1.
Coyote
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The coyote is a canid native to North America. It is smaller than its relative, the gray wolf, and slightly smaller than its other close relatives, the eastern wolf. It fills much of the ecological niche as the golden jackal does in Eurasia, though it is larger. The species is versatile and able to adapt to environments modified by humans, as human activity has altered the landscape, the coyotes range has expanded. In 2013, coyotes were sighted in eastern Panama for the first time, the coyote is more closely related to the common ancestor of wolves and other canids than the gray wolf. As of 2005,19 coyote subspecies are recognized, the average male coyote weighs 8 to 20 kg and the average female 7 to 18 kg. Their fur color is light gray and red or fulvous interspersed with black and white. It is highly flexible in organization, living either in a family unit or in loosely knit packs of unrelated individuals. The coyotes characteristic vocalization is a made by solitary individuals. Humans aside, cougars and gray wolves are the only serious enemies. Nevertheless, coyotes do sometimes mate with gray, eastern, or red wolves, Most recent studies show that most wolves contain some level of coyote DNA. As with other figures, the coyote uses deception and humor to rebel against social conventions. The animal was especially respected in Mesoamerican cosmology as a symbol of military might, after the European colonization of the Americas, it was reviled in Anglo-American culture as a cowardly and untrustworthy animal. Unlike wolves, which have undergone an improvement of their public image, Coyote males average 8 to 20 kg in weight, while females average 7 to 18 kg, though size varies geographically. Northern subspecies, which average 18 kg, tend to larger than the southern subspecies of Mexico. Body length ranges on average from 1.0 to 1.35 m, the largest coyote on record was a male killed near Afton, Wyoming, on November 19,1937, which measured 1.5 m from nose to tail, and weighed 34 kg. Scent glands are located at the side of the base of the tail and are a bluish-black color. The color and texture of the fur varies somewhat geographically
2.
Cultural depictions of ravens
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There are many references to ravens in legends and literature. Most of these refer to the common raven. Because of its plumage, croaking call, and diet of carrion. French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss proposed a structuralist theory that suggests the raven obtained mythic status because it was an animal between life and death. As a carrion bird, ravens became associated with the dead, for example, In Sweden, they are known as the ghosts of murdered persons. In many cultures, such as Aboriginal and Native American legends and it is the official bird of the Yukon and of the city of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. The Raven has appeared in the mythology of ancient people. Some of the more stories are from those of Greek, Celtic, Norse, Pacific Northwest. In Greek mythology, ravens are associated with Apollo, the god of prophecy and they are said to be a symbol of good luck, and were the gods messengers in the mortal world. According to the narration, Apollo sent a white raven, or crow in some versions to spy on his lover. When the raven brought back the news that Coronis has been unfaithful to him, Apollo scorched the raven in his fury, thats why all ravens are black today. According to Livy, the Roman general Marcus Valerius Corvus had a raven settle on his helmet during a combat with a gigantic Gaul, the raven is the first species of bird to be mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, and ravens are mentioned on numerous occasions thereafter. In the Book of Genesis, Noah releases a raven from the ark after the flood to test whether the waters have receded. According to the Law of Moses ravens are forbidden for food, in the Book of Judges, one of Kings of the Midianites defeated by Gideon is called Orev which means Raven. In the Book of Kings 17, 4-6, God commands the ravens to feed the prophet Elijah, King Solomon is described as having hair as black as a raven in the Song of Songs 5,11. Ravens are an example of Gods gracious provision for all his creatures in Psalm 147,9, philo of Alexandria, who interpreted the Bible allegorically, stated that Noahs raven was a symbol of vice, whereas the dove was a symbol of virtue. In the Talmud, the raven is described as having only one of three beings on Noahs Ark that copulated during the flood and so was punished. The Rabbis believed that the raven was forced to ejaculate his seed into the female ravens mouth as a means of reproduction
3.
