Coyote Hawk & Grandmother Bear

Coyote’s Secret, 1994 by Susan Seddon-Boulet

And the Speaking Mountain of Truth and Thunder

One day,

many lifetimes ago,

before and after time mattered,

a young Coyote Hawk traveled South

on the same path,

yet in opposite directions,

as a Grandmother Bear.

One of many Grandmothers, Grandmothers.

They were, are, and always will be

great dreamers and visionaries.

They met

for what would normally have been

only a moment.

Gramma Bear said,

“Haudy-do, young Coyote Hawk.”

For he was one of her many relatives.

Yet the young Coyote Hawk

began to walk past her

without saying a word,

without even a nod.

Gramma Bear grumbled…

slightly sternly, wisely, and

calmly saying, “Have you no respect?

(Her grumble echoed throughout the land.)

I am an elder, and

I sit on the High Council of Visionaries,

Healers, and Dreamers.

Can you not even nod,

or acknowledge me with a 'hau-dy doo'?”

The young Coyote Hawk snarled,

“I bow to no one,

not even you,

for I am a great visionary, dreamer, and

a Brujo.”

(The Earth fell silent.)

Gramma Bear thought to herself,

pausing and calming her heart.

(Nature's songs then returned.)

A moment lapsed, and

centuries reversed and sped forward,

returning to the moment,

observing her presence, and

Coyote Hawk’s arrogance.

She smiled a knowing and

compassionate smile, then said,

“Please, I would love to see your powers

of knowings and manifestations.”

Coyote Hawk grumbled again,

“I don’t have the time or the inclination.

I do not play majick tricks for anyone’s approval

or opinions.”

Gramma Bear stopped time with a glance, and

a prayer, which is what she is.

She is a walking prayer.

She called in her council,

whispering to herself.

“All my relations,

what path will I guide this young

foolish dreamer?”

Moments went by, and

centuries reversed and sped forward,

returning to the now.

Conceding that in the end,

arrogance, greed, and temptation

are the greatest teachers

to prospective Brujos,

Gramma Bear then offered a trade.

“I will grant you a wish

if you can move that mountain.”

(The mountain is known as

“The Speaking Mountain of Truth and Thunder.”)

“However, there are four rules:

1. You cannot wish to kill anyone.

2. You cannot wish to bring someone back from the dead.

3. You cannot wish to change the past.

4. You cannot wish to make anyone fall in love with you.”

“Very well,” sneered Coyote Hawk.

“You shall have your wish as well.”

He began to sing his invocation, and

danced and shook his sparking rattle.

(A rattle passed on to him by his relatives

throughout the centuries.)

He sang and projected,

“grib-zickle-zorker-duster-zot….,

grib-zickle-zorker-duster-zot….,

grib-zickle-zorker-duster-zot….”

Looking forward at the Speaking Mountain

of Truth and Thunder,

Gramma Bear saw no change.

The mountain's songs were silent.

It had not moved.

Only quiet morphing wispy clouds

were seen passing by,

as was the usual that day.

She scratched her back, and

clawed on a Great Old Cedar Tree.

Then yawning and sitting,

leaning back on the Cedar Tree

in the shade, whispering to herself

“All my relations.”

(For the Cedar Tree is one of her relatives.)

“My dear young Coyote Hawk,

the Speaking Mountain of Truth

and Thunder has not moved.

Would you like some huckleberries

to give you strength?”

Then whispering to herself, “All my relations.”

(For the Huckleberries are her relatives.)

“NO!” scorned Coyote Hawk.

“I am a great visionary, dreamer, and

a Brujo.

I need no help from you

or your medicine berries.”

Gramma's voice sometimes sounded

like distant rolling thunder

when she was guiding her relatives.

Gramma Bear's voice altered, saying,

“That is fine, but still

you are welcome to some

should you change your mind.

All my relations, please continue.”

(Remember, Coyotes are one of Gramma Bear's relatives.)

