Our Tellings gathers together two types of narrative - sptakwelh and spilaxem. Sptakwelh, or creation stories, tell of a period in which the world was inhabited by animals in vaguely human form and with special powers. Coyote, Bear, Grizzly, and Owl were central figures. Some tellings in this group chronicle the acts of transformers, who travelled the countryside shaping and changing the existing order to resemble the world we know today. Spilaxem, or non-creation stories, tell of the history, way of life, and cultural teachings of the Nlha7kapmx people. These particular narratives were chosen because the elders thought that they were important to tell. They range from descriptions of the arrival of explorers and missionaries to reflections on the contemporary state of Nlha7kapmx culture. The Nlha7kapmx, or Thompson, people are among the original inhabitants of the Fraser, Thompson, and Nicola river valleys in south-western British Columbia.
Foreword / Wendy Wickwire -- Ntl'ik'semtm (Coyote's Son) / Mildred Michell -- Coyote and His Son / Walter Isaac -- The Trip to the Moon / Annie York -- Coyote and the Three Sisters / Louie Phillips -- Coyote and Wolf / Herb Manuel -- Coyote and Buffalo / Herb Manuel -- Coyote and Wood Tick / Herb Manuel -- Coyote Visits His Daughter in the North / Herb Manuel -- Coyote and the Two Sisters / Mandy Brown -- Why Newborn Animals Can Walk / Mandy Brown -- Grizzly and the Bear Cubs / Hilda Austin -- Grizzly and the Black Bear Cubs / Mary Williams -- The Four Bear Brothers / Anthony Joe -- Transformers / Louie Phillips -- Transformers / Herb Manuel -- Transformer Footprints / Louie Phillips -- How Chipmunk Got His Stripes / Mandy Brown -- Screech Owl / Mandy Brown -- Raven / Mandy Brown -- The Boy Who Was Abandoned / Mary Williams -- Sore Man / Mabel Joe -- Man and Owl / Mabel Joe -- Dog Travels to the Sun / Mabel Joe -- The Country Divided / Annie York.
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