Sinouav was unhappy. He had no song. One day he was digging roots when Coyote happened past. Sinouav offered him food in exchange for a wonderful coyote song. That night Sinouav sang and sang. Soon all his people said he sang the song of Sinouav, not Coyote. That night Coyote crept into camp, found the prideful Sinouav and took back his song. Even now, Sinouav has no song, only a lonely howl.
— Paiute myth. Sinouav is the Paiute word for wolf.
In the legends and folklore of Native American peoples throughout the West, from Canada to Mexico, the coyote is more than just an animal. Coyote is an important culture figure, playing a role in countless myths. He is a special being, a spirit, both human and animal at the same time. Coyote has three faces. At times he is the hero, helping create humans, bringing them food, putting the sun and moon in the sky and performing magical deeds. Sometimes he is the trickster, a mischief maker and a scoundrel trying to manipulate situations to his benefit. Coyote the trickster is an imp and a rebel who the listener admires for his cleverness and independence. 
Coyote's third persona is that of the fool - silly, arrogant, vain, the trickster who ends up tricked, thereby teaching a moral lesson.
Sometimes Coyote appears in human form, yet he is always Coyote, and recognized as such. Coyote is a symbol, reflecting the many sides of human nature. He is good and bad together; his antics present the many ways of dealing with life. Some of his choices are wise and self-sacrificing; some are foolish and get him in trouble; some are down right mean, and he gets away with it, because that's the way life is sometimes. So Coyote is at times a role model, at others an example of what not to do. And often he is a metaphor for the fortunes of life. And sometimes Coyote legends just entertain.
With its intelligence and adaptable nature, the coyote seems a natural choice as the model for the complex character, Coyote. Native Americans knew this animal well. They had seen its cleverness, its ability to solve problems, its readiness to steal food or to seemingly play tricks on people and other animals. They had laughed at, and been the victim of, its antics. The coyote taught lessons, showed how to live and revealed some of life's truths. And so the coyote became Coyote.
Next: Stop, Look, and Listen
(The information contained in this issue of Colorado's Wildlife Company was accurate at the time of original publication. Situations and circumstances described, staff positions, contact information, and dates of some events may have changed in the interim. Present knowledge and understanding of biological and behavioral facts and information may also be different, now, than presented here.)