Our Story: Aboriginal Voices on Canada's Past

by Tantoo Cardinal

  OK, I tell Coyote, I will call Billy Frank. My friend Billy Frank goes to the coast. He drives that pickup to that coast to go on that vacation. Maybe he will take you when he goes on that vacation.

  Hooray, says Coyote. Hooray!

  So Billy Frank takes Coyote to that coast. And that’s the end of the story.

  No, I was only fooling. That’s not the end of the story. There’s more. Stick around. Have some tea. Don’t move those toes. Coyote is still around here somewhere.

  Ho, ho. So a lot of things happen. All of a sudden, everyone is fighting. Mostly those White people. They like to fight, you know. They fight with one another. And then they fight with those other people. And pretty soon everyone is fighting. Even some of us Indians are fighting.

  You’re probably think that Coyote is fighting, too.

  Is that what you were thinking?

  It’s OK, you can tell me.

  So Coyote comes back. I warned you about this. Coyote comes back, and he is driving a pretty good truck.

  Yoo-hoo, says Coyote, come and see my pretty good truck.

  Yes, I says, that’s a pretty good truck, all right. That job you got must be a pretty good job.

  Oh, yes, says Coyote, that job is the best job I have ever had.

  That pretty good truck that Coyote is driving says “Kogawa Seafood” on the door. Ho, that Coyote. Always looking for something to eat.

  Where did you get that pretty good truck, I says.

  Coyote stole me, says that pretty good truck.

  No, I didn’t, says Coyote.

  Yes, you did, says that pretty good truck.

  Don’t talk to that silly truck, Coyote tells me.

  What’s wrong with talking to trucks, I says. Everybody talks to trucks.

  Not any more, says Coyote, and that one lowers his eyes, so he looks like he is sitting on a secret. Talking to Enemy Alien trucks is against the law.

  Enemy Alien Trucks? Holy, I says. That sounds serious.

  National security, says Coyote. If someone saw you talking to an Enemy Alien truck, I might have to arrest you.

  I’m not an Enemy Alien, says that truck.

  Yes, you are, says Coyote.

  No, I’m not, says that truck.

  So Coyote and that pretty good truck says “Kogawa Seafood” on the door argue about Enemy Aliens. They argue about that for a long time. All day. Two days. Three. One week. They keep everyone awake. Nobody on the reserve can sleep. Even the dogs are awake.

  Knock it off, those dogs says. You’re keeping everyone awake.

  I haven’t heard of any Enemy Aliens, I tell Coyote.

  Oh, says Coyote, they’re all over the place. But you don’t have to worry. You don’t have to run away. You don’t have to hide under your bed.

  That’s good news, I says.

  Oh, yes, says Coyote. Now that I’m on the job, the world is a safer place.

  No, it’s not, says that pretty good truck.

  Yes, it is, says Coyote. And those two start arguing again.

  I don’t know about you but all this arguing is making me dizzy. Maybe we should have some tea. Maybe we should have some dinner. Maybe we should watch that television show where everyone goes to that island, practise their bad manners. Maybe we should go to sleep. You can sleep on the couch.

  So when I wake up, that pretty good truck is gone. But Coyote is still here.

  Where is your pretty good Enemy Alien truck, I ask Coyote.

  Oh, says Coyote, I had to sell that one. That’s the law now. All Enemy Alien Property must be confiscated. All Enemy Alien Property must be sold. That’s my job. And that Coyote shows me a piece of paper says “Order-in-Council 469.”

  Boy, I says, that paper has a nice voice.

  Order-in-Council 469, says that paper. All hail, Order-in-Council 469.

  Boy, I says, that paper sounds pretty important.

  It is, says Coyote. That paper says that I am the Custodian of Enemy Alien Property.

  Coyote is the Custodian of Enemy Alien Property, says that paper. All hail Coyote, Custodian of Enemy Alien Property.

  That job sounds pretty important, I says.

  It is the most important job in the world. says Coyote.

  Is it more important than being truthful, I says.

  Oh, yes, says Coyote.

  Is it more important than being reliable, I says.

  Absolutely, says Coyote.

  Is it more important than being fair, I says.

  Probably, says Coyote.

