Native American Art News: Aesthetic Properties of a Zuni Fetish Carving

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Upcoming Exhibits At The Portlland Museum Of Art
NewsAshland.com - Ashland,OR,USA
... conjunction with the exhibition People of the River: Native Arts of the Oregon Territory, the Museum is pleased to host a symposium on Native American art from ...

Native American Pow-Wow
WAFF - Huntsville,AL,USA
... Tents line the lake, filled with arts and crafts of all kind. ... "It brings the public in and they get to see a sample of the native american culture with dances ...

Kittery kids focus on arts
Portsmouth Herald News - Portsmouth,NH,USA
... Whether it was pounding drums in Native American costumes, or stepping on a Mexican hat ... "It gives kids who don't have an opportunity to do arts a time to shine ...

Events highlight Native American Awareness month
Pioneer Press - St. Paul,MN,USA
... University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire will host a number of Native American Awareness Month ... Sunday, April 24, at The Northern Lakes Center for the Arts, 113 Elm St ...

Friday to Friday
Corvallis Gazette Times - Corvallis,OR,USA
... Jan Michael Looking Wolf, 7 pm, Corvallis Arts Center, 700 SW Madison Ave., Corvallis. Native American flutist. Information: 754-1551. ...

Penn Cove Festival stands out
The Spokesman Review (subscription) - Spokane,WA,USA
... The organizers have packed May 7 from 11 am to 6 pm with canoe races, Native American arts and crafts, artist demonstrations, storytelling, dance performances ...

Midwest events
Chicago Tribune (subscription) - USA
... to see more than 100 re-enactors demonstrate Native American and early American frontier life ($5 ... a parade at 1 pm Saturday, a carnival, an arts and crafts ...

From the Journal Sentinel
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Milwaukee,WI,USA
... at 781-9464 or at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center of the Arts at 781 ... The Dr. Rosa Minoka-Hill Story, an Early Native American Woman Physician, 1876-1952." 7:30 ...
See all stories on this topic

'New Age' dawning
Brockton Enterprise - Brockton,MA,USA
... The proprietor of Sacred Realms of Wellness Healing Arts and Emporium is ... with organic teas and herbs, natural resin incense and Native American smudge tools. ...

Milwaukee has made a name for itself as a cultural destination
Sun-Sentinel.com - Fort Lauderdale,FL,USA
... after the art museum, is the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum, designed in ... will host 20 major festivals, including the largest Native American festival in ...

Prof: academic freedom facing great risks
Advocate (subscription) - Denver,CO,USA
... not be stifled, said Ralph Hexter, UC Berkeley's dean of arts and humanities. ... Churchill, who has said he is part Native American, brings unwanted attention to ...

High-schoolers get preview of college life
Michigan Technological University Online Lode - Houghton,MI,USA
... will also attend the Hispanic, African American and Native American Banquet as ... for departmental meeting in areas such as psychology, business and the arts. ...

Check it out
TimesCommunity.com - Leesburg,VA,USA
... Reston Artists' Annual Judged Fine Arts Exhibition that ... 400 local, nursery-propagated native trees and ... has been featured twice in "American Artist" magazine ...

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Aesthetic Properties of a Zuni Fetish Carving

Different creatures, different stones, different carvers (artists), each fetish is a unique object of art. In the past decade or so the Zuni craftsmen have been given to a certain refinement in their task, and the craft has progressed and is progressing to a finer art. In that regard one appreciates the aesthetic properties inherent in the carving and the individualism of the artist that it reflects. There is, however, a certain mystery that abides in every carving, and many collectors have commented that they where given to a particular piece because it "talked" to them. Aesthetic properties aside, this phenomenon is indicative of the mysterious power that resides in every carving and its manifestation cannot be said to be the object intention of the artist. As Frank Hamilton Cushing observed, and later Tom Bahti, to a Zuni the power inherent in a fetish lies in its similarity to a "natural concretion", and that any alterations by man to such an occurance in nature detracts from its inherent powers.

lapis mountain lion, Gibbs Othole, 2 x 1 7/8

I was informed by a Zuni carver that when he first began carving fetishes for the art market he gave little notice to detail in order to preserve the powers of the stone, and even had his grandfather, who was a priest, bless the pieces before he sold them, for it was his belief that fetishes were procured by collectors not only for their aesthetic qualities, but for the power they believed to abide in them. He felt it was his responsibility to provide that power. But, he lamented that his grandfather became ill after a while, and had been weak and tired for many years. It was his feelings that his grandfather had "given away" all his power and that that would also be his destiny. He concluded by stating that he no longer ignores matters of detail and aspires to creating the most finely detailed carvings that he can, in the process removing all the mystery of the stone so that the collector can provide it with "their own power" ( /ale ).

