Skunny Wundy: Seneca Indian Tales, Expanded Edition

Description

In this timeless collection, Seneca anthropologist Arthur C. Parker shares stories of wit, bravery, and wisdom, all told through a cast of animals who share the foibles and character flaws of humans. Readers learn that boastfulness and deceit cost Fox his friendships, that the red eyes of ducks signal the folly of wanting too much, and that even a kind nature cannot protect you from those who are mean and jealous. Growing up on the Cattaraugus Indian Reservation in western New York, Parker knew the importance of the storyteller. Oral narratives–whether myths, legends, or folktales–are more than just “stories.” They are the way by which a society communicates to its members the order and meaning to be found in the world around them.

This expanded edition includes a new preface by Hayden Haynes and Joy Porter that places the collection in its full cultural and historical context, from Parker’s complex legacy to the enduring relevance of these tales as pathways to intercultural understanding and wisdom. Far from relics of the past, these Seneca stories, as retold by Parker, foster awareness that we exist in kinship with all beings on Earth.

Binding Type: Paperback
Contributors: Arthur Parker,Joy Porter (Preface by),Hayden Haynes (Preface by)
Published: 08/01/2026
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
ISBN: 9780815612285
Pages: 256
Weight: 0.66lbs
Size: 0.58″ H x 8.50″ L x 5.50″ W

About the Author

Arthur C. Parker (1881-1955), a renowned anthropologist and folklorist, was born on the Cattaraugus Indian Reservation in western New York State. Throughout his career, he was affiliated with the American Museum of Natural History, the Peabody Museum at Harvard, the New York State Museum at Albany, and the Rochester
Museum of Arts and Sciences.

Hayden Haynes is a member of the Seneca Nation of Indians, Deer Clan. He currently serves as the director of the Seneca Nation Onöhsagwë de’ Cultural Center, located on the Seneca-Allegany Territory in what is now western New York.

Joy Porter is a professor of Indigenous and environmental history at the University of Birmingham. She is the author of To Be Indian: The Life of Iroquois-Seneca Arthur Caswell Parker.

Cover art by Seneca artist Randee Spruce. She studied studio arts and museum studies at the Institute of American Indian Arts. Her work has received received recognition and awards at juried art shows across the U.S.