Loki
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In Norse mythology, Loki, Loptr, or Hveðrungr is a god or jötunn. Loki is the son of Fárbauti and Laufey, and the brother of Helblindi, by the jötunn Angrboða, Loki is the father of Hel, the wolf Fenrir, and the world serpent Jörmungandr. By his wife Sigyn, Loki is the father of Narfi and/or Nari, by the stallion Svaðilfari, Loki is the mother—giving birth in the form of a mare—to the eight-legged horse Sleipnir. In addition, Loki is referred to as the father of Váli in Prose Edda, though this also refers to Odin as the father of Váli twice. Lokis relation with the gods varies by source, Loki sometimes assists the gods, Loki is a shape shifter and in separate incidents he appears in the form of a salmon, a mare, a fly, and possibly an elderly woman named Þökk. Lokis positive relations with the end with his role in engineering the death of the god Baldr. In both the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, the goddess Skaði is responsible for placing a serpent above him while he is bound, Loki may be depicted on the Snaptun Stone, the Kirkby Stephen Stone, and the Gosforth Cross. Lokis origins and role in Norse mythology, which scholars have described as that of a trickster god, have been much debated by scholars. Loki has been depicted in or is referenced in a variety of media in popular culture. The etymology of the name Loki has yet to be solved and it may be related to Old Norse luka, meaning close, shut. The name Hveðrungr is also used in reference to Loki, occurring in names for Hel, in the Poetic Edda, Loki appears in the poems Völuspá, Lokasenna, Þrymskviða, Reginsmál, Baldrs draumar, and Hyndluljóð. In stanza 35 of the Poetic Edda poem Völuspá, a völva tells Odin that, among other things, she sees Sigyn sitting very unhappily with her bound husband, Loki. In stanza 54, after consuming Odin and being killed by Odins son Víðarr, the poem Lokasenna centers around Loki flyting with other gods, Loki puts forth two stanzas of insults while the receiving figure responds with a single stanza, and then another figure chimes in. The poem begins with an introduction detailing that Ægir, a figure associated with the sea, is hosting a feast in his hall for a number of the gods. There, the gods praise Ægirs servers Fimafeng and Eldir, Loki could not bear to hear that, and kills the servant Fimafeng. In response, the gods grab their shields, shrieking at Loki, the gods then return to the hall, and continue drinking. Entrance and rejection Loki comes out of the woods, and meets Eldir outside of the hall, Loki greets Eldir with a demand that Eldir tell him what the gods are discussing over their ale inside the hall. Eldir responds that they discuss their weapons and their prowess in war, Loki says that he will go into the feast, and that, before the end of the feast, he will induce quarrelling among the gods, and mix their mead with malice
4.
Prometheus
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Ancient myths and legends relate at least four versions of the narratives describing Prometheus, his exploits with Zeus, and his eternal punishment as also inflicted by Zeus. There is a single somewhat comprehensive version of the birth of Prometheus, the most significant narratives of his origin appear in the Theogony of Hesiod which relates Prometheus as being the son of the Titan Iapetus by Clymene, one of the Oceanids. Hesiod then presents Prometheus as subsequently being a challenger to Zeuss omnipotence. Each individual ancient author selectively preferred certain crucial stories depicting Prometheus over others, all three of the major Athenian tragedians, Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, were affected by the myth of Prometheus. The surviving plays and fragments of Aeschylus regarding Prometheus retain a place of prominence within modern scholarship for their having survived the ravages of time. The majority of written by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides have been lost to literary antiquity. The influence of the myth of Prometheus extends well into the 20th, the etymology of the theonym prometheus is debated. The classical view is that it signifies forethought, as that of his brother Epimetheus denotes afterthought. It has been theorized that it derives from the Proto-Indo-European root that also produces the Vedic pra math, to steal, hence pramathyu-s, thief, cognate with Prometheus, the Vedic myth of fires theft by Mātariśvan is an analog to the Greek account. Pramantha was the used to create fire. Prometheus, himself a Titan, managed to avoid being in the direct confrontational cosmic battle between Zeus and the other Olympians against Cronus and the other Titans. Prometheus and his struggle would be of vast merit to society as well in this mythology as he was to be credited with the creation of humans. The four most ancient historical sources for the Prometheus myth are Hesiod, Homer, Pindar, the Prometheus myth first appeared in the late 8th-century BCE Greek epic poet Hesiods Theogony. He was a son of the Titan Iapetus by Clymene, one of the Oceanids and he was brother to Menoetius, Atlas, and Epimetheus. In the Theogony, Hesiod introduces Prometheus as a challenger to Zeuss omniscience and omnipotence. In the trick at Mekone, a sacrificial meal marking the settling of accounts between mortals and immortals, Prometheus played a trick against Zeus. He placed two sacrificial offerings before the Olympian, a selection of hidden inside an oxs stomach. Zeus chose the latter, setting a precedent for future sacrifices, henceforth, humans would keep that meat for themselves and burn the bones wrapped in fat as an offering to the gods
5.
