ACCORDING TO A NORTH AMERICAN Indian myth, before the earth was fully formed there were two realms—that of the sky and the lower world that contained only water and water creatures. When a woman, known as the “Sky Woman,” fell from the cloud world, two swans came to her rescue. The swans were not strong enough to support Sky Woman and a creature known as “Great Turtle” offered to hold her. Other water creatures brought earth from the bottom of the sea to place on the back of Great Turtle, forming the Earth we know today. Some Indians still refer to North America as “Turtle Island.”
Joseph Brucha. Images of Creation from Stone Giants and Flying Heads: Adventure Stories of the Iroquois. Trumansburg, New York: Crossing Press, 1979. General Collections, Library of Congress
