From the Back Cover
Three traditional Assiniboine Indian stories ¿ one the story of the creation of the morning and evening stars, the others stories about Inkdomi the trickster ¿ offer a reflection of a sustaining culture, many of whose members live in northeastern Montana on the Fort Peck and Fort Belknap reservations.
How the Morning and Evening Stars Came to Be ¿ This Assiniboine story tells of two brothers who succeeded in their desire to be useful to their people.
The Crow ¿ A long time ago, Crow was a beautiful bird with a good singing voice. Then he offended Inkdomi, a legendary trickster figure among the Assiniboine.
Inkdomi and the Buffalo ¿ A very hungry Inkdomi, tricks a herd of buffalo into falling off a large cliff so that he can enjoy their meat ¿ but his greed and trickery cost him his feast when he refuses to share his bounty with a lame fox.
A book in the Indian Reading Series, How the Morning and Evening Stars Came to Be offers authentic Indian stories, created in cooperation with tribal culture committees. Written at an elementary reading level, these stories provide insights into tribal culture that will be appreciated by both children and adults.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
"The Crow," As told by Jerome Fourstar. Illustrated by Joseph Clancy
Inkdomi is a legendary figure in the Assiniboine culture. He takes a role similar to the Blackfeet's Napi. Although Inkdomi claims to be the Creator of all things, he really is a trickster and a liar. Often, he takes the form of different animals and birds in order to play tricks on people. He does both good and bad things.
Stories about Inkdomi have been passed on from generation to generation, and many times one story will have several versions. Some of the stories are humorous and others are more serious. This story tells how Inkdomi, in the form of Eagle, turned Crow black.
A long time ago, Crow was a beautiful bird. He had a good singing voice.
Crow was very proud of himself. He would fly around and show off his beautiful feathers.
The other birds tried to talk to him, but he wouldn't pay any attention to them.
One day, Inkdomi, in the form of Eagle, wanted to say something to Crow. But Crow wouldn't have anything to do with him.
That made Eagle angry at Crow. Eagle said, "I will take away your beautiful voice and change the color of your feathers."
Eagle flew high into the air and then flew down towards Crow. As Eagle came close to Crow, Crow's feathers turned black and he lost his beautiful voice.
To this day, the crow is black and its voice sounds funny
