Coyote Speaks - Wonders of the Native American Worldby Ari Berk and Carolyn Dunn
Publisher: Abrams Book For Young Readers ISBN-10: 0810993724 ISBN-13: 978-081993723
From the Publisher: "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 are: the meanings of certain animals and symbols, what 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."
Reviews
From Children's Literature:
"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 reminder: "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 now: "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."
Reviewer:
Uma Krishnaswami
From Booklist (American Library Association):
"This comprehensive volume about Native American culture
looks like a coffee-table book, and the handsome open design, with clear type
and beautiful reproductions on quality paper, will certainly encourage
browsers. But readers will also find a great amount of valuable detail,
including stories, songs, commentary, and art of nearly 50 Native American
tribes. Also included are creation myths and animal tales of tricksters and
transformation as well as a discussion of mythmaking in the twenty-first
century. Original poetry and retold stories by Dunn (who is
Cherokee/Muskogee/Seminole) and Berk draw on the oral tradition. A gorgeous
Shoshone hide painting that depicts a buffalo dance after a hunt shows and
tells the elemental lesson--from ancient times and for today--not to take more
than is needed. That is a lot to take on in one book, but there is nothing
generic in this celebration of diversity and connections. Extensive back matter
includes an annotated list of tribes and nations. A rich collection of exciting
art and story that keeps the past alive."
--Rochman,
Hazel Copyright 2008 Booklist
From Midwest Book Review
"Rich
traditions, stories and artifacts are ways in which we learn about the history
and culture various Native American tribes. A beautifully designed book
co-authored by Ari Berk and Carolyn Dunn, "Coyote Speaks Wonders Of The
Native American World", provides an overview of nearly fifty known tribes
drawn from all regions of North America. As the authors simply state, stories
carry traditions. However, traditions are not always simple and they are what
defined each tribe as its own distinct people. Artfully designed with beautiful
pictures, "Coyote Speaks" will show readers the meaning and role of
certain animals and symbols, what shamans and medicine people do, and how the
animal world, natural world and spirit world interact. This book encourages better
understanding of Native American cultures in presenting through word and image
some of the life ways and story-paths of America's first people. Rich in design
and ease of text, as well as profusely illustrated throughout, "Coyote
Speaks Wonders Of The Native American World" is for young readers to
adults and is very highly recommended for school and community library Native
American reference collections and supplemental reading lists."
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A Few Words From the Author
I began this book when I was a graduate student working with my mentor, N.Scott Momaday. Scott was, from the beginning, very supportive of my work on this book. But as the book neared completion, life took over. There was a dissertation to be finished, a move back East, a new life to begin. So the book kept its own company for a while.
It wasn't until I met Carolyn Dunn, that I began to think about this book again, about what it might become. Carolyn is an extraordinary poet and writer, and she and I went back into the text, adding stories, original poems, images of art and artifact.
The stories are mostly retellings of Native American myths and legends. Many of these stories come from older collections, texts that had lost their connection with the orality of their first tellings. Our goals were simply to make these stories available to young readers, and in a way that might suggest something more of their original oral form. We also wanted to show that these stories are not merely museum pieces, that they are part of living cultures. We wanted to show that stories are dynamic, always changing, always moving.
I am especially pleased with the chapter we wrote together on the Los Angeles river. Both Carolyn and I were born along this river. The last story in the book speaks to this, and to the enduring spirit of place, even in a land dominated by concrete and endless boulevards.
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