  Is it more important than being generous, I says.

  It certainly is, says Coyote.

  Holy, I says, that is one pretty important job, all right. How do you do that pretty important job?

  Well, says Coyote, first I find all the Enemy Aliens. Then I confiscate their property. Then I sell their property. Say, you want to buy some Enemy Alien Property?

  Enemy Alien Property. Yes, that’s what that Coyote said. Sure, I don’t mind asking. You keep sitting in that chair. Keep those toes under that chair. And stay awake. You start snoring, and that Coyote is going to hear you for sure.

  So, I ask Coyote, what kind of Enemy Alien Property do you have for sale?

  Oh, says Coyote, I have everything. You want a sewing machine? How about a set of dresser drawers? I have a bunch of radios. Cameras? A refrigerator? Blankets? Teakettles? A wheelbarrow? A house. Maybe you need an easy chair. I got lots of bicycles. Maybe you need a new car. Maybe you need a fishing boat.

  A fishing boat? You have a fishing boat for sale?

  Ho, ho, says that Coyote, I have more than one. How many would you like?

  How many do you have, I says.

  Eighteen hundred and four, says Coyote.

  That’s a lot of fishing boats, I says.

  It’s a hard job, says Coyote. But someone has to be paid to do it. Maybe you need a pretty good kimono.

  No, I says, I don’t need a pretty good kimono.

  Come on, says Coyote. Let’s go see the Enemy Alien Property.

  So I go with Coyote. But we don’t go in that pretty good truck says “Kogawa Seafood” on the door because Coyote has sold it. But that Coyote has another pretty good truck says “Okada General Store” on the door.

  You sure have a lot of pretty good trucks, I says.

  Oh, yes, says Coyote, I am an excellent Custodian of Enemy Alien Property.

  So Coyote starts driving. He drives to those mountains. And that one drives into those valleys. And then he drives to that Pacific National Exhibition in that Vancouver city.

  I am lost, I tell Coyote. Where are we now?

  Hastings Park, says Coyote.

  That Hastings Park is a big place. Big buildings. Big signs. That big sign says “Livestock Building.”

  Livestock? All right. So, I ask Coyote, you got any Enemy Alien Horses? That’s what I ask. You got any Enemy Alien Horses? I could use a good Enemy Alien Horse.

  That Coyote checks that list of Enemy Alien Property. That one checks it again. No, he says, there are no Enemy Alien Horses.

  Enemy Alien Cows? I ask Coyote.

  No, says Coyote, no Enemy Alien Cows.

  Chickens?

  No.

  Sheep?

  No.

  Holy, that’s all the livestock I can remember. So, I ask that Coyote, what do you keep in that Livestock Building?

  Enemy Aliens, says Coyote. That’s where we keep the Enemy Aliens.

  Boy, that Coyote likes to tell stories. Sometimes he tells stories that smell bad. Sometimes he tells stories that have been stretched. Sometimes he tells stories that bite your toes. Coyote stories.

  That’s one good Coyote story, I tell Coyote. Enemy Aliens in a Livestock Building.

  No, no, says Coyote. This story is not a good Coyote story. This story is a good Canadian story.

  Canadian story. Coyote story. Sometimes its hard to tell the difference. All those words begin with c.

  Callous, carnage, catastrophe, chicanery.


  Boy, I got to take a breath. There, that’s better.

  Cold-blooded, complicit, concoct, condemn.

  No, we’re not done yet.

  Condescend, confabulate, confiscate, conflate, connive.

  No, not yet.

  Conspire, convolute, crazy, crooked, cruel, crush.

  Holy, I almost forgot cupidity.

  No, no, says Coyote. Those words are the wrong words. The word you’re looking for is “legal.”

  Boy, you’re right, I tell Coyote. That legal is a good word. You can do a lot with that one. That’s one of those magic words. White magic. Legal. Lots of other White magic words.

  Patriotic, Good, Private, Freedom, Dignity, Efficient, Profitable, Truth, Security, National, Integrity, Public, Prosperity, Justice, Property.

  Sometime you can put two magic words together. National Security, Public Good, Private Property.

  Stop, stop, says Coyote. All these words are giving me a headache. We only need one word for Enemy Aliens. And that one word is legal.

