Beaver Steals Fire: A Salish Coyote Story - Hardcover

Confederated Salish And Kootenai Tribes

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0803243235 ISBN 13: 9780803243231

Publisher: University of Nebraska Press, 2005

Synopsis

A long time ago, fire belonged only to the animals in the land above, not to those on the earth below. Curlew, keeper of the sky world, guarded fire and kept it from the earth. Coyote, however, devised a clever plan to steal fire, aided by Grizzly Bear, Wren, Snake, Frog, Eagle, and Beaver. These brave and resourceful animal beings raided the land above and risked all to steal fire from Curlew.

 

Beaver Steals Fire is an ancient and powerful tale springing from the hearts and experiences of the Salish people of Montana. Steeped in the rich and culturally vital storytelling tradition of the tribe, this tale teaches both respect for fire and awareness of its significance, themes particularly relevant today. This unforgettable version of the story is told by Salish elder Johnny Arlee and beautifully illustrated by tribal artist Sam Sandoval.

About this title

Reviews

PreS-Gr. 2. "A long, long time ago, the only animals who had fire lived in the land above, up in the sky. The animals on earth had no fire." It is very cold, and to keep warm, the Earth animals form a fire-raiding party and appoint Coyote as leader. The animals follow Coyote's instructions, and steal fire from the sky world, bringing it to Earth and passing it from camp to camp. Handsomely illustrated by Salish tribal artist Sandoval, this accessible story credited to confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes, incorporates Salish words and is part of a larger fire-education project that focuses on native use of fire as well as principles of fire ecology. A note asks readers to respect the tradition that this story be told or discussed only during winter, when snow is on the ground. A brief guide to written Salish and the International Phonetic Alphabet is appended. Karen Hutt
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Edition details

• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0803243235
• ISBN 13: 9780803243231
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 64