A Comparison of the Cherokee and Lakota Creation Stories
Joshua J. Vanderstigchel
HIST223
History of the American Indian
Tamrala Swafford
American Military University
08 July 2017
A Comparison of the Cherokee and Sioux Creation Stories
There are many cultures throughout the world, and each has its’ own creation story, and many of them are very similar; however the creation stories of the First Nations’ People are some of the most magical. These stories not only tell how the world was created, but give a glimpse into who the Cherokee and Lakota were, and their views of the relationship between human beings and creation, and human beings and animals. The Cherokee and Lakota creation stories are similar in many ways, but each has
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The Lakota being the biggest of the three, are from the Great Plains, and are what most people imagine when they hear the term “Indian”, with feathers in their hair, riding on horseback chasing buffalo, and living in tepees. However, they didn’t always live on the plains, the Ojibwa had pushed them out of Minnesota and Wisconsin, and onto the plains area. Their society was patriarchal with each tiyospaye, their family unit, having a man as the head. The Lakota were also polygamists, taking several wives. Duties and responsibilities of each family member were generally based on sex and age. The men were the hunters, the women were responsible for camp duties, and the children were helpers, doing small tasks like gathering fuel for fire. The Lakota were very prosperous until the near annihilation of the buffalo by the Americans. This and land encroachment by pioneers due to U.S. government policies started the “Indian Wars”. A famous Lakota during these wars was the Chief Sitting Bull who defeated General Custer at The Battle of Little Bighorn. Eventually, the Lakota had all their land, including their sacred Black Hills, was taken from them and were placed on reservations. On the reservations they had to deal with ever changing federal policies that forbid sacred practices
There are various diverse creation myths from Native American cultures, though many hold similar characteristics. One of the more common forms of creation myth seems to be emergence myth. Generally, in the emergence myth, instead of seeing how the world is created, we see how the people arrive in an already created world. This particular story type is commonly found in Native American cultures from the southwest (Ryan). The Tewa Pueblo version of this myth, entitled How the People Came to the Middle Place, has been collected and written down by the anthropologists Alice Marriott and Carol K. Rachlin in their book, American Indian Mythology. The myth was told to them by two separate sources, Maria Martinez of San Ildefonso and Leonidas
Every culture has its own past belief on how everything was created; Gods, lands, plants, animals, creatures, and humans all have a unique story to be told throughout the ages. But it is plain to see there is some overlap between ideas on how everything was made. Take the Greek Mythology, the most popular and well known type of mythos, has connections to other cultures like Nordic and Native American. But of course, each story has their own twist or other idea to it, as well.
European Americans have commonly failed to recognize the plurality of American Indian groups, as they have classified all Indians as being in the same group of “natural beings” that wear feathers and ride on horses. However, there are many different American Indian groups and communities, and some groups had further divisions, such as the Lakota. The Lakota were made of seven tribes, the Oglalas, Brulés, Minneconjous, Hunkpapas, Two Kettles, Sihasapas, and Sans Arcs (7). Out of these, the Oglalas and the Brulés got the most attention, as they spent the most time in the Black Hills out of the tribes; however, the other tribes were definitely affected by United States policy too as the Europeans set up forts all over their territory (13).
In American Indian life, they believe their life is interconnected with the world, nature, and other people. The idea of a peoplehood matrix runs deep in Indian culture, in this essay the Cherokee, which is the holistic view of sacred history, language, ceremony, and homeland together. This holistic model shapes the life of the American Indians and how their sense of being and relationship to their history is strong and extremely valuable to them. This essay will try to explain how each aspect of the peoplehood matrix is important and interconnected to each other and the life of the Native Americans.
Creation stories are tools used to try to explain the unexplainable. For centuries humans have been searching for answers to the what, when, why, and how questions that encompass life. Genesis and the Iroquois Creation Myth are two different stories that seek to describe the creation of Earth and the universe that surrounds it. Genesis describes a Christian perspective, particularly one of the most popular Western explanations to life on Earth. The Iroquois Creation Myth, on the other hand, takes a less traditional approach, while only mildly alluding to religion. The similarities between the two lie in the timeless battle of good versus evil.
All different cultures have their own creation stories, mostly all containing the elements of a Higher Power of some sort, how the power created the world, and the creation a human man. The Christian belief in the Genesis story has these key elements , as does the Iroquois creation myth, The World on the Turtle's Back. Although these two creation stories share similarities, they also have some stark contrasts. These contrasts include, how the two cultures of the Native American Iroquois tribe and then Christians view life and aspects of good and evil, the way each culture views nature and the impact that has on their culture, and finally the way the Christian God and the Iroquois gods are portrayed to
There’s tons of debate between which creation story is true. Some people say that the Adam and Eve creation story is true. Others truly think the Native American one is correct. But nobody alive today, has any idea which one is true, probably no one ever will. However, both Native American and Creation stories are similar in many ways. Both stories are different also.