Fox
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Foxes are small-to-medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. Foxes are slightly smaller than a domestic dog, with a flattened skull, upright triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout. Twelve species belong to the group of Vulpes genus of true foxes. Foxes live on every continent except Antarctica, by far the most common and widespread species of fox is the red fox with about 47 recognized subspecies. The global distribution of foxes, together with their reputation for cunning, has contributed to their prominence in popular culture and folklore in many societies around the world. The hunting of foxes with packs of hounds, long an established pursuit in Europe, the word fox comes from Old English, which derived from Proto-Germanic *fuhsaz. This in turn derives from Proto-Indo-European *puḱ-, meaning ’thick-haired, tail’. Male foxes are known as dogs, tods or reynards, females as vixens, a group of foxes is referred to as a skulk, leash, or earth. Foxes are generally smaller than members of the family Canidae such as wolves, jackals. For example, in the largest species, the red fox, males weigh on average between 4.1 and 8.7 kg, while the smallest species, the fennec fox, weighs just 0.7 to 1.6 kg. Fox-like features typically include a face, pointed ears, an elongated rostrum. Foxes are digitigrade, and thus, walk on their toes, unlike their dog relatives, foxes have partially retractable claws. Fox vibrissae, or whiskers, are black, the whiskers on the muzzle, mystaciae vibrissae, average 100-110mm long, while the whiskers everywhere else on the head average to be shorter in length. Whiskers are also on the forelimbs and average 40mm long, pointing downward and backward, other physical characteristics vary according to habitat and adaptive significance. Fox species differ in fur color, length, and density, coat colors range from pearly white to black and white to black flecked with white or grey on the underside. Fennec foxes, for example, have ears and short fur to aid in keeping the body cool. Arctic foxes, on the hand, have tiny ears and short limbs as well as thick, insulating fur. Red foxes, by contrast, have a typical auburn pelt, a foxs coat color and texture may vary due to the change in seasons, fox pelts are richer and denser in the colder months and lighter in the warmer months
6.
