CREATION MYTHS CREATION MYTHS AMERICAN INDIANS ARTS ENVIRONMENT RELIGION AMERICAN CULTURE INTRODUCTION NATIVE AMERICANS DEVELOPED A RICH ORAL LITERATURE CREATION MYTHS ARE ONE EXAMPLE OF THIS LITERATURE OFTEN TOLD DURING CEREMONIES NATIVE AMERICAN CREATION MYTHS DESCRIBE A PEOPLE'S ORIGIN OR SOURCE OR THE ORIGIN OF SOMETHING IMPORTANT IN THEIR LIVES SUCH AS FIRE OR MAIZE IN THIS READING ARE THE MYTH OF THE ORIGIN OF THE TUSKEGEE INDIANS AND THE CADDO INDIANS MYTH OF THE ORIGIN OF DEATH THE ORIGIN OF EARTH A TUSKEGEE MYTH BEFORE THE BEGINNING WATER WAS EVERYWHERE BUT NO PEOPLE ANIMALS OR EARTH WERE VISIBLE THERE WERE BIRDS HOWEVER WHO HELD A COUNCIL TO DECIDE IF IT MIGHT BE BEST TO HAVE ALL LAND OR ALL WATER LET US HAVE LAND SO WE CAN HAVE MORE FOOD SAID SOME OF THE BIRDS OTHERS SAID LET'S HAVE ALL WATER BECAUSE WE LIKE IT THIS WAY SUBSEQUENTLY LATER THEY APPOINTED EAGLE AS THEIR CHIEF WHO WAS TO DECIDE ONE WAY OR THE OTHER EAGLE DECIDED UPON LAND AND ASKED WHO WILL GO AND SEARCH FOR LAND DOVE VOLUNTEERED FIRST AND FLEW AWAY IN FOUR DAYS HE COMPLETED HIS HUNT AND RETURNED REPORTING I COULD NOT FIND LAND ANYWHERE CRAWFISH CAME SWIMMING ALONG AND WAS ASKED BY THE COUNCIL TO HELP SEARCH FOR LAND HE DISAPPEARED UNDER THE WATER FOR FOUR DAYS WHEN HE AROSE TO THE SURFACE AGAIN HE HELD SOME DIRT IN HIS CLAWS HE HAD FOUND SOME LAND DEEP IN THE WATER CRAWFISH MADE A BALL OF DIRT AND HANDED IT TO THE CHIEF EAGLE WHO THEN FLEW AWAY WITH IT FOUR DAYS LATER HE RETURNED AND SAID TO THE COUNCIL NOW THERE IS LAND AN ISLAND HAS BEEN FORMED FOLLOW ME THE WHOLE BIRD COLONY FLEW AFTER EAGLE TO SEE THE NEW LAND THOUGH IT WAS A VERY SMALL ISLAND GRADUALLY THE LAND BEGAN TO GROW LARGER AND LARGER AS THE WATER BECAME LOWER AND LOWER MORE ISLANDS APPEARED AND THESE GREW TOGETHER CREATING LARGER ISLANDS INTO ONE EARTH TUSKEGEE INDIANS SAY THEY WERE CHOSEN BY THE GREAT SPIRIT TO BE THE FIRST PEOPLE TO LIVE UPON THE NEW EARTH A LONG LONG TIME AGO COYOTE AND THE ORIGIN OF DEATH A CADDO MYTH IN THE BEGINNING OF THIS WORLD THERE WAS NO SUCH THING AS DEATH EVERYBODY CONTINUED TO LIVE UNTIL THERE WERE SO MANY PEOPLE THAT THE EARTH HAD NO ROOM FOR ANY MORE THE CHIEFS HELD A COUNCIL TO DETERMINE WHAT TO DO ONE MAN ROSE AND SAID HE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GOOD PLAN TO HAVE THE PEOPLE DIE AND BE GONE FOR A LITTLE WHILE AND THEN RETURN AS SOON AS HE SAT DOWN COYOTE JUMPED UP AND SAID HE THOUGHT PEOPLE OUGHT