Legend of Poia

Coyote and
Monster

Chinook Salmon Legend

First Creator
and Lone Man

Edward Goodbird's Story

Coyote and Monster

The Nez Perces trace their origins to a struggle between Coyote and a monster.

Discovering that the monster had eaten all the people, Coyote tricked the creature into eating him. Once inside, he first cut out the monster’s heart, and then cut up its body. When he was done, Coyote washed his bloody hands and sprinkled the washwater across the valleys along the Clearwater River, and the Nez Perces sprang into being.

Retelling the story of Coyote and the monster reminds the Nez Perces of their origins and of their connection to a specific location.

Nez Perce linguist Archie Phinney collected a version of the Nez Perce origin story from his mother, Wayi´låtpu, during the winter of 1929–1930.

Archie Phinney. “Coyote and Monster,” from “Nez Perce Texts” in Columbia Contributions to Anthropology, 1934.