Coyote

Perhaps the most famous trickster in all of North America is Coyote. He appears in numerous native American tales, and takes on many forms. He can be shaped like a coyote, he can appear like a young man, and he can take on other people/things shapes or forms. He can also act many different ways. In some tales he is malicious and greedy while in others he is described as a creator.

William Bright says that Coyote is said to brought fire to the Native Americans of the West by sticking his tail into a fire guarded by a circle of flies and then lighting the forest on fire. However there are several tales involving Coyote where he tries to sleep with his eldest daughter by putting on a different form and then coming into the house. He often almost gets away with it until a member of the household sees a distinguishing characteristic that marks him as their father.
 * < (Bright, William.) ||

Below are two different tales from Erdoes's and Ortiz's book //American Indian Trickster Tales.// One showcases Coyote in his role as Creator, the other in his role as mischief maker.

"Everything was water except a small piece of ground. On this were Eagle and Coyote. Then the turtle swam to them. They sent it to dive for the earth at the bottom of the water. The turtle barely succeeded in reaching the bottom and touching it with its foot. When it came up again, all the earth seemed washed out. Coyote looked closely at its nails. At last he found a grain of earth. Then he and the eagle took this and laid it down. From it they made the earth as large as it is. From the earth they also made six men and six women. They sent these out in pairs in different directions and the people separated. After a time the eagle sent Coyote to see what the people were doing. Coyote came back and said: 'They are doing something bad. They are eating the earth. One side is already gone.' The eagle said: 'That is bad. Let us make something for them to eat. Let us send the dove to find something.' The dove went out. It found a single grain of meal. The eagle and Coyote pt this down on the ground. Then the earth became covered with seeds and fruit. Now they told the people to eat these. When the seeds were dry and ripe the people gathered them. Then the people increased and spread all over. But the water is still under the world."
 * //"The Beginning of the World"// - Yokuts**
 * < (Erdoes, Richard, and Alfonso Ortiz. p. 3) ||



"Once, when Old Man Coyote saw some buffalo, he wanted to eat them and tried to think of a scheme to do this. He approached the buffalo and said to them: 'You buffalo are the most awkward of all animals--your heads are heavy, your hairy legs are chopped off short, and your bellies stick out like a big pot.' The buffalo said to him: 'We were made this way.' Old Man Coyote said to them: 'I'll tell you what let's do--we will run a race.' And all went to a level place with a steep cut bank at the end. Old Man Coyote said to himself: 'I will go and put my robe over the edge of the bank,' and turning to the buffalo, he said: 'Just as we get to the place where my robe is, we will all shut our eyes and see how far we can go with our eyes closed.' The race was started, and just before getting to the robe, all of the buffalo shut their eyes and jumped over the steep cut bank and were killed; and Old Man Coyote feasted off the dead buffalo."
 * //"Old Man Coyote And The Buffalo"// - Crow**
 * < (Erdoes, Richard, and Alfonso Ortiz.p. 45) ||