So, it is not difficult to appreciate the fine productions of the Zuni craftsman for all their beauty, but the next time you find that you cannot resist because a fetish carving has talked to you, you must ask yourself wherein lies the power that evokes and reflects your faith and will to believe.

Zuni Fetishes

From: "ghwelker" ghwelker3@comcast.net
Subject: Help Needed for Robert Passons, Anaheim, California

Dear Friends:

I received this request this morning:

Anaheim Memorial Hospital is trying to find someone who knows an Indian man named Robert Passons. He is a counselor of some sort. He was brought into the hospital in a coma and they are trying to find friends and family and a spiritual leader for the man. Have you ever heard of this man?

IF YOU KNOW THIS PERSON PLEASE CALL ANAHEIM MEMORIAL HOSPITAL

(714)774-1450

Thanks

Danielle

Contacts:

Patricia DancingElk

dduck@dcccd.edu

Kapuscinski, Pearl
takkolo@yahoo.com
PKapuscinski@bcd.tamhsc.edu

From: ghwelker3@comcast.net
Subject: Putting Indian Realities in Context for the Media

From: "ghwelker" ghwelker3@comcast.net
Subject: Hochunk / Hotcâk Stories Linked to and from IPL

Hochunk/Hotcâk Stories Linked to and from IPL

The songs in the following stories are from the Hochunk (Winnebago) Indians, who now live in Nebraska. The Hochunk told many tales about Wash-ching-geka, "the Little Hare." In many tribes, it has been said, there were "legends to account for the remains for prehistoric animals."

Hare Burns His Buttocks

Hare Gets Swallowed

Hare Kills a Man with a Cane

Holy Song (Medicine Song)

From: "Lisa" Subject: [Tradition_OF_The_Redroad] Oglala Com April News

Greetings,
The count down is on.. We have 11 weeks until the day of the event. We have an original oil painted by Leonard up on the auction block on Yahoo Auction.
It may be seen here: It may be seen at Please spread this letter widely to all mailing list. As always this auction piece as well as our own auction page goes directly for the cost of this event and the Peltier Scholarship. If this item is out of your range check out our
auction site
There are two pages now opened.

Things have been kicking in, as we are extemely busy trying to get the plans finalized, But finalization always depends on the funds. Our auctions raise about 90% of all the funds generated to carry this event through. Please if you win an item, get payment to me as soon as possible or leave the line of communitication open. I will have some items including more of Buddy's beadwork,along with his daughter's too. To them I want to send my sincere thanks to him and his family, they have faced some major crisis' and I get a letter saying he has more bead work to come..

If you haven't seen the concert page recently, it has been update and more names have been added. Still waiting on some more confirmations. Looks like all of Peltier's legal time will be there, support groups from Germany, France, Belgium, Canada. Free Speech TV may be back this year, so I ask everyone to bring a banner or poster with you if possible. A sign with your support group or Free Peltier along with your city or country, so that support from all over the world may be seen.

Some events leading up to the 26th may be announced soon. We are down to the last couple of months so things will be flying. It also looks like we will have a larger crowd this year so we are in desperate need of kitchen volunteers, food servers, cleaner- uppers.

You may contact me at oglala_commemoration@yahoo.com
Thats all for now.
Lisa
www.oglalacommemoration.com

From: George Lessard media@web.net Subject: NAJA seeking applicants for student journalism training

[Note: Native American Journalists Association programs such as this one are generally also open to First Nations journalists from outside of the US.]

Date: Wed, 6 Apr 2005 14:50:43 -0600 (MDT)
From: NAJA-Email Alerts naja@naja.com
Organization: NAJA-Email Alerts
List-Archive:
http://www.naja.com/cgi-bin/mojo/mojo.cgi?f=archive&l=naja

The Native American Journalists Association is seeking applicants for student journalism training programs being held at NAJA’s 21st annual convention in Lincoln, Nebr.

Project Phoenix, being held Aug. 6-11, 2005, will accept 15 high school students into a weeklong journalism-training program. This exciting program is being held at the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Participating students will get the chance to learn from working professionals in the industry and have an opportunity to be published in one issue of a student newspaper, Rising Voices.

