This mound rises above the Idaho earth. But it isn’t your ordinary geological feature—it’s central to the origin story of the Nez Perce.
Iceye-ye (Coyote) appears in many of the Nez Perce stories. In the Nez Perce origin story,Iceye-ye confronts a monster who was eating all of the people and the animals. He then tricks the monster into swallowing him.
Once inside the monster, Iceye-ye uses a stone knife to cut it open and free all the people and animals trapped within. Parts of the Monster were then distributed all across the land, or thus creating the many peoples of the land. Different parts of the Monster are visible nowadays across the landscape.
When visiting the Heart of the Monster,now one of the 38 sites within the Nez Perce National Historical Park, you’ll possess the opportunity to see the landmark lodged within the splendid Clearwater River valley, and near the town of Kamiah. There,you can hear the origin story spoken via audio machines. Other sites involving Iceye-ye include the Coyote’s Fishnet, which also involves a natural landscape altered by the mythological figure.
Source: atlasobscura.com