SSBMI Language Department

Beeteyihí      Storytime

The SSBMI Language Department and Exhibits & Collections Center host periodic Beeteyihí (Storytime) events where we share stories with the SSBMI Tribal Membership, ranging from traditional narratives set during Creation Time to more recent historical recollections.

On this webpage, you can learn more about past Beeteyihí events, as well as access the stories we have shared at Beeteyihí and other stories.

Please follow the links below to learn more about past Beeteyihí events. There, you can learn more about each event including read and listen to the stories that we shared, view artwork that participants created that were inspired by the stories, find fun activities, and more!

February 28, 2024 - Beeteyihí (Storytime)

November 8, 2023 - Beeteyihí (Storytime)

August 25, 2023 - Beeteyihí Husladí (Storytime at Small Time 2023)

Beeteyí pintanohó daak’ábe mi? (Do you want to listen to a story?)

Please follow the links below to learn more about the stories that we share at Beeteyihí. There, you can learn more about each story including read and listen to them in Nisenan and English, learn about their original narrators, find fun activities, and more!

Booyéem Mowí K’ut’í Méyt’omatoy (Jackrabbit Gave Antlers to Deer), as told by William Joseph (a.k.a. Bill Joe)

Hiik’í (Big Snake), as told by William Joseph (a.k.a. Bill Joe)

May (Salmon), as told by Tom Cleanso

Mayk Klinsóon Mɨ Etín Ha (Mike Cleanso and His Elder Sister), as told by William Joseph (a.k.a. Bill Joe)

Olém Homáatín Huunomént’omatoy (Coyote Just Couldn't Fly), as told by William Joseph (a.k.a. Bill Joe)

Olén Hilit’ín Ham Lumáyt’omatoy (Coyote and Cougar Made Big Time), as told by William Joseph (a.k.a. Bill Joe)

Hoyyahám Totoyká (The First Chickens), as told by William Joseph (a.k.a. Bill Joe)

How Wíṭṭapɨ (Robin) Got His Red Breast, a Northern Sierra Miwok story

We plan to share additional stories here from time to time, inlcuding ones that we have not yet shared at Beeteyihí, so check back soon!

Esak’ábe mi? (Do you know?)

The SSBMI Language Department and Exhibits & Collections Center also collaborate to repackage and share traditional stories as storybooks through the SSBMI Nisenan Storytelling Collection. We published the first story in this collection, Booyéem Mowí K’ut’í Méyt’omatoy (Jackrabbit Gave Antlers to Deer), as an illustrated children's storybook in December 2023, and we are excited to share many more stories!

To learn more about the SSBMI Nisenan Storytelling Collection, please click here. For any other questions, please contact the SSBMI Language Department at language@ssband.org and the SSBMI Exhibits & Collections Center at ecc@ssband.org.

Menekɨ́m siyéebe hedém website-í? (Who makes this website?)

This website is maintained by SSBMI Language Department staff in order to share Nisenan and Miwok language learning resources with the Tribal Membership and other learners. Our current team consists of: Jonathan Geary, Richenda Ervin, and Skye Anderson. The Nisenan and Miwok audio recordings that you will find on this website are recordings of Jonathan, Richenda, and Skye. We are all learners of the Nisenan and Miwok languages, and we hope that you will join us in learning Nisenan and Miwok too!