Again, he began to sing his invocation

with a little bit stronger tone, and

danced and shook his sparking rattle,

and he sang and projected,

“grib-zickle-zorker-duster-zot….,

grib-zickle-zorker-duster-zot….,

grib-zickle-zorker-duster-zot….,

grib-zickle-zorker-duster-zot….”

Now he was beginning to tire, and

the majick had appeared to fail

yet again.

This time he sat down

where he stood

out in the warm soothing sunshine.

The heat made the smellings

of the Huckleberries travel

to his very talented snout.

Coyote Hawk sat

and panted in exhaustion.

Gramma Bear looked on

at him in silence, observing, and

listening to her inner guidance

from the High Council

of Visionaries, Healers, and Dreamers.

Moments went by, and

centuries reversed and sped forward,

returning to the now.

Coyote Hawk reached

into his medicine travel bag,

grabbing some Smoked Chinook Salmon

he traded for a previous illusion

he manifested to a Chinook Fisherman.

Gramma Bear said, “Mmmmmm,

all my relations…”

(Chinook Salmon is also one of her relatives.)

“That smells wonderful!

Would you like to trade for some of my berries?

They will give you extra strength to move

the Speaking Mountain of Truth and Thunder.”

“NO,” scorned Coyote Hawk;

“I am a great visionary, dreamer, and

a Brujo!

I need no help from you

or your medicine berries.”

Coyote Hawk walked over

to the Trickling Brook of Water Medicine,

whispering…

“Water Medicine, have pity on me…

please help me.

All my relations.”

(For water is one of Coyote Hawk's relatives.)

Coyote Hawk had whispered

to the Trickling Brook of Water Medicine

hoping Gramma Bear could not hear him.

Coyote Hawk meandered back

over to where he could see

the Speaking Mountain of Truth and Thunder.

Gramma Bear, who was leaning

in the shade

of the Great Old Cedar Tree,

looked as though she was napping.

Being one of many great listeners,

dreamers, and visionaries,

she could hear everything

she was paying attention to.

She heard Coyote Hawk’s prayer.

Again, he began to sing and project

his incantations,

“grib-zickle-zorker-duster-zot…

grib-zickle-zorker-duster-zot…

grib-zickle-zorker-duster-zot….”

Once again, his charms and projections

failed Coyote Hawk.

He then bowed in humiliation.

The Water Medicine Nation,

The Salmon Nation,

The Huckleberry Nation,

The Cedar Nation,

The Ancestors of his Coyote Hawk Nation,

The Sun and Star Nations,

The Brujo, Magician, and Clown Nations,

The Bear Nations,

The High Council

of Visionaries and Dreamers, and

all of their relations

who observed Coyote Hawk

and Gramma Bear

that warm day at the footsteps of

The Speaking Mountain of Truth and Thunder

went silent…

As he bowed in humiliation,

Coyote Hawk said,

“I am not the great Brujo,

Dreamer, or Visionary I claimed to be.

Please have pity on me, Gramma Bear.”

Gramma Bear slowly stood,

gave herself another good scratch

on the Cedar Tree,

put the rest of her huckleberries

back into her Nez Perce Cornhusk Pouch.

She whispered softly…

“All my relations, we are all connected.”

(The Corn Nation and the Nez Perce Nation

are also of her many relatives.)

Then pausing for a long while,

looking deeply at Coyote Hawk.

Moments went by, and

centuries reversed and sped forward,

returning to the now,

before Gramma Bear began to speak.

“You are young and stubborn.

Both are qualities you will need

to learn to understand why we met

on this fine day.”

After a brief pause she continued…

“In the long run, your confidence is a gift

from the Great Spirit, the Great Mystery.

It will serve you well; however,

you forgot where your power

really comes from.”

“You come from a long line

of a clan of great Visionaries, Dreamers, and

Brujos.

Pride in them

does not give you power.

