"Wherever stories are told, in whatever language, life and death hold center stage, along with pain and glee, mystery and magic, fools and foes, deceit and decency. This book has them all. Here, in embellishments upon the folklore of Native American tribes from the Pacific Northwest, are tales that seek to explain the world, dispel its darkness, and celebrate its light. So, meet a sorcerer whose magic can turn a horse into a loon, a man who becomes a bush-tailed rat, a girl whose sons were born as puppies, and a Native American tribe that sought the power of shamans to escape white men bent on destroying them."--Page 4 of cover.

Previously published: Santa Fe, N.M. : Clear Light Publishers, 2012. Originally published under title: The stolen Appaloosa and other Indian stories. Longmont, Colo. : Bookmakers Guild, 1988. Retells five legends from various Native peoples inhabiting the Pacific Northwest coast of America, as collected by anthropologist Franz Boas.

The bush-tailed rat man --Why the Indians changed their home -- The story of hot and cold -- The girl and the dog -- The stolen Appaloosa -- The man who journeyed to the land of the dead -- Raven finds the daylight.