Photo of a mural by Rick Gendron
Storytelling
Čaptíkʷł are our creation stories. They are often called “animal stories.” They teach right conduct, offer morals, and make us laugh. Laughter is healing. It helps us accept ourselves as human beings. We all make mistakes. We can take responsibility for our mistakes, and work to do better.
Here is one example of a Čaptíkʷł from Grahm Wiley-Camacho’s You Tube channel. He is a Sinixt Salish Immersion Elementary Teacher at the Salish School of Spokane.
Read about Coyote’s power in “The Spirit Chief Names the Animal People.”Coyote Stories, by Mourning Dove, Jay Miller, ed. The author, Mourning Dove (Christine Quintasket) was an important storyteller. She had relatives in the Okanagan, Skoyelpi and Sinixt tribes. Some of her father’s relatives came from our village, Trout Lake, B.C.
Nancy Wynecoop’s memoir, In the Stream, also includes several creation stories.