Knowing that your power

is a gift does”

“Maybe in time, you will be able

to teach us all how to move

the Speaking Mountain of Truth and

Thunder.”

Coyote Hawk bowed again,

saying, “Thank you,

Gramma Bear. Thank you

for your guidance and

quiet gentle example.

How should I learn?”

Gramma Bear grinned.

Moments went by, and

centuries reversed and sped forward,

returning back to the now

before Gramma Bear began to speak.

Gramma Bear said,

“Pray the way

you did with the Trickling Brook.

Humbly ask for help

from your ancestors and your helpers.”

Coyote Hawk said,

“I will ask if I may,

go and live with, and learn from

the Speaking Mountain of Truth and Thunder.

All my relations.”

“The Speaking Mountain of Truth and

Thunder has always been one of our relatives.”

Gramma Bear nodded, and

wished the young Coyote Hawk well, saying,

“Health, help, and happiness, young Coyote Hawk.

All my relations…

And here are some huckleberries for your journey.”

(Coyote Hawk is one of all of Gramma Bear's relatives.)

He nodded, saying, “Thank you,”

as Gramma Bear turned

and headed back toward the North.

That day, that night,

Coyote Hawk could not move

beyond the Trickling Brook of Water Medicine.

He drank from the Trickling Brook as he prayed,

“Great Spirit, Great Mystery,

I am such a fool,

I was such a clown,

I was so rude to Grandmother Bear

who sits on the High Council

of Visionaries, Healers, and Dreamers.

I am not a great visionary, dreamer, or Brujo.

I need to rest.

I am exhausted.

Please help me…,

please have pity on me…”

Coyote Hawk then fell asleep

to the voice of the Trickling Rustling Brook.

“We are all connected, we are all related.

Coyote Hawk is one of our relatives.”

As Coyote Hawk fell deeper and deeper

into the place where he thought

his power came from,

he began to journey with his ancestors.

He began to remember all the stories

they gave to him, and

all the dreams and visions

they gave to him

‘in his world of dreams’

and all the others.

He began to remember who he was

despite his humiliating experience

in that other world

where he met Gramma Bear on the path

in opposite directions, just west

of the Speaking Mountain of Truth and Thunder.

His ancestors said to him,

“We are all connected. We are all related.

Gramma Bear is one of our relatives

who is an elder, and on our High Council

of Visionaries, Healers, and Dreamers,

and Brujos, and Curanderas.”

Coyote Hawk then met an Old Coyote Hawk

in his dreams.

He was grey with a long beard, and

long hair like a lion's mane.

His nose was crooked

like a hawk's beak, and

he had wings and golden eyes.

The Old Coyote Hawk said,

“I am here to guide you,

young Coyote Hawk.

Gramma Bear sent me to be with you.

You must go with me

to the Speaking Mountain of Truth and Thunder.”

This startled young Coyote Hawk

so much so

that he woke from his dreams.

As he woke, he could still hear

the Old Coyote Hawk’s voice

in the Spirit of his heart,

and then a Hawk screeched in the Eastern Sky

toward the Speaking Mountain of Truth and Thunder.

Young Coyote Hawk was quickened and said,

“Hau-dy Grandfather Hawk. We are all related.”

(The Hawk is obviously one of his relatives.)

He then drank from the Trickling Brook of Water Medicine

as he prayed his morning prayers.

“Great Spirit, Great Mystery,

thank you for this Trickling Brook of Water Medicine,

and the hawk’s greeting, and

the dream of the Old Coyote Hawk, and

my ancestors.

Thank you for yesterday’s journey, and

for Gramma Bear’s grace and kindness.

Please help me…,

please have pity on me…

All my relations…

I am off to the Speaking Mountain of Truth and Thunder.”

(The Speaking Mountain of Truth and Thunder

is home to many of my relatives.)

He gathered himself,

ate some dried salmon and huckleberries, saying,

“We are all related. We are all connected.”

(Salmon and huckleberries are his relatives.)

