“Fox and Coyote and Whale”
Retold by Mourning Dove
Kettle Falls = Swah-netk’-qhu
• ancient and important salmon fishing site
• water flowed through quartzite rocks
• series of rapids and cascades in which the
river dropped 50 ft.
• flooded in 1940 when the Grand Coulee
Dam was built
What did you feel was most
memorable about “Fox and Coyote
and Whale”?
Why do Fox and Coyote go to the
world of the Water People?
• They go to find Fox’s wife who ran away
with the Whale Monster.
• They want to bring her home.
What caused the powerful force of
Kettle Falls, according to the story?
• The headless body of the Whale Monster
turning over and over.
Why don’t whales live in fresh
waters, according to the story?
• Fox threw the Whale Monster’s head into
the ocean so that such a large monster
wouldn’t be able to travel the smaller
waters and steal people’s wives.
What might be Okanogan
storytellers’ purpose for telling this
story?
• It might be an attempt to explain natural
phenomena, like where whales live and
why Kettle Falls is the way it is.
• It also shows the importance of loyalty to
family.
What did you learn about the
Okanogan people and their way of
life?
• They value family, loyalty, monogamous
marriage
• They value friendship
• They disapprove of greed
• They use canoes
• They eat meat and berries
• They use animal skin to make clothes
Do you view Coyote as admirable?
Why or why not?
What do these Coyote stories have
in common with other folk tales you
know?
• Explain natural phenomena
• Demonstrate values of the culture – how
people are supposed to behave
• Are entertaining