As a trickster and on occasion, reluctant hero, the coyote is found in the mythology of almost all the different tribes found throughout the Americas. Rude, interfering, and restless, he is a nevertheless a powerful totem, and the symbol of survival, adaptability and health.
In storytelling tradition, the coyote emerges as one of the first Proto-People, whose existence preceded the arrival of humans. These entities were endowed with great powers and were the creators of everything on the earth. In creation myth he symbolized original knowledge. He brought order to the creative process, introduced death into the scheme of things and named the Sun and Moon, not to mention the crops.
Countless legends tell of coyote's scandalous behavior, his trickery, greed, sexual excesses, lying, cheating, and propensity for making blunders wherever he went. Yet he learns as he goes, shape-shifting and experimenting with every situation he encounters along the way. Lessons through mistakes cannot be ignored. Humor is an integral part of the lesson, and those who look to the coyote as a symbol of toughness and resilience learn how to pick themselves up and start all over again. Failure is often a better teacher than success, and reveals much about strength of character. In Coyote, we see ourselves.
