American Indian Trickster Tales

by Richard Erdoes and Alfonzo Ortiz

Of all the characters in myths and legends told around the world through the centuries - courageous heroes, scary monsters, rapturous virgins - it's the Trickster who provides the real spark in the action. And nowhere is he more central to the story than in Native American folklore. This book covers the entire North American continent, with more than one hundred tales from fifty-five tribes. You'll encounter the rascally and irascible Coyote, master thief and insatiable lover of the Southwest; lktomi the shape-shifting Spider-Man of the Lakota: Veeho, the Cheyenne daredevil; and Glooskap of the Passamaquoddy. You'll read tale cycles from the Eastern seaboard, the Great Lakes, the mountains, and the plains. It is a volume of traditional wit and wisdom that represents the best of folkloric sources of the last two centuries and a bounty of unpublished tales recorded by the authors from contemporary storytellers.

Comments, Opinions, Reviews

Vivis Moore-Smith commented on 25-Jan-2010 08:47 AM

When I was a young child Al Ortiz would tell these tales to my siblings and me in the shadows of the cliff dwellings. This was in Frijoles Canyon. I can still hear his melodious voice as he spun his stories in the dusk light. What a wonderful person. I drew from his wisdom to realign my life many times. He bridged generational and cultural differences to truly touch his world. After I became an adult, during difficult times in my life, his advice to me worked and still works-"Always allow yourself time to heal." He is remembered and missed. This is a poorer world without him.

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