Then Coyote Hawk headed east towards

the Speaking Mountain of Truth and Thunder.

As Coyote Hawk traveled,

he received a message

from Spirit within.

“Say this, 'We are all related. We are all connected'

to everything you see on your way to

the Speaking Mountain of Truth and Thunder.”

So he thanked his Helpers and began,

“We are all related, my Helpers

We are all connected, Speaking Mountain of Truth

We are all related, brooks, valleys, and trees

We are all connected, sky, birds, flowers, and bees

We are all related, clouds, thunders, and

sun, moon, stars, and the images there I see

We are all connected, winds, words, and sounds

We are all related, time, space, dimensions, and

everything there is to be found

We are all connected, stone people.

We are all related, Speaking Mountain of Truth.”

(They, and all the rest he will meet,

are all Coyote Hawk's relatives)

Coyote Hawk traveled east for days

until he walked on

the Speaking Mountain of Truth and Thunder.

He offered tobacco and said,

“Hau-dy, Speaking Mountain of Truth and Thunder.”

Then he continued…

to the Speaking Mountain of Truth and Thunder,

“I have come to learn from you

after humiliating myself with Gramma Bear.

I told her I could move you, and

I could not.

My ancestors and my spirit guide

came to me, telling me

to come and be with you.”

As he spoke, a moment lapsed, and

centuries reversed and sped forward,

returning into the moment

that Coyote Hawk spoke.

White, yellow, red, black, and

purple clouds

were quickly forming to the south

in the clear blue sky,

just below the forest Green Mother Earth

of the Speaking Mountain of Truth and Thunder.

Ominous clouds formed

separate from the rest

of the turquoise sky, and

slowly approached Coyote Hawk

as they filled the sky

from south to north

where he stood, knowing

for the first time

the Speaking Mountain of Truth and Thunder

was about to speak.

Lightning and Thunder Beings

were dancing on Our Mother Earth.

Then there was a piercing crack

as if to say

in a rolling, thundering, single word,

“STAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY.”

Coyote Hawk felt the lightning strikes

rise back up from Mother Earth,

traveling to his paws

then to his fur.

Then he felt something strange

under his chin

and behind on his tail…

a beard and tiny feathers

had begun to form

similar to the Old Coyote Hawk.

Each moment lapsed, and

centuries reversed and sped forward,

returning into all his nows

observing his presence

as his feathers and beard grew

for almost forty years.

Coyote Hawk had greeted and

studied with the Old Great Grandfather Coyote Hawk,

and with all living things on

the Speaking Mountain of Truth and Thunder

for all those many years.

His final task,

given to him by Gramma Bear's messenger,

the Old Coyote Hawk,

was to write a poem

about his experience,

so he wrote this poem.

Great Mystery

Great Spirit

We are all connected

We are all related

i am the mountain

i am the sea

i am the valley

i am the tree

i am the sky

i am the bird

i am the flower

i am the bee

i am the cloud

i am the thunder

i am the sun

i am the moon

i am the stars

i am the visions I've found

i am the wind

i am the word

i am the poem

i am the song I breathe

i am tone and sound

i am what I heard

i am time

i am free

i am space

i am all dimensions

i am everything there is around

i am everything I care to be

i am grateful

i am this small stone

the mountain gifted to me

i carry like a tiny bird

i am the story

i am this poem

the mountain gave to me for free

i am the mountain

We are all connected

We are all related

The night that Coyote Hawk finished the poem,

the Old Great Grandfather Coyote Hawk came to him

in a waking dream. He said,

“We are all connected

We are all related, young Coyote Hawk.

You have done well.

All of the peoples of all our relations

here on the Speaking Mountain of Truth and Thunder—

the Standing Nations,

the Wing-ed Nations,

the Creepy Crawler Nations,

the Two Leg-ged Nations,

the Four Leg-ged Nations,

the Swimmer Nations,

the Ancient Reptile Nations,

the Water, Earth, Wind, Fire, and Ether Nations,

and all of the Star and Planet Nations

of the Speaking Mountain of Truth and Thunder—

will miss us.

