While trapping in Montana during the 1880s, young Frank B. Linderman listened to stories and legends told by Kootenai Indians around their campfires. In 1926 he translated the tales for KOOTENAI WHY STORIES. These stories explain the "why" of nature--such as why the coyote has thin legs. Linderman's retelling captures the mystery and spirit of a forested world. Illustrated.

The years between 1875 and 1910 saw a revolution in the economy of the Flathead Reservation, home to the Salish and Kootenai Indians. In 1875 the tribes had supported themselves through hunting—especially buffalo—and gathering. Thirty-five years later, cattle herds and farming were the foundation of their economy. Providing for the People tells the story of this transformation. Author Robert J. Bigart describes how the Salish and Kootenai tribes overcame daunting odds to maintain their independence and integrity through this dramatic transition—how, relying on their own initiatives and labor, they managed to adjust and adapt to a new political and economic order. Major changes in the Flathead Reservation economy were accompanied by the growing power of the Flathead Indian Agent. Tribal members neither sought nor desired the new order of things, but as Bigart makes clear, they never stopped fighting to maintain their economic independence and self-support. The tribes did not receive general rations and did not allow the government to take control of their food supply. Instead, most government aid was bartered in exchange for products used in running the agency. Providing for the People presents a deeply researched, finely detailed account of the economic and diplomatic strategies that distinguished the Flathead Reservation Indians at a time of overwhelming and complex challenges to Native American tribes and traditions.

Coyote and the other land animals devise a plot to steal fire from Curlew, the keeper of the sky world, and they successfully bring fire to Earth, protecting it against the month-long rain that Curlew sends down to extinguish it.

These legends are still told by the Ktunaxa (pronounced tun-a-ha') or Kootenai people living in the Rocky Mountain region in Western Montana, Northern Idaho, and British Columbia. Coyote, or Skinkuc, is the main character of about half of these stories, which have been repeated by parents, grandparents, and elders since ancient times.Through these stories, Ktunaxa children have learned never to waste any part of wild game or other food. They have learned respect for all of creation and a personal regard for all life. The experiences of Coyote show how greed, crooked dealings, and boundless appetite can cause trouble. The legends tell of the humanity, the spirit of all creation. Illustrations by Ktunaxa artists appear on every page, adding to the tales' appeal for readers of all ages. Carefully translated into English, the legends offer a glimpse into the history of story-telling and Ktunaxa Indian tradition. "

Shy and lacking in self-confidence, eight-year-old Pathki Nana faces a difficult task when, according to Kootenai tribal custom, she must go alone into the mountains to seek a personal guardian spirit.

The Indians of the northwestern plains always laughed at the tales about Old-man, heard around the lodge fire in the wintertime after sunset. For a powerful character, he was comically flawed. Old-man made the world but sometimes forgot the names of things. Victim and victimizer, he seemed closer to common experience than the awesome god Manitou. Frank B. Linderman thought Old-man was, under different names, a god for many Indian communities. ø These stories?collected from Chippewa and Cree elders and first published in 1920?are full of wonder at the way things are. Why children lose their teeth, why eyesight fails with age, why dogs howl at night, why some animals wear camouflage?these and other mysteries, large and small, are made vividly sensible.

People Before the Park shares the rich cultural traditions of the Kootenai and Blackfeet tribes, in and around the area that is now Glacier National Park.