Reynard
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Reynard is the main character in a literary cycle of allegorical Dutch, English, French and German fables. Those stories are concerned with Reynard, an anthropomorphic red fox. His adventures usually involve him deceiving other anthropomorphic animals for his own advantage or trying to avoid retaliations from them and his main enemy and victim across the cycle is his uncle, the wolf Isengrim. From the Germanic mans name Reginhard, which comes from regin = counsel and harti = strong, denoting someone who is wise, clever, or resourceful. Because of the popularity of the Reynard stories, renard became the standard French word for fox, replacing the old French word for fox, goupil is now dialectal or archaic. The figure of Reynard is thought to have originated in Lorraine folklore from where it spread to France, the Low Countries, an extensive treatment of the character is the Old French Le Roman de Renart written by Pierre de Saint-Cloud around 1170, which sets the typical setting. Reynard has been summoned to the court of king Noble, or Leo, other anthropomorphic animals, including Bruin the bear, Baldwin the ass, and Tibert the cat, all attempt one stratagem or another. The stories typically involve satire whose usual butts are the aristocracy, the story of the preaching fox found in the Reynard literature was used in church art by the Catholic Church as propaganda against the Lollards. Reynards principal castle, Maupertuis, is available to him whenever he needs to hide away from his enemies, some of the tales feature Reynards funeral, where his enemies gather to deliver maudlin elegies full of insincere piety, and which feature Reynards posthumous revenge. Isengrim is Reynards most frequent antagonist and foil, and generally ends up outwitted, Reynard appears first in the medieval Latin poem Ysengrimus, a long Latin mock-epic written c. 1148-1153 by the poet Nivardus in Ghent, that collects a great store of Reynards adventures and he also puts in an early appearance in a number of Latin sequences by the preacher Odo of Cheriton. Both of these early sources seem to draw on a store of popular culture featuring the character. The first branch of the Roman de Renart appears in 1174, written by Pierre de St. Cloud, the same author wrote a sequel in 1179—called Branch I—but from that date onwards, many other French authors composed their own adventures for Renart li goupil. There is also the text Reinhard Fuchs by Heinrich der Glïchezäre, the Arnout mentioned was an earlier Reynard poet whose work Willem alleges to have finished. However, there are objections to this notion of joint authorship. Geoffrey Chaucer used Reynard material in the Canterbury Tales, in The Nuns Priests Tale, Reynard appears as Rossel, in 1481 William Caxton printed The Historie of Reynart the Foxe, which was translated from a Middle Dutch version of the fables. Also in the 1480s, the Scottish poet Robert Henryson devised a highly sophisticated development of Reynardian material as part of his Morall Fabillis in the known as The Talking of the Tod. Hans van Ghetelen, a printer of Incunabula in Lübeck printed an early German version called Reinke de Vos in 1498 and it was translated to Latin and other languages, which made the tale popular across Europe
7.
Navajo
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The Navajo are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. After the Cherokee, they are the second-largest federally recognized tribe in the United States, the Navajo language is spoken throughout the region, with most Navajos speaking English, as well. The states with the largest Navajo populations are Arizona and New Mexico, over three-quarters of the Navajo population reside in these two states. The Navajos are speakers of a Na-Dené Southern Athabaskan language known within the language as Diné bizaad, the language comprises two geographic, mutually intelligible dialects. It is closely related to the Apache language, as the Navajos and Apaches are believed to have migrated from northwestern Canada and eastern Alaska, speakers of various other Athabaskan languages located in Canada may still comprehend the Navajo language despite the geographic and linguistic deviation of the languages. Additionally, some Navajos speak Navajo Sign Language, which is either a dialect or daughter of Plains Sign Talk, archaeological and historical evidence suggests the Athabaskan ancestors of the Navajos and Apaches entered the Southwest around 1400 CE. The Navajo oral tradition is said to retain references of this migration, until contact with Pueblos and the Spanish, the Navajos were largely hunters and gatherers. The tribe adopted crop-farming techniques from the Pueblo peoples, growing corn, beans. When the Spanish arrived, the Navajos began herding sheep and goats as a source of trade and food. Sheep also became a form of currency and status symbols among the Navajos based on the quantity of herds a family maintained. In addition, the practice of spinning and weaving wool into blankets and clothing became common, in the 18th century, the Spanish reported the Navajos maintaining large herds of livestock and cultivating large crop areas. Navahu comes from the Tewa, meaning area of cultivated lands. By the 1640s, the Spanish began using the term Navajo to refer to the Diné, during the 1670s, the Spanish wrote that the Diné lived in a region known as Dinétah, about 60 miles west of the Rio Chama valley region. In the 1780s, the Spanish sent military expeditions against the Navajos in the Mount Taylor, the Navajos came into contact with the United States Army in 1846, when General Stephen W. Kearny invaded Santa Fe with 1,600 men during the Mexican–American War. The treaty was not honored by many young Navajo raiders, who continued to steal livestock from New Mexican villages, New Mexicans, on their part, together with Utes, continued to raid Navajo country, stealing livestock and taking women and children for sale as slaves. In 1849, the governor of New Mexico, Colonel John MacRae Washington—accompanied by John S. The treaty acknowledged the jurisdiction of the United States and allowed forts, the United States, on its part, promised such donations such other liberal and humane measures, as may deem meet and proper. While en route to this treaty signing, Narbona, a prominent Navajo peace leader, was killed, during the next 10 years, the U. S. established forts on traditional Navajo territory
8.