There are many familiar archetypes found in the Creation stories of the Native American Indians. The Iroquois and Navajo Creation Stories from The Norton Anthology American Literature Vol. A, contains several archetypes similar to those of the Judeo-Christian Bible. The story of the Iroquois contains similarities such as a virgin mother, characters of good and evil, different steps to creation, Heaven and Hell. Some concepts follow through in the Navajo story, but it also mentions the importance of marriage, twelve tribes, interbred peoples, floods, and a rainbow.
A belief is defines a true statement, something that exists, or the trust and faith in someone or something. We all have beliefs and have obtained those believes individually in many different ways and whose to say that belief is right or wrong, or true or false. As with a myth, a traditional story, mostly believed to be a false idea or false believe.
Many Native Americans tell stories of the creation of earth that explain how they came to be before the Europeans entered North America. Creation myths vary among all cultures; however, they all have one thing in common; heaven and earth. One of the most popular creation myths was the Iroquois creation myth. The Iroquois or Haudenosaunee meaning “People of the Longhouse” (Iroquois Indian Museum, n.d.) consists of six Indian nations that include the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora tribes. In the beginning, there was a belief that before the creation of earth, there were two realms, the sky, and the lower world that consisted of water and water creatures. From the sky, a young woman named the Sky Woman was
The Cherokee tribe is known as one of the earliest and largest Indian tribe in North America. They are federally recognized even today among several states(museum). While they slowly became Americanized by the Europeans who came over to America, some still practice their typical Indian rituals publicly today. Most converted to Christianity and their government in Oklahoma is based off the American government with three branches. One would believe that the Trail of Tears could have completely vanquished these Indians but many made it through the horrendous trial and kept the Indian bloodline going even present day (Conley).
The Lakota Indians, are sometimes known as the Sioux, but they call themselves the Lakota, which is translated as ‘friend’ or ‘ally’ in their native tongue. Their description of themselves make sense when looking at their seven virtues that they live by, “These are Wóčhekiye (Prayer), Wóohola (Respect), Wówauŋšila (Compassion), Wówičakȟe (Honesty), Wówačhaŋtognaka (Generosity), Wówaȟwala (Humility) and Wóksape (Wisdom) (“Lakota Today”). A culture’s idea of the most importance qualities a good person should have gives a good idea of what kind of people they are. The Lakota’s virtues all revolve around a general concept of respect for everything, compassion, humility, and honesty. These things can either refer to their fellow man, or
All humans are interested in their origins and trying to account for their existence through creation stories. Native Americans tribes are no different from the rest of humanity. The tribes’ stories explain how people came into existence, how they came to be live on the lands they do and the how people interact with nature and each other. These trends can be seen in the legends of three tribes hailing from New England to the Great Lakes Region.
The motifs found in the creation myths are undoubtedly different from those found in any other type of myth. Contrary to popular belief, the purpose of the creation myths is much greater than a primitive attempt to explain the mysteries of creation. Behind each creation myth is a vast variety of symbolism along with a number of motives which are often shared between cultures, despite vast geographical differences. My intention here is not only to discuss the purpose of the creation myths, but also to compare and contrast common themes which can be found in three selected works. These being, an Eskimo creation myth, the Ongwe creation myth and the Navajo creation myth.
In the Iroquois creation myth, Sky Woman understood that she was pregnant with twins and was pushed by her husband into the Earth’s waters below the above world. Little Toad was able to bring up mud to spread on Big Turtle’s back, and it grew to become the size of North America where Sky Woman created the Iroquois world. Her children, Sapling and Flint, were important in creating the details of the land such as rivers, fish, plants, and even the seasons. The Sky People, Demi-gods of the Iroquois, were critical to the Iroquois people as it helped to define who they were and what they believed. The Iroquois people were happy and peaceful. There was little to no violence within their tribes just as in their myth of creation that tells of the Sky People living on an island floating above the “earth” where there was no sadness, violence, or negativity. This shows the ways the Iroquois applied their myth to their everyday lives and their religion. The myth also explains how the Sky Women’s evil son, Flint, was beaten by his good brother, Sapling, and was required to live on the Big Turtle’s back. North America was carried upon Big Turtle’s back and according to the the myth, bones in fish, thorns on bushes, and volcanos erupting symbolized Flint’s anger. The myth of Sky Woman and her sons is the explanation of how all nature came to be.