NAJA Student Projects, being held Aug. 8-14, 2005 is seeking forty-five qualified applicants for the weeklong journalism-training program. This program is similar to Project Phoenix but is geared toward college students and includes radio, television and online training. Participating students will learn basic journalism skills and reporting techniques from working professionals who are employed at newspapers, radio and television organizations across the United States. Students selected for the newspaper project produce three issues of a student newspaper called, Native Voice

For additional information about these exciting programs, including applications for each program, please visit the NAJA website at http://www.naja.com and click on the convention banner at the top of the home page.
Regards,
NAJA

From: George Lessard media@web.net
Subject: Inuit film to tell story of last great shaman

Inuit film to tell story of last great shaman

IGLOOLIK - The makers of the award-winning film, Atanarjuat, The Fast Runner, kicked off production Monday on their second full-length feature.

C B C . C A A r t s

From: ghwelker3@comcast.net
Subject: Smudge Ceremony

Smudge Ceremony

Smudging is a ceremony for cleansing that has been used in many traditions throughout history. Widely varying cultures and religions from all over the Earth have discovered power in working with the smoke from burning herbs and incense. Smell is the sense that connects us to a deep, instinctual part of the brain. Certain scents have the power to change our energies and trigger emotions. Beyond that, the Native American smudging ceremony adds a dimension of ritual and respect for all the many diverse parts of Creation.

The purpose of smudging is to cleanse yourself, your objects and/or a place. It can be done before other ceremonies or by itself. According to what we have been taught, certain plants have entered into a sacred agreement with us two-leggeds: in exchange for our respectful treatment of them, they will give up their lives so that we can have their purifying smoke to cleanse with and to pray with, so that we might stay in balance and keep our walk sacred. This means we are to pick the plants with honor, asking permission and giving thanks, taking only what we need and not damaging the plant.

http://members.aol.com/danceottr4/smudge.html

This page explains it very well: (using sage, cedar, sweetgrass

http://www.asunam.com/smudge_ceremony.html

Our Native elders have taught us that before a person can be healed or heal another, one must be cleansed of any bad feelings, negative thoughts, bad spirits or negative energy - cleansed both physically and spiritually. This helps the healing to come through in a clear way, without being distorted or sidetracked by negative "stuff" in either the healer or the client. The elders say that all ceremonies, tribal or private, must be entered into with a good heart so that we can pray, sing, and walk in a sacred manner, and be helped by the spirits to enter the sacred realm.

Native people throughout the world use herbs to accomplish this. One common ceremony is to burn certain herbs, take the smoke in one's hands and rub or brush it over the body. Today this is commonly called "smudging." In Western North America the three plants most frequently used in smudging are sage, cedar, and sweetgrass.

Smudging

To do a smudging ceremony, burn the clippings of these herbs (dried), rub your hands in the smoke, and then gather the smoke and bring it into your body, or - rub it onto yourself; especially onto any area you feel needs spiritual healing. Keep praying all the while that the unseen powers of the plant will cleanse your spirit. Sometimes, one person will smudge another, or a group of people, using hands - or more often a feather - to lightly brush the smoke over the other person(s). We were taught to look for dark spots in a person's spirit-body. As one California Indian woman told us, she "sees" a person's spirit-body glowing around them, and where there are "dark or foggy parts," she brushes the smoke into these "holes in their spirit-body." This helps to heal the spirit and to "close up" these holes.

Recently we did a "light" house cleansing for a friend. We use the term "light", for this is a relatively simple ceremony as opposed to some that are more lengthy and complicated. Our friend had some serious emotional and relationship problems, and he felt they had left a heavy and dark atmosphere. First, we prayed together to the Creator and to the spirits for help. We then, burned sage, purified ourselves, and took the sage to all the corners, closets, and rooms of the house. We pushed the smoke with our hands to cleanse every bit of space - lingering over dark or cold spots that "felt" uncomfortable.

We used sage first in order to drive out the bad influences. Then we purified ourselves with cedar and, then repeated the cleansing process throughout the house with that. Then sweetgrass was used in the same manner to bring in good influences. All the time we prayed for help in this cleansing. Finally, we took a candle over the whole house and pushed its light into every corner. The People of the Pacific Northwest Coast taught this "lighting-up" of a house to us. We've been doing this type of house cleansing for ten years, and it never fails to "clear the air."