Ho-Chunk
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The Hoocąągra, sometimes called Ho-Chunk or Wisconsin Winnebago, are a Siouan Native American group native to the present-day states of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and parts of Iowa and Illinois. They are in the process of redefining all the lands that were taken from them with a traditional territory map, there are two separate federally recognized tribal governments, the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin and the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. According to Gordon Thunder, the Hoocąągra have been removed from their homelands. Some in the federal and state governments have undermined the Hoocąągra land claims, however, the Hoocąągra Waaziijahaaci were never assigned a reservation and now have tribal or nation members who live in 43 of the 50 states in America. They also have members in Canada, Mexico, Hawaii. The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska live on a reservation in Nebraska. Since the late 20th century, both tribal councils have authorized the development of casinos to generate revenue to support development, infrastructure, health care. The Ho-Chunk Nation is working on restoration and has developed a Hoocąąk-language app for the iPhone. The department supported the Ho-Chunk claim in 1998, but in 2011 refused to accept the property on their behalf, with a number of subsidiaries, it employs more than 1400 people. It has also contributed to housing construction on the reservation, like more than 60% of federally recognized tribes, the Winnebago Tribe has legalized alcohol sales on the reservation to secure revenues that previously went to the state in retail taxes. The Ho-Chunk was the dominant tribe in its territory in the 16th century and their traditions hold that they have always lived in the area. Ethnologists have speculated that, like some other Siouan peoples, the Ho-Chunk originated along the East Coast, Perrot wrote that the names given to them by neighboring Algonquian peoples may have referred to their origin near a salt water sea. The Ho-Chunk suffered severe losses in the 17th century, to a low of perhaps as few as 500 individuals. This has been attributed to the loss of hundreds of warriors in a storm, epidemics of infectious disease. By the early 1800s, their population had increased to 2,900, in 1990 they numbered 7,000, current estimates of total population of the two tribes are 12,000. The Hoocąągra are an indigenous tribe who speak a Siouan language. The Hoocąągra were also called various names by other tribes, often inspired by their fierceness in battle, at one point, they were even called Stinkards due to living by water sources with large algae blooms, including Green Bay and Lake Winnebago. The term Winnebago is a used by the Potawatomi, pronounced as Winnipego
9.
