Now Collier is sharing what he learned from her and other members of his Nez Perce Indian tribe. On Saturday, at Travelers' Rest State Park, he told nine tribal stories, each explaining some aspect of nature or a moral lesson.
In many tribes, including his own Nimiipu, or Nez Perce, tribe, storytelling was a winter affair, done when the weather kept people from hunting, fishing and gathering plants for food, according to Collier, hired last September as the Native American program coordinator for Travelers' Rest State Park. Tribal members gathered together in the longhouse to listen; both men and women told stories.
On Saturday, Collier began with a tale of a coyote, a raven and a fox that explains why ravens squawk today - they're bawling out coyote for not following rules - and why the living can't visit the departed in the Land of the Dead.
His other tales explained the genesis of Earth's four seasons (the story involves a beheaded sun and feuding children); why certain willows are red (involving a fight and spilled blood); why buffalo seem so angry (involving a race and a very clever turtle) and why Indian women did not choose their own husbands (because fights among suitors proved too risky).
One of the morning's favorite stories was of two spoiled, ill-behaved children who played all night and kept their tribe awake. A forest woman covered in sticky pitch eventually snatched them up and carried them off to her home.
It was a cautionary tale meant to keep children near their elders, Collier said. Children wandering outside in winter fell prey to animals and bad weather.
In times past, he said, Indian storytelling often involved one, long continuous story that lasted night after night, a seamless explanation of the hows and whys of life, death and the world.
"You can go outside and turn around, and there is a story for every rock, every tree, every bush you can see," said Collier. "Everything was explained by a story."
Collier said he learned the Nez Perce stories in his native tongue, Sahaptin. Many of those stories are now lost, but Collier is trying to write them down to preserve them for future generations.
In the meantime, he passes them on to his own kin: In the audience for two recent storytelling sessions was his grandson, Micah Fallis, a 10-year-old who attends Lewis and Clark School in Missoula.
"Last time, I looked out and saw him mouthing the words of the story," Collier said. "By now, he's heard them many times."
Reach reporter Mea Andrews at 523-5246 or mandrews@missoulian.com
If you go
Two more free programs are scheduled in Travelers' Rest Preservation and Heritage Association's winter storytelling series:
- 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 5 - Rob Collier draws on ghost tales to tell traditional Nez Perce stories.
- 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 19 - "Deception at Travelers' Rest," a recording of an Armed Forces radio show on Lewis and Clark, will be played.
Travelers' Rest State Park is one-fourth mile west of Highway 93 at 6550 Mormon Creek Road in Lolo. For information, call 273-4253 or visit www.travelersrest.org.
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