Coyote Tales Captivate Kids

The animal was a star long before Wile E. Coyote made his TV debut.

But one little girl wanted to know why.

“Why don’t the Indians tell stories with gophers and stuff?” asked a shy Jessica Grady, a big-eyed fourth grader from McDonald Elementary.

Lawrence Aripa smiled, and told her Coyote is a trickster but is still a good guy most of the time. That’s why he gets top billing in most of Aripa’s stories.

The gray-haired Coeur d’Alene tribal elder was at St. Mary’s Catholic Church Saturday, telling tribal tales handed down through generations. David Grant, a Lakota Sioux, spoke later to adults and high schoolers on spirituality.

The 15 or so kids gathered in the morning were all enrolled in the Spokane Valley Native American Program. They represented all Valley school districts, but class seemed a lifetime away. The youngsters sat in a circle of orange chairs, slouching slowly forward when a story got especially good.

At 70, Aripa preserves the stories both verbally and through his contributions to the 1995 book, “Stories That Make the World,” a collection of Native American legends. Before starting, Aripa surveyed the young faces. “I hope you get something out of it,” he said. “Even a little bit would be fine.”

He told them how Coyote once wanted to marry the daughter of a Coeur d’Alene chief. The chief told him no way, that he must be crazy. So Coyote prayed to the animal spirits for a little payback, and the spirits made Spokane Falls. Salmon hasn’t passed through since.

Everyone clapped. Aripa, a quiet-voiced guy who seems shy when not in the midst of a yarn, beamed at the applause.

“A little boy told me he loved monster stories, so I’ll tell one,” he said. A giant rock monster chased Coyote all over, knocking trees off of mountains, Aripa said. Coyote finally tricked the thing into falling into the lake. That’s why Lake Coeur d’Alene is blue.

That one satisfied the monster fans. Next he was asked to tell a story about a person; Aripa knew just the one.

He told of a 13-year-old boy who was especially tall. He didn’t have a name yet, since he not had a vision to give him one. Once, when all the warriors were gone, he and the women, children, and elders of the tribe were surprised by warriors from another tribe.

The boy picked up sticks and pretended they were a bow and some arrows. He ran out in the open to divert the invaders’ attention, so the Coeur d’Alene could escape. The invading warriors fired their flintlock rifles at the boy four times, but missed.

From a distance, he looked full-grown. Since the invaders couldn’t shoot him, they figured he was magic.

When the Coeur d’Alene warriors returned, they named the boy “Four Smoke.”

“When I was born, and my brother, my grandfather wanted to give us Indian names,” Aripa said. His brother’s Indian name translated to “Four Smoke,” after the young boy who saved the tribe.

He told a couple more tales, one about Coyote learning to be happy with who and what he was. All the stories have meanings, and that’s what’s important to Aripa.

Tess Shearer, a tutor with the program, wanted to know if anyone had any questions. Wayne Yacom, a knee-high Otis Orchards first grader, raised his hand, with what turned out to be more of a comment: “He was good!” the boy said with a little-kid giggle.

In closing, Aripa was a man of few words.

“I guess the only thing I have to say is, if you want to be a coyote, do the right thing.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: Valley Snapshots is a regular Valley Voice feature that visits gatherings in the Valley.