One more note about smudging. It is very popular among many novices to use abalone shells in smudging. There are many Native elders who are pleased to see so many new folds smudging themselves, but - some are concerned that abalone shells are being used when burning the herbs. On the Pacific Northwest Coast, for example, some holy men have said that abalone shells represent Grandmother Ocean, and that they should be used in ceremonies with water, not burning.

We know enough Native elders in the Northwest, the Plains, and California who don't use abalone shells - but instead clay or stone bowls - that we don't personally feel comfortable using a shell.

In any case, smudging is a ceremony that must be done with care. We are entering into a relationship with the unseen powers of these plants, and with the spirits of the ceremony. As with all good relationships, there has to be respect and honor if the relationship is to work.

From: George Lessard
Subject: US National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (NATHPO)

What is the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (NATHPO)?

http://www.nathpo.org/

Founded in 1998, the Association is a national non-profit membership organization of Tribal government officials who implement federal and tribal preservation laws. NATHPO's overarching purpose is to support the preservation, maintenance and revitalization of the cutlure and traditions of Native peoples of the United States. This is accomplished most importantly through the support of Tribal Historic Preservation Programs as acknowledgded by the National Park Service.

Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (THPOs) have the responsibilities of State Historic Preservation Officers on tribal lands and advise and work with federal agencies on the management of tribal historic properties. THPOs also preserve and rejuvenate the unique cultural traditions and practices of their tribal communities.

NATHPO activities include monitoring the U.S. Congress, Administration, and state activities on issues that affect all Tribes and monitoring the effectiveness of federally mandated compliance reviews and identification, evaluation, and management of tribal historic properties. Examples of completed and ongoing projects: "Tribal Tourism Toolkit for the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial and Other Tribal Opportunities (2002)," and "Many Nations Media Project - News from the Lewis & Clark Trail (2002-5)," and "Treaty Research Project for Continental U.S. (2001)." NATHPO also offers training and technical assistance on federal historic preservation laws.

Bibliography of the Zuni Language

The Zuni, or Shiwi language, is now generally considered a language isolate. The Encyclopedia Britannica categorizes it as a Penutian language, and Bertha Dutton once posed the hypothetical that according to the Swadesh list, "If the Zuni language is a member of the Penutian language family, then it is a distant relative of the Tanoan languages (Tewi). The Penutian hypothesis was advanced by Alfred Kroeber and Roland B. Dixon, and later refined by Edward Sapir, and was an attempt to reduce the number of unrelated language families in a culturally diverse area that was centered in California's central coast. While this theory was plausible for some of the languages, the problem of verification of this theory was that to find any evidence of any cognates between the California languages and Zuni, one would possibly have to trace the languages' lineage by as much as 3000-5000 years or more.

Listed below is a bibliography of books and articles concerned with the Zuni language. Some of these items deal with syntax and semantics, as does Zuni Curtis D. Cook's article. Others, such as Ruth Bunzel's Pueblo Pottery and Jane M. Young's book on Rock Art, may seem out of place on this list, but are important in the study of pragmatics and the Zuni World View as it corresponds with the Zuni language. The Zuni worldview may properly be considered as a study in orthology. The form and function of design images and pictographic rock art images and their interpretation according to Zuni mythology or cosmology sufficed as a form of communication prior to the appearance of a written language.

The Zuni Enigma, by Nancy Yaw Davis offers a comparative of cognates between the Zuni language and another language isolate; the Japanese language. While speculative, it demonstrates a likeness between the Zuni and Japanese languages that is more compelling than that of the Penutian Hypothesis. The article by Dell Hymes offers information on California languages where one can form a comparative of certain Zuni words to the languages of California, e.g. Wintu, Maidu, Miwok, and may have relevance to studies of the Pueblo Peoples, the Pecos Classification, Hohokam. The importance of the books on and by Frank Hamilton Cushing goes without saying. He was the first anthropologist to undertake studies by means of the method of participant observation, and was a member of the Priesthood of the Bow. Of special interest in regard to the Zuni language is his correspondences edited by Jesse Green, and their relevance to the Zuni language as it reflects their world view.

Any suggested additions to this list can be submitted to zunifetish@prophetsrock.com and are welcome.

Bunzel, Ruth L. The Pueblo Potter: A Study of Creative Imagination in Primitive Art. New York: Dover, 1929

Bunzel, Ruth L. Introduction to Zuni Ceremonialism. Intro. by Nancy Pareto. University of New Mexico Press, 1992.

