Legends of the Yosemite Miwok

Bys: Frank Lapena, Craig D. Bates, Steven P. Medley

Book Overview

Read about the greed of His’-sik the Skunk, about how Ah-ha’-le the coyote created humans, and about the quarreling couple who became Half Dome and North Dome. For centuries these stories have... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 093966657X
• ISBN13: 9780939666577
• Release Date: January 1993
• Publisher: Yosemite Conservancy
• Length: 89 Pages
• Weight: 0.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 8.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Fun for all ages, treasured stories for all time

If you've ever visited Yosemite National Park, or even seen pictures, you know that there are many interesting formations that make this valley unique in the world. The resident Ahwahneechi, of course, had many legends about how the valley came to be, and these are collected and retold here by respected Wintu elder Frank LaPena, longtime Yosemite museum curator Craig Bates, and illustrated by native artist Harry Fonseca. Although the stories differ slightly from the way I heard them as a girl in the hangi in Yosemite valley, the familiar characters and stories are brought to life here. They're presented in a way that makes them perfect for reading aloud, which is the way they're meant to be heard and learned. If my son had his way, I would tell him the story of Tu-tok-a-nu-la every single night before bedtime! Where the stories were obtained is an interesting addition, as is the annotated bibliography. The color pencil drawings and tactile heavy linen paper complete this warm, wonderful experience. Highly recommended, especially if you're going to be reading them to others in Yosemite valley, perhaps around the campfire.

A delightful book of Miwok Legends

This book was compiled by NPS Ethnologist Craig Bates and contains authentic Southern Sierra Miwok legends. Frank La Pena provided the illustrations. It's a well-written book for children or adults interested in Miwok legends. So many books on Native American legends, including Miwok, contain "fabricated" legends that romanticize Native Americans or otherwize bend legends to the writer's agenda (whether it's environmental, cultural, or historic). Legends of the Yosemite Miwok is authentic and a good first book on Miwok legends. The other reviewer apparently has an ax to grind about surviving present-day Miwok. The original Ahwahnees died in the early 1800s from some European disease. Chief Tenaya's band in the mid-1800s was composed of Miwok, Paiute, and other Native peoples. Tenaya was half Miwok through his mother. From the 1900s the remaining Miwok married outside their tribe, but that's a red herring. The legends in this book told are authentic.