The author begins this book with a description of how these tales are handed down through the generations in an oral culture.
He then explains the tribes circumstances physically and psychologically to a certain extent. The BLUEJAY stories come from the Chinook Indians. In the Punishment of the Stingy, the men went hunting and ate sea lions but wouldn't take any meat home (except for Raven); Bluejay even kept Raven from taking any back to the women and children; they got only mussels. The Chief had died and had a young son. The young boy wanted to go with the men, but they wouldn't let him go. He shot a big eagle and flew with the feathers to see what the men were doing. They gave the bird meat and the bird (who was really the young Chief) took it and showed the families. He made the houses into sharpened sticks, greased the women with fat and told them how to turn into killer whales. He taught the children how to turn into birds. When the men came back, their homes and families were gone. Only Raven had a separate house--the others had to live in the house. Raven sometimes found food; Bluejay was always unlucky. Thus the Stingy were punished.
There are several other stories in this book. Two more of them are also about Blue Jay and his sister Ioi. Then there are some tales from the Pawnee. One is about the girl who called the buffalo, and how Coyote lost her and then got her back. One is how a young Pawnee man was taken by the Wind to Father, who gave him the seeds of Squash, beans and corn and taught him how to use them to feed his people when the buffalo were scarce (He had made the young man unlucky at gambling, so that he was thrown out of the family and he could do that, Father said). There are a number of other interesting stories here in this collection as well. They are interesting both for children and for adult readers alike.