by Lynda Lampert

Created on: November 08, 2008   Last Updated: November 25, 2008

Native American Tribes and Creation Stories

There are hundreds of Native American tribes that still exist in America today and each of them have their own creation stories. In some ways, they are vastly different from each other and from European cultural stories, but in other ways, they are eerily familiar.

Who were the gods?

In the stream of Native American myths of creation, the gods are known by many names. The Great Spirit and simply The Creator are the most common. The Southwest Apache name for the creator is One Who Lives Above. Great Chief Above is a derivative of Great Spirit and used by the Chelan people, hunter gatherers from the Washington state area. The sun god of the Lakota (or Sioux) is referred to as Something that Moves. To the Michigan Chippewa, the earth was like a family: Father Creator, Mother Earth, Grandmother Moon, and Grandfather Sun. The Tribes of the Creek Confederacy called god Master of Breath, drawing from the many stories of animating immortal breath. Grandfather of All Things is the name the Florida Seminoles use for the creator god, and the Navajo call him the Talking God. The Navajo also speak of the creator as the Holy Supreme Wind. They also tell a story of the Ever Changing Woman that had twins with a sun god. Those twins went on to perform great deeds of arms, reflecting the Greek story of Apollo and Artemis. The Lake Erie area Iroquois value the Woman who Dreamed Dreams.

How the world was created?

Among the stories of the Native American tribes, the themes of water and mud appear to be the strongest. For the Lakota, the world is wiped clean in a flood reminiscent of Noah's Ark. After the flood, the Creator allows four animals to attempt to reach the bottom of the ocean. It is only the turtle who is able to bring the mud up from the bottom and reform the land. This creator also created things in the world by singing them, and his tears became the oceans and rivers. The South Appalachian Cherokee have a similar story, but the water beetle is the savior. It took a while for the mud to dry, and when a buzzard sent out to scout the land flapped his wings, the mountains and valleys formed where he struck. For the Iroquois, the helldiver - with the aide of the beaver and turtle - brings up the mud to support the Dreamer of Dreams after she is expelled from the Sky World.

The Apache offer a different slant. The gods are able to bring things into being by merely thinking of them. The Creator forms a ball of mud and this is hung by a

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