A Coyote Columbus Story Sparknotes

The story of Christopher Columbus is one of the most told stories around the world, with Columbus depicted as a savior for his travels. However, we are usually told one side of the story. We are told the European side that illuminates Columbus as a hero. More often than not, history texts leave out the harm inflicted by Christopher Columbus and his questionable actions. In the short story “A Coyote Columbus Story” by Thomas King we are given a glimpse of the past through the Native American perspective. The story gives us a retelling of the beginning of Columbus in a new world. The narrator is telling the story to a Young Coyote about Old Coyote and her encounter with Columbus. At the beginning of the story, the narrator tells us how Old Coyote

One of the main reasons the narrator uses this method is so that he can expand to all audiences, especially children. Children are the easiest to indoctrinate which allows the narrator to be able to change what is typically taught about Christopher Columbus. When you are trying to resist a famous turning point in history, it is easiest to have kids learn the new version, so they are able to grow up with the proper version and can pass down their knowledge to the next generations. This is a very important concept to the narrator because he is trying to teach young Coyote the story of Columbus from the Native American point of view. When the narrator tells her “Columbus didn't find America” (King 240) she immediately disagrees further saying she read it in “a history book. A big red one” (King 240). This red history book symbolizes the eurocentric perspective of the retelling of the story of Columbus while leaving out important parts of the story. Another reason the narrator uses the oral tradition to tell this story is that for a long time, Native Americans were forced to erase all parts of their culture and adopt European concepts. One of the many things they lost their right to practice was oral tradition and being able to pass down their history to the next generations. The narrator chooses to tell the story through a common Native American tradition trying to fight against eurocentric traditions and stay true to his Native American