Menominee
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Some placenames use other spellings, see also Menomonee and Menomonie. The Menominee are a federally recognized nation of Native Americans, with a 353.894 sq mi reservation in Wisconsin and their historic territory originally included an estimated 10 million acres in present-day Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The tribe currently has about 8,700 members, the tribe was terminated in the 1950s under federal policy of the time which stressed assimilation. The U. S. Supreme Court determined that the tribe had not lost traditional hunting and fishing rights as a result of termination, the tribe regained federal recognition in 1973 in an act of Congress, and re-established its reservation in 1975. They operate under a constitution establishing an elected government. Their first government under it took over government and administration from the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1979. The Menominee are part of the Algonquian language family of North America, made up several tribes now located around the Great Lakes and many other tribes based along the Atlantic coast. They are one of the tribes of present-day upper Michigan and Wisconsin. They are believed to have been well-settled in that territory for more than 1,000 years, by some accounts, they are descended from the Old Copper Culture people and other indigenous peoples who had been in this area for 10,000 years. Menominee oral history states that they have always been here and their reservation is located 60 miles west of the site of their Creation, according to their tradition. They arose where the Menominee River enters Green Bay of Lake Michigan and their name for themselves is Mamaceqtaw, meaning the people. The name Menominee is not their autonym and it was adopted by Europeans from the Ojibwe people, another Algonquian tribe whom they encountered first as they moved west and who told them of the Menominee. The Ojibwe name for the tribe was manoominii, meaning wild rice people, historically, the Menominee were known to be a peaceful, friendly and welcoming nation, who had a reputation for getting along with other tribes. When the Oneota culture arose in southern Wisconsin between AD800 and 900, the Menominee shared the forests and waters with them, the Menominee are a Northeastern Woodlands tribe. They were initially encountered by European explorers in Wisconsin in the century during the colonial era. During this period lived in numerous villages which the French visited for fur trading. The anthropologist James Mooney in 1928 estimated that the number in 1650 was 3,000 persons. The early French explorers and traders referred to the people as folles avoines, the Menominee have traditionally subsisted on a wide variety of plants and animals, with wild rice and sturgeon being two of the most important
10.
Nez Perce people
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The Nez Perce /ˌnɛzˈpɜːrs/ are an Indigenous people of the Plateau, who live in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, which is on the Columbia River Plateau. They are federally recognized as the Nez Perce Tribe and govern their reservation in Idaho and they are one of five federally recognized tribes in the state. Anthropologists have written that the Nez Percé descend from the Old Cordilleran Culture and this name was given to this tribe and the nearby Chinook people by French explorers and trappers, meaning pierced nose, but only the Chinook used that form of decoration. Their name for themselves is Nimíipuu, meaning, The People, in their language, Nez Percé is an exonym given by French Canadian fur traders who visited the area regularly in the late 18th century, meaning literally pierced nose. English-speaking traders and settlers adopted the name in turn, since the late 20th century, the Nez Perce identify most often as Niimíipu in Sahaptin. The tribe also uses the term Nez Perce, as does the United States Government in its dealings with them. Older historical ethnological works and documents use the French spelling of Nez Percé, the original French pronunciation is, with three syllables. In his journals, William Clark referred to the people as the Chopunnish /ˈtʃoʊpənɪʃ/, Walker in 1998, writing for the Smithsonian, this term is an adaptation of the term cú·pʼnitpeľu. The term is formed from cú·pʼnit and peľu, by contrast, the Nez Perce Language Dictionary has a different analysis than did Walker for the term cúpnitpelu. The prefix cú- means in single file and this prefix, combined with the verb -piní, to come out. Finally, with the suffix of -pelú, meaning people or inhabitants of, together, these three elements, cú- + -piní + pelú = cúpnitpelu, or the People Walking Single File Out of the Forest. Nez Perce oral tradition indicates the name Cuupnitpeluu meant we walked out of the woods or walked out of the mountains, the interpreter of the Lewis and Clark Expedition mistakenly identified this people as the Nez Perce when the team encountered the tribe in 1805. They did not practice nose piercing or wearing ornaments, the tribe known as pierced nose lived on and around the lower Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest. They are commonly called the Chinook tribe by historians and anthropologists, the Chinook relied heavily upon salmon as a food staple, as did the Nez Perce. The peoples shared fishing and trading sites, but the Chinook had a different culture and more hierarchical social arrangements. The Nez Perce language, or Niimiipuutímt, is a Sahaptian language related to the dialects of Sahaptin. The Sahaptian sub-family is one of the branches of the Plateau Penutian family, the tribal area extended from the Bitterroots in the east to the Blue Mountains in the west between latitudes 45°N and 47°N. In 1800, the Nez Perce had more than 100 permanent villages, ranging from 50 to 600 individuals, depending on the season, archeologists have identified a total of about 300 related sites including camps and villages, mostly in the Salmon River Canyon
