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For many generations, Native Americans have told stories and created poems for every occasion.
There are poems for healing, for mourning, and for hunting. There are also poems for harvesting and welcoming friends. Myths explain how the world began, where people came from, and the origins of local landmarks, plants, and animals. They also show people how to treat one another. The Iroquois people, who live in New York and Canada, tell this myth about how the world was created.
▲ Long ago, before the Earth existed, there were sky people. They lived on an island that drifted high in the air. There was no Sun, but a tree on the island had flowers that gave off light.
One day, a sky woman heard voices under her heart and knew she was going to become a mother. Her husband was jealous and grew angry. He ripped up the light tree, which made a huge hole in the island. When the curious woman stepped to the edge of the hole to look down, he pushed her in. Right away, the sky man wished he hadn’t done that, but it was too late. The woman was falling through the sky to the water below. As she fell, some sky people changed into ducks and flew together to break her fall. Below, in the water, other sky people turned into water animals. A muskrat dove deep to the bottom of the water. It brought up mud and spread it on a turtle’s back. The sky woman landed on the turtle’s back and began to walk around. As she walked, the tiny Earth grew bigger. When she had finished walking, the Earth was the size it is today.