  So Coyote takes me into the Livestock Building and that one shows me the Enemy Aliens.

  Boy, I says, you caught a big bunch of them.

  You bet, says Coyote.

  But what is that smell, I ask Coyote.

  Pigs and cows and horses, says Coyote. We had to move the pigs and cows and horses out so we could move the Enemy Aliens in.

  That is certainly a strong smell, I says.

  It certainly is, says Coyote. We better leave before we get sick.

  Maybe the Enemy Aliens would like to leave, too, I tell Coyote. So they don’t get sick from the pigs and cows and horses used to live here.

  Enemy Aliens don’t mind that smell, says Coyote. They’re not like you and me.

  They look like you and me, I says.

  Oh, no, says Coyote, you are mistaken. They look like Enemy Aliens.

  So that Coyote shows me all those sights. That one shows me that big building with all that glass. And that one shows me that other big building with all that glass. And then that one shows me that other big building with all that glass.

  Boy, I tell Coyote, that’s a lot of big buildings with glass.

  You want to see another big building with glass? says Coyote.

  No, I says, that’s enough big buildings with glass for me.

  Okay, says Coyote, lets go see that Enemy Alien Property. Maybe we can find you some silverware.

  So that Coyote shows me that Enemy Alien Property.

  Holy, I tell Coyote. It looks like you confiscated everything.

  Yes, says Coyote. The Whitemen have given me a commendation that I can hang on my wall.

  Boy, there’s another one of those words begins with c.

  See anything you like? says Coyote. I can give you a really good deal on family heirlooms.

  But just as that Coyote is showing me those good deals on those family heirlooms, he gets that phone call. This is before they got those phones you can walk around the house with, and this is before those phones you can carry in your pocket. Call any place you like for thirty cents a minute, plus those roaming charges. This is the time when those phones are nailed on those walls, when those real women place that call for you, when you have to stand right next to them.

  No, not the real women.

  So that Coyote stands next to that phone and that one nods his head and that one smiles and that one makes happy noises.

  Good news, says that Coyote. The Whitemen have given me another job.

  Boy, I says, you are one busy Coyote.

  Yes, says Coyote, and I have a new slogan. You want to hear it?

  You want to hear Coyotes new slogan? No, I don’t want to hear it either. But if we say no, we may hurt Coyotes feelings and then that one is going to cry and make a lot of noise and keep everyone awake. Yes, that one will keep the dogs awake, too.

  So I tell Coyote, OK, you tell us your new slogan.

  OK, says Coyote. Here it is. “Let our slogan be for British Columbia: ‘No Japs from the Rockies to the seas.’”

  Ho! That’s your new slogan?

  Ian Alistair Mackenzie, says Coyote. It’s Ian Alistair Mackenzie’s slogan.

  He must be important, I tell Coyote. All Whitemen with three names are important.

  He’s the Whiteman in charge of making up slogans, says Coyote. But that one is not a good poet. If he was a good poet, he would have said, “Let our slogan for British Columbia be: No Japs from the Rockies to the sea.”

  Look at that, I says. Now that slogan rhymes.

  Be, sea, says that slogan. Be, sea.

  Oh, yes, says Coyote, all good slogans rhyme. You want to hear some of Ian Alistair Mackenzie’s other slogans?

  Is that your new job, I say. Making those Ian Alistair Mackenzie slogans rhyme?

  Oh, no, says Coyote, my new job is to Disperse Enemy Aliens.

  No, I don’t know what “disperse” means. Lots of those words begin with “dis.” Disdain, Disappear, Distress, Disaster, Disillusioned, Disappointed, Disingenuous, Distrust.

  Disperse.

  No, I don’t think we should ask Coyote. OK, but don’t blame me if things get messed up.

  Come on, says Coyote, we got to get those Enemy Aliens dispersed.

  So Coyote gets all the Women Enemy Aliens and the Children Enemy Aliens out of that Livestock Building smells like horses and cows and sheep, and that one gets those Men Enemy Aliens with those targets painted on their backs from that other place, and that Coyote puts all the Enemy Aliens into the back of his pretty good truck says “Okada General Store” on the door.

  It’s pretty crowded, I can tell you that.

