The Coyote
When a Native American scholar and a graduate student unearth a mysterious tomb, they find it contains a Navajo god and soon find themselves embroiled in a cosmic battle between good and evil with the fate of humanity at stake.
Elsewhere, in the Arizona desert, CHENOA CALLAHAN (30s, Native American) meets with PROFESSOR TROY GIBSON (late 60s) and his assistant DON COLLINS (28, Native American) as they want her to consult on the discovery of an ancient tomb. In an unearthed burial chamber, they find the Navajo buried someone and the tomb is marked with petroglyphs. Inside, they discover a body wrapped in coyote pelts which they have moved to their research lab. The body appears to be male and shows signs of having been in excellent health. When they unwrap it, they discover the man is perfectly preserved and shows no signs of decay.
Chenoa returns home where it becomes clear she's struggling with an unknown illness. She's also involved with MIKE FORD (30s), the sheriff. At the lab, Don is stunned when the man suddenly wakes up and approaches him. The man rests his hand on Don's head for a time before Don can escape the room. When Don returns with the others, the man is once again unconscious. As they wonder if Don imagined things, Gina shows up and attacks the man. He wakes in time to defend himself but Troy is killed during the altercation. Gina escapes while Don and Chenoa flee with the mysterious man.
The trio hides out at Chenoa's house where the man reveals he can now speak English as he absorbed it from Don. He tells them he is HASTSEHOGAN, the benevolent Navajo god of farming. When his people decided to break away from the gods, they entombed him and he has been trapped ever since. He revels Gina is a shape shifter who wants to destroy him so she and her kind can unleash chaos into the world. Chenoa finds herself drawn to Hastsehogan but Don is immediately mistrustful. Meanwhile, Chenoa ignores Mike’s phone calls.
Gina meets with AIYANA (20s), another mysterious supernatural woman who warns Gina they aren't meant to interfere with humanity. Don visits his grandfather, ELU (70s), and it's revealed Don's real name is "Atsa" but he changed it when he left his Native American culture behind. However, he wants Elu's advice. Elu believes Hastsehogan's arrival is a warning and advises Don to be on his guard. After Don leaves, Aiyana visits Elu and gives him a mystical dagger as she tells him he knows what must be done next.
Elsewhere, Chenoa and Hastsehogan bond as he learns she has pancreatic cancer. When he uses his gifts to cure her, Chenoa becomes even more drawn to him and makes love to him in a moment of passion. In the morning, she is instantly regretful as she has betrayed Mike and she is uncomfortable when Hastsehogan begins speaking of how he wants humanity to worship him once again. Mysterious events begin to occur as Don encounters a storm of locusts and returns to his grandfather's to find it destroyed and Elu has been killed. Mike finally gets hold of Chenoa and she keeps the truth from him as he tells her he's been investigating Troy's death.
Don reunites with MAI (20s), a former lover, who was contacted by Elu before he died. He gave her the dagger to give to Don and he senses it has supernatural properties. They fear that whoever attacked Elu was looking for the dagger. As old feelings surface between Mai and Don, he begins to confront his regrets about turning from his heritage. They discover the dagger is the Naayéé Neizghání, an ancient artifact that is said to be able to kill the gods if wielded by another god. Meanwhile, Gina meets with Hastsehogan and it's revealed she's actually his disciple who has been looking for the dagger while Hastsehogan regains his strength.
Mike pays a visit to Chenoa and finds Hastsehogan there. As he's found photographs Troy took with Hastsehogan, he wants to question him but Hastsehogan attacks instead. The next thing Mike knows, he's apparently been in a car accident with no memory of what happened over the past few days. Elsewhere, Don returns home to find a frightened Mai waiting as his place has been ransacked. However, Don soon deduces this isn't Mai and she is indeed revealed to be Gina. Don manages to attack her with sage, which is a weakness, and she is forced to flee.
Hastsehogan learns Don has the dagger and is about to kill Gina for failing him but she escapes. Don confesses everything to Chenoa and they decide to return to the tomb seeking answers as she now suspects Hastsehogan isn't what he said he was. At the tomb, they discover more petroglyphs that reveal he is actually the Coyote, a trickster god who is known to deceive and manipulate. Returning to Chenoa's home, they find the Coyote waiting and he admits he plans to rule humanity.
A final confrontation ensues, during which it's revealed that Don is descended from the Coyote's own illegitimate child. This means he can wield the Naayéé Neizghání and, with Chenoa's help, and Gina’s surprise appearance, they overcome the Coyote. Returning him to his tomb, they once again seal him up before the tomb is destroyed and buried. In the aftermath, Chenoa discovers her cancer wasn't cured but also that it's in remission. Don has now accepted the importance of embracing his heritage. Aiyana visits him and takes the dagger for safekeeping even as she tells of a prophecy that says Don and Mai's descendants will one day have need of the dagger again.
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