1. Native American Myths: Coyote Finishes His Work
Feature Menu
Introducing the Story
The Nez Perce
Literary Skills Focus: Archetypes
Reading Skills Focus: Understanding Cultural Characteristics
Writing Skills Focus: Think as a Reader/Writer
Tech Focus

2. Native American Myths: Coyote Finishes His Work
The Granger Collection, New York
How can people’s beliefs affect their actions?

3. Native American Myths: Coyote Finishes His Work Introducing the Story
Click on the title to start the video.

4. Native American Myths: Coyote Finishes His Work Introducing the Story
Passed on from generation to generation, this Nez Perce myth features Coyote in the role of the trickster hero.
School for Advanced Research, Catalog Number IAF.P201-18
Coyote’s adventures teach moral lessons and present alternate explanations for natural occurrences.
What does the myth promise for the future?
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5. Native American Myths: Coyote Finishes His Work The Nez Perce
The Nez Perce (nehz puhrs), whose name comes from the French term for “pierced nose,” were a people of the Plateau culture. X
They live in what is now Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. X X

6. Native American Myths: Coyote Finishes His Work The Nez Perce
Fierce conflicts, fueled by the opening of the Oregon Trail and the nineteenth-century gold rush, erupted over ownership of their land.
The Granger Collection, New York
In 1877, the Nez Perce leader, Chief Joseph, surrendered to federal troops with the now-famous words “I will fight no more forever.”
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7. Native American Myths: Coyote Finishes His Work Literary Skills Focus: Archetypes
An archetype is a pattern that appears in literature across cultures and is repeated through the ages.
Archetypes include
characters
plots
images
themes
settings
The Granger Collection, New York

8. Native American Myths: Coyote Finishes His Work Literary Skills Focus: Archetypes
Most myths contain archetypes. The more myths you read, the more you’ll notice these recurring patterns, such as
the hero who dies with honor
ill-fated lovers
the wise old man
the trickster hero
an initiation task
a life-giving tree

9. Native American Myths: Coyote Finishes His Work Literary Skills Focus: Archetypes
Over time, archetypes change bit by bit, reappearing in slightly different forms across multiple genre, or types of literature.
The Granger Collection, New York
An initiation archetype, the Native American vision quest might appear today as a Bar Mitzvah.
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10. Native American Myths: Coyote Finishes His Work Reading Skills Focus: Understanding Cultural Characteristics
Different cultures have different literary traditions.

11. Native American Myths: Coyote Finishes His Work Reading Skills Focus: Understanding Cultural Characteristics
Since American Indian literature was handed down orally by storytellers, these literary works may lose some of their power in written form.
As you read, imagine each piece being spoken by a skilled storyteller to an eager audience . . .
or, better yet, read each piece aloud.
From “Coyote Finishes His Work” from Giving Birth to Thunder, Sleeping with His Daughter by Barry Holstun Lopez. Copyright © 1977 by Barry Holstun Lopez. All rights reserved. Reproduced by permission of Andrews McMeel Publishing.
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12. Native American Myths: Coyote Finishes His Work Reading Skills Focus: Understanding Cultural Characteristics
Into Action: Record examples of archetypes.
Into Action: Archetype Chart
The Earth Only
Coyote Finishes
His Work
The Sky Tree
Archetype
Characteristics
Culture
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13. Native American Myths: Coyote Finishes His Work Writing Skills Focus: Think as a Reader/Writer
Find It in Your Reading
Because “Coyote Finishes His Work” was originally passed down orally from generation to generation, its syntax, or sentence structure, has a unique quality.
“From the very beginning, Coyote was traveling around all over the earth. He did many wonderful things when he went along. He killed the monsters and the evil spirits that preyed on the people.”
From “Coyote Finishes His Work” from Giving Birth to Thunder, Sleeping with His Daughter by Barry Holstun Lopez. Copyright © 1977 by Barry Holstun Lopez. All rights reserved. Reproduced by permission of Andrews McMeel Publishing.
As you read, note the aspects of the syntax that seem to reflect an oral tradition.

14. Native American Myths: Coyote Finishes His Work Writing Skills Focus: Think as a Reader/Writer
TechFocus
As you read this selection, think about how people today convey their own stories and myths.
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15. Vocabulary

16. Native American Myths: Coyote Finishes His Work Vocabulary
endures v.: keeps on; continues.
inhabited adj.: lived in.
revive v.: return to life.
determined v.: decided; concluded.

17. Native American Myths: Coyote Finishes His Work Vocabulary
If something endures, it keeps on or continues.
Although Diana is a professional classical guitarist, her love of rock and roll endures.
Is Diana still a fan of rock and roll? Explain.

18. Native American Myths: Coyote Finishes His Work Vocabulary
Faced with multiple injuries and a losing season, the players boasted that their team spirit endures.
Which of these scenes does not reflect the team’s spirit? A B

19. Native American Myths: Coyote Finishes His Work Vocabulary
The word inhabited means “lived in.”
The weary travelers, hungry and cold, hoped to find an inhabited cabin before nightfall.
Do you think their search will end when they find this cabin? Why or why not?

20. Native American Myths: Coyote Finishes His Work Vocabulary
Our tour guide insisted that we visit only the inhabited regions of the island. A B C
Which of these scenes might we visit?

21. Native American Myths: Coyote Finishes His Work Vocabulary
The word revive means “to return to life.”
With speed and expertise, the emergency technicians will revive the unconscious man.
Is the man dead or alive? Explain.

22. Native American Myths: Coyote Finishes His Work Vocabulary
The city council plans to revive the downtown shopping district of our city.
Which of these strategies would not help revive downtown?
a. Offer free parking
b. Repair and widen the sidewalks
c. Offer tax breaks for stores opening in outlying malls

23. Native American Myths: Coyote Finishes His Work Vocabulary
Determined means “decided or concluded.”
After lengthy deliberations, the school board determined that a school uniform policy would be adopted.
How might this decision affect the teachers and student body?

24. Native American Myths: Coyote Finishes His Work Vocabulary
Fatima determined that she could become her school’s top-ranked long distance runner.
Which of these activities support her decision?
B. eating
healthy
food
C. getting
adequate
sleep
D. lifting
weights
A. practicing
They all do.
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