler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of Coyote Stories of the Okanagan.

[Dominicq Castle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read, loved coyote, was easy to skeem through and kept me interested until the end. The last two stories was good as a conclusion and helps in tying it all together. Loved it after getting back from reading hiatus.

[Auke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Animals are pointlessly mean and very stupid, thanks

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

So interesting to read native stories written by a native woman in the 1930s.

[Eden Nobile · Rating 5 out of 5]

really enjoyed these coyote/creation myths that were sometimes silly, sometimes gorey, sometimes all of the above. gotta love a trickster!!! fav quote: “coyote felt gay”

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of stories was a quick read that was well worth the purchase. I find Native American folklore to be fascinating, and so this compilation of their stories about Coyote and how he played a part in nature's processes was quite a treat. I have never read anything quite like it. The stories are for the most part simple and fun, and they can easily be referred back to. All ages will enjoy the contents of this book. It only received four stars because there is nothing that makes me feel a strong desire to pull it back off the shelf and read it again, even though I probably will someday to refresh myself on the stories. It is definitely one that will be available for my children to read someday, because the stories exercise the mind's imaginative abilities.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

another set of random stories that we had around the house as a kid, perfect for picking up as entertainment for a half an hour on a lazy afternoon.

[Jacob Beavers · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little G-rated for Coyote myths, but amusing, and the slightly more inappropriate stories in the introduction made up for it.

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a particular book of interest to me not only because it the is the trickster cycle but my Great Uncle Dean was the editor.

[Scott Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reminded me of Rudyard Kipling's Just So stories I do need to look at the next full moon and see if I see a frog

[Brandon Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, but very short.