WSU/Pend Oreille Extension introduced the Sense of Place series in 1999, with a focus on local landscape and natural history of Pend Oreille County, Washington. A partnership with the Kalispel Tribe of Indians Natural Resources Department has allowed us to expand this program through EPA funding to include more classes, a newsletter and this website.

Coyote Tale

traditional

A long time ago, Coyote had stolen salmon from the sisters who lived down by the ocean and carried them up the river in a net. As he went up the river he would visit each village and offer them salmon for their hospitality. When he came to the Kalispel village on the Pend Oreille he met the Chief’s daughter and wanted to marry her, so he made the same offer to the chief as he had with the other villages. The chief said, “We don’t need salmon, for we have deer.” In response to this rebuff, Coyote pinched the Pend Oreille and created Z Canyon, saying, “Now you have to travel far if you want salmon!"

<----previous article...Diggings June 2002...next article---->