Excerpt
"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