  OK, says that Coyote, let’s start dispersing.

  So that Coyote drives that truck into that valley, and then that one drives that truck into those mountains, and then that one drives that truck onto those prairies, and that one doesn’t stop driving until he gets to my place.

  My good place. My good place by the river.

  Holy, I says, there is my good place.

  Yes, says Coyote, this is a good place, all right. Maybe this is a good place to disperse the Enemy Aliens.

  Sure, I says, we got lots of room.

  So Coyote gets all of the Enemy Aliens out of the truck, and I call my friend Napioa and my friend Billy Frank. Ho, I tell my friends, we got guests.

  OK, my friend Napioa and my friend Billy Frank tell me. We’ll call the rest of the People. Maybe we’ll eat some food. Maybe we’ll drink some tea. Maybe we’ll sing a welcoming song.

  A party? says Coyote. I love parties!

  But you know what? Some of those Enemy Aliens look pretty sad. Some of those Enemy Aliens look pretty scared. And some of those Enemy Aliens with the targets on their backs look pretty angry.

  Boy, I tell Coyote, those Enemy Aliens don’t look too happy.

  And after everything I’ve done for them, says Coyote. And just as that Coyote says this, a big car comes along.

  Ho, I says, that is one important-looking car.

  Yes, I am, says that important-looking car.

  Did you come for the Enemy Alien party? I ask that important-looking car.

  No, says that important-looking car, I am looking for Coyote.

  Did I get a promotion? says that Coyote. And that one polishes his teeth with his tongue.

  Get in, says that important-looking car. We got some secret stuff to talk about.

  So Coyote gets in that important-looking car, and I go find the food, and now some of the Enemy Aliens are feeling a little better.

  You know, that Billy Frank tells me, this story about the Enemy Aliens have their property taken away by Coyote and the Whitemen and get moved from their homes to someplace else reminds me of another story.

  Yes, I tell Billy Frank, me, too.

  You remember how that story goes, says Billy Frank.

  No, I says, but maybe if we think about it, that story will come back.

  So we eat some food, and we drink some tea
, and Billy Frank and Napioa warm up that drum, and we have a couple of songs.

  So pretty soon, that Coyote gets out of that important-looking car. And those RCMPs get out of that important-looking car. And those politician guys get out of that important-looking car, singing O Canada. But they don’t sing so good.

  Holy, says Billy Frank. We’re going to have to get more food.

  Okay, says Coyote, all the Enemy Aliens back in the truck!

  Let’s not be hasty, I tell Coyote. The party is just starting.

  No time to party with Enemy Aliens, says Coyote. I got a new job.

  Another job? Boy, that Coyote is one busy Coyote.

  What is your new job? I ask Coyote.

  I got to take the Enemy Aliens to their new homes, says Coyote.

  They can stay here, I says. We got lots of room.

  Oh, no, says Coyote, that would be too dangerous. We got to take the Enemy Aliens who look sad and the Enemy Aliens who look scared to that Sugar Beet Farms. We going to give them jobs.

  OK, I says, working on the Sugar Beet Farms is pretty good money.

  We’re not going to pay them, says Coyote. Those Enemy Aliens have to work for free, so they can show us that they are loyal citizens.

  Boy, I tell Billy Frank, those citizenship tests are tough.

  What’s a citizen? says Billy Frank.

  What about those Enemy Aliens with the targets painted on their back, who look pretty angry?

  Oh, says Coyote, those are the Dangerous Enemy Aliens. Those Dangerous Enemy Aliens are going to Angler, Ontario.

  Holy, I says, those Enemy Aliens must be real dangerous have to go to Ontario. Have any of the Enemy Aliens caused any troubles?

  Not yet, says Coyote, but you can’t be too careful.

  So that Coyote goes to the centre of the party and stands by the drum, and that one holds up his hands.

  Okay, says Coyote, all the Enemy Aliens back in the truck.

  But you know what? Nobody gets in the truck.

  Maybe they didn’t hear me, says Coyote. And this time he says it really loud. All the Enemy Aliens back in the truck!

  But nobody gets in the truck.

  OK, says Coyote, we going to have to do this the hard way. And Coyote and the RCMPs grab Billy Frank.