Living by Stories

the long version

"Living by Stories includes a number of classic stories set in the "mythological age" about the trickster/transformer, Coyote, and his efforts to rid the world of bad people - spatla or "monsters;" but this new volume is more important for its presentation of historical narratives set in the more recent past. As with the mythological accounts, there is much chaos and conflict in these stories, mainly due to the arrival of new quasi-monsters - shamas (whites) - who dispossess "Indians" of their lands and rights, impose new political and legal systems, and erect roads, rail lines, mines, farms, ranches and towns on the landscape."--Jacket.