We love you very much.”

Coyote Hawk sat up, and

began to cry,

tears of sadness, joy, and love.

Flowers and creatures grew

where they fell.

Coyote Hawk said,

“Thank you, Grandfather Coyote Hawk,

We are all related. We are all connected."

And his voice sounded like

gentle rolling thunder

for the first time in his life.

His fur and beard had turned long, and

white and gray;

his wings were long and strong,

his paws were larger and sure footed,

his eyes were green like

the Speaking Mountain of Truth and Thunder,

his nose was bent down

like the beak of a hawk,

his chest was large

to make room for his heart.

He said, ‘Thank you’ in all the languages he learned on the

Speaking Mountain of Truth and Thunder.

‘Thank you All, One Heart, One Love, One Circle.’

Before Coyote Hawk traveled back down

the Speaking Mountain of Truth and Thunder,

he offered tobacco to the stone nation, and

asked, “May I carry

two more small Stone People

in memory of my life

on the Speaking Mountain of Truth and Thunder?”

When he looked down,

there were two small reddish Heart Stones.

Coyote Hawk picked them up and said,

as his voice sounded like

gentle rolling thunder

for the second time in his life,

“Thank you, Speaking Mountain of Truth and Thunder.

Thank you, Great Mystery.

Thank you, Creator.

Thank you, Sacred Stone People.

We are all connected,

we are All related.”

As he traveled

back onto the trail

to where he first met Gramma Bear,

the Old Coyote Hawk

told him to wait by the Trickling Brook

he had drank from

all those many years before.

Young Coyote Hawk nodded and respectfully agreed.

Once he arrived, he sat

as he drank some cool, clear water

and whispered to the Trickling Brook

and all his relatives,

“Water is life. Thank you…

We are All connected, we are All related,

all my relations.”

Coyote Hawk already knew

what was to happen next.

Gramma Bear gave him signs

and instructions

as he was returning.

She was coming to meet him

by the old Cedar Tree, and

the Trickling Brook

When Gramma Bear arrived,

she was greeted cheerfully by Coyote Hawk,

“Hau-dy, Gramma Bear!

All my relations!

We hope we find you well.

As a thank you for your guidance,

I have a small gift for you.”

Coyote Hawk held out both his paws,

humbly inviting Gramma Bear to hold out hers,

saying, “Because of you, and

the teachings of all of our relations, and

my time with the Grampa Coyote Hawk

on the Speaking Mountain of Truth and Thunder,

I have learned how to move it to you.”

Coyote Hawk gently placed

one of the Heart Stones

in Gramma Bear's paw, and

softly held the Heart Stone

in her paw with his paws

like a sandwich, saying,

“Everything changed for me

that day we met

all those many years ago.

All I needed to do

was to say was, ‘We are all connected,

we are all related,’

to move the mountain to you.”

And so he said,

“We are all related, we are all connected.

Thank you, Grandmother Bear.”

At that moment, all the hearts and spirits

of the Speaking Mountain of Truth and Thunder

were passed on to Grandmother Bear’s paws,

Heart and Spirit.

Grandmother Bear nodded quietly

in acknowledgment, smiling deeply

while gazing at the Heart Stone

as a tear fell to the ground.

Flowers grew below her feet

and then all the way down the Valley

from the Speaking Mountain of Truth and Thunder.

As the flowers grew,

there was gentle rolling thunder

deep down in the valley.

It sounded like, 'Thank you.'

Coyote Hawk was now not as young.

He became a storyteller for all his relations.

I wonder what he did with the other Heart Stone

the Speaking Mountain of Truth and Thunder

gave to him on his way home?

~ hsh © 041614

(edit 051825)

Painting by Susan Seddon-Boulet

Coyote’s Secret, 1994

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