Bunzel, Ruth L. Zuni Texts. Publications of the American Ethnological Society, 15. New York: G.E. Steckert & Co., 1933.

Cook, Curtis D. "Nucleus and Margin of Zuni Clause Types." Linguistics. 13: 5-37, 1975.

Davis, Nancy Yaw. The Zuni Enigma. Norton, 2000.

Dutton, Bertha P. American Indians of the Southwest. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1983.

Green, Jesse, ed. Zuni: Selected Writings of Frank Hamilton Cushing. Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press, 1979.

Green, Jesse. Cushing at Zuni: The Correspondence and Journals of Frank Hamilton Cushing, 1879-1884. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1990.

Hickerson, Nancy P. "Two Studies of Color: Implications for Cross-Cultural Comparability of Semantic Categories". In Linguistics and Anthropology: In honor of C.F. Voegelin. Pp. 317-330. Ed. By M. Dale Kinkade, Kenneth Hale, and Oswald Werner. The Peter De Ridder Press, 1975.

Hieb, Louis A. "Meaning and Mismeaning: Toward an Understanding of the Ritual Clowns". New Perspectives on the Pueblos. Ed. by Alfonso Ortiz. Pp. 163-195. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1972.

Hymes, Dell H. "Some Penutian Elements and the Penutian Hypothesis". Southwestern Journal of Anthropology. 13:69-87, 1957.

Miner, Kenneth L. "Noun Stripping and Loose Incorporation in Zuni". International Journal of American Linguistics. 52: 242-254, 1986.

Newman, Stanley. "Vocabulary Levels: Zuni Sacred and Slang Usage."Southwestern Journal of Anthropology. 11: 345-354, 1955.

Newman, Stanley. Zuni Dictionary. Indiana University Research Center Publication Six. Bloomington: Indiana University, 1958.

Newman, Stanley. "The Zuni Verb 'To Be'"Foundations of Language, Supplemental Series. Vol. 1. Ed. by John W. Verhaar., The Humanities Press, 1967.

Stout, Carol. "Problems of a Chomskyan Analysis of Zuni Transitivity". International Journal of American Linguistics. 39: 207-223, 1973.

Walker, Willard. "Inflection and Taxonomic Structure in Zuni". International Journal of American Linguistics. 32(3): 217-227, 1966.

Walker Willard. "Toward a Sound Pattern of the Zuni". International Journal of American Linguistics. 38(4): 240-259, 1968.

Young, M. Jane. Signs from the Ancestors: Zuni Cultural Symbolism and Perceptions in Rock Art. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1988.

From: Glenn Welker
Subject: National Powwow

National Museum of the American Indian

National Powwow

Actual Location MCI Center, 601 F Street NW, Washington D.C. 20004

Event Dates August 12, 13, 14, 2005

*Vendor applications will be ready for distribution within the next couple of weeks. We will allow ample time, approx. 2 months for vendors to apply. Justin Giles will be the point of contact for vendors and he is currently taking names and info and will send application forms when ready.

*General Contact*

Number 877-830-3224 or 301-238-3023

nmainationalpowwow@si.edu

www.americanindian.si.edu (webpage in development-email announcement to staff when complete)

Navajo artist Teddy Draper Workshops
Chinle, Arizona (Canyon DeChelly)- Seminars and workshops have limited capacity and usually require enrollment months in advance.

Workshop information for 2005

May 16-20, instructor Teddy Draper, Jr., pastel techniques, insights into art, culture, and connecting to nature.

June 7-11, Indian Jewelry Basics (class limited to 4 students).

June 7-11, instructor Teddy Draper, Jr., pastel techniques, insights into art, culture, and connecting to nature.

Contact Teddy Draper at
dechelly2000@yahoo.com

Andres Quandelacy, Blue Peruvian Opal Bear with Fish

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Literacy in Indigenous Communities by L. David van Broekhuizen, Ph.D. (2000)
HTML Format (70K)
PDF Format(117K)

Literacy in first languages in indigenous communities is a complex topic that generates lively discussion. This research synthesis explores the notions of national, mother-tongue, multiple, and biliteracies. It presents important information pertaining to threatened languages, language shift, and language loss. Examples of culturally relevant uses of literacy in indigenous communities and issues related to first-language literacy instruction are also provided.