TO DIE FOREVER HE POINTED OUT THAT THIS LITTLE WORLD IS NOT LARGE ENOUGH TO HOLD ALL OF THE PEOPLE AND THAT IF THE PEOPLE WHO DIED CAME BACK TO LIFE THERE WOULD NOT BE FOOD ENOUGH FOR ALL ALL THE OTHER MEN OBJECTED THEY SAID THAT THEY DID NOT WANT THEIR FRIENDS AND RELATIVES TO DIE AND BE GONE FOREVER FOR THEN THEY WOULD GRIEVE AND WORRY AND THERE WOULD BE NO HAPPINESS IN THE WORLD EVERYONE EXCEPT COYOTE DECIDED TO HAVE PEOPLE DIE AND BE GONE FOR A LITTLE WHILE AND THEN COME BACK TO LIFE AGAIN THE MEDICINE MEN BUILT A LARGE GRASS HOUSE FACING THE EAST WHEN THEY HAD COMPLETED IT THEY CALLED THE MEN OF THE TRIBE TOGETHER AND TOLD THEM THAT PEOPLE WHO DIED WOULD BE RESTORED TO LIFE IN THE MEDICINE HOUSE THE CHIEF MEDICINE MAN EXPLAINED THAT THEY WOULD SING A SONG CALLING THE SPIRIT OF THE DEAD TO THE GRASS HOUSE WHEN THE SPIRIT CAME THEY WOULD RESTORE IT TO LIFE ALL THE PEOPLE WERE GLAD BECAUSE THEY WERE ANXIOUS FOR THE DEAD TO COME AND LIVE WITH THEM AGAIN WHEN THE FIRST MAN DIED THE MEDICINE MEN ASSEMBLED IN THE GRASS HOUSE AND SANG IN ABOUT TEN DAYS A WHIRLWIND BLEW FROM THE WEST AND CIRCLED ABOUT THE GRASS HOUSE COYOTE SAW IT AND AS THE WHIRLWIND WAS ABOUT TO ENTER THE HOUSE HE CLOSED THE DOOR THE SPIRIT OF THE WHIRLWIND FINDING THE DOOR CLOSED WHIRLED ON BY IN THIS WAY COYOTE MADE DEATH ETERNAL AND FORM THAT TIME ON PEOPLE GRIEVED OVER THEIR DEAD AND WERE UNHAPPY NOW WHENEVER ANYONE MEETS A WHIRLWIND OR HEARS THE WIND WHISTLE HE SAYS SOMEONE IS WANDERING ABOUT EVER SINCE COYOTE CLOSED THE DOOR THE SPIRITS OF THE DEAD HAVE WANDERED OVER THE EARTH TRYING TO FIND SOME PLACE TO GO UNTIL AT LAST THEY DISCOVERED THE ROAD TO THE SPIRIT LAND COYOTE RAN AWAY AND NEVER CAME BACK FOR WHEN HE SAW WHAT HE HAD DONE HE WAS AFRAID EVER AFTER THAT HE HAS RUN FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER ALWAYS LOOKING BACK FIRST OVER ONE SHOULDER AND THEN OVER THE OTHER TO SEE IF ANYONE IS PURSUING HIM AND EVER SINCE THEN HE HAS BEEN STARVING FOR NO ONE WILL GIVE HIM ANYTHING TO EAT THE ORIGIN OF EARTH TUSKEGEE FROM VOICES OF THE WIND EDITED BY MARGOT EDMONDS AND ELLAE CLARK COPYRIGHT 1989 BY MARGOT EDMONDS AND ELLAE CLARK.REPRINTED BY PERMISSION OF FACTS ON FILE INC NEW YORK COYOTE AND THE ORIGIN OF DEATH FROM AMERICAN INDIAN MYTHS AND LEGENDS BY RICHARD ERDOES AND ALFONSO ORTIZ COPYRIGHT 1984 BY RICHARD ERDOES AND ALFONSO ORTIZ REPRINTED BY PERMISSION OF PANTHEON BOOKS A DIVISION OF RANDOM HOUSE INC