Essay on the Zuni World View
Excerpt(Complete article is available in PDF)
Cushing also cited an incidence where he showed a pole that accompanies a theodolite to an old Zuni man and asked him what he thought the name of it was. In response the old man inquired as to the use of the item. After briefly describing the implementation of the device the old man provided a rather lengthy sentence-word that Cushing translated as "heights of the world progressively measuring stick". The next day Cushing took the pole to the extreme corner of the pueblo and began "to flourish it around" until a middle-aged man relented to curiosity and asked what it was. Cushing then provided the Zuni name he had learned the day before and the man promptly requested, "Can they actually tell how far up and down journeying the world is?" [105].

Coyote and the Tortillas - Pima

Once upon a time, a river rose very high and spread all over the land. An Indian woman was going along the trail by the river side with a basket of tortillas on her head, but she was wading in water up to her waist.

Now Coyote was afraid of the water, so he had climbed into a cottonwood tree. When the woman came up the trail, Coyote called, "Oh, come to this tree and give me some of those nice tortillas."

The woman said, "No. I can't give them to you; they are for somebody else."

"If you do not come here I will shoot you," said Coyote, and the woman really thought he had a bow.

So she came to the tree and said, "You must come down and get them. I can't climb trees."

Coyote came down as far as he dared, but he was afraid of the deep water. The woman laughed at him. She said, "Just see how shallow it is. It's only up to my ankles."

But she was standing on a big stump. Coyote looked at the water. It seemed shallow and safe enough, so he jumped.

But the water was deep and he was drowned. Then the woman went on up the trail.

Myths and Legends of California and the Old Southwest Compiled and Edited by Katharine Berry Judson, 1912

From Blue Panther Keeper of Stories

http://groups.msn.com/KeeperofStories
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/keeper_of_stories_3

Coyote And The Turkeys - Caddo

Coyote was looking for something to eat, for he was hungry as ever. Finally, on his way, he heard a noise. He thought to himself, "Some people must be having lots of fun," so he made up his mind to go and enjoy himself with them. He went in the direction of the noise and he found many Turkeys.

They were having fun by getting into a large sack and rolling down a steep hill. When the Turkeys saw him coming they said that they were going to put him in too. Coyote came and wanted to take part in the fun, for he thought it a good chance to kill some of the Turkeys. He let the Turkeys roll him down the hill two or three times; then he thought that his time had come to carry out his plan. He told all the Turkeys to get into the sack and he would roll them down the hill. Every one of them crawled into the sack, and then Coyote tied it fast at each end, so that they could not get out, and put it on his back and started for home. He had four young sons at home, and calling them to him he opened the sack and took out one of the Turkeys, saying: "You see this. I have that sack full of Turkeys. Build a big fire and we will have a feast."

They built a fire, but did not have enough wood to make a big, hot fire. "We will go to the timber for wood, and you," speaking to his youngest son, "stay here and watch the sack." " Be careful not to untie the strings," said Coyote. Then he and his three sons started for the wood. After they had been gone a little while young Coyote thought he would look into the sack and see what the Turkeys were doing. He untied the strings, and just as soon as he untied the strings the Turkeys all ran out and flew away. Young Coyote did not know what to do, but finally he decided to put some dirt in the sack and fool his father that way. He went to work and filled the sack with dirt. His father returned and said, "Now, children, we will have a fine feast," and went to the sack to kill three or four more of the Turkeys; but when he opened the sack he found nothing but dirt in it.

Coyote was very angry at his son, and he asked him how he had let the Turkeys get away, and the boy told him all about it. Coyote killed his young son and ate him in place of the Turkeys.

Traditions of the Caddo, By George A. Dorsey, collected 1903-1905, under the auspices of the Carnegie Institution of Washington

From Blue Panther Keeper of Stories

http://groups.msn.com/KeeperofStories
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/keeper_of_stories_3

Coyote and the Tobacco-Tree - Thompson

Coyote also transformed the Tobacco-tree, that killed men. Whoever went under its shade, or plucked its leaves, died. Having made a stone pipe, he went up into the shade of the tree, and, plucking some of the leaves, put them in his pipe, and smoked them. He said, "Henceforth you will be ordinary tobacco, and people will pluck and smoke you leaves without harm.

Taken from: Myths and Tales from Nicola Valley and Fraser River collected by James Alexander Teit, 1911

From Blue Panther Keeper of Stories

http://groups.msn.com/KeeperofStories
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/keeper_of_stories_3