Project 1

“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots” (Marcus Garvey). The beauty of the story “The Creation” highlights the essence of Native American history. When you read a history book, you only get a general view of certain cultures. For example, when you read about the Native Americans, you only learn of the horrors that was brought upon them and the hardships they faced during colonization. However, when you read a treasure like “The Creation” you can understand their culture more than the standard history book. This story shows three major things for us, it shows that it is an artifact of history, it teaches us the views that the Native Americans had for the creation of Earth, and it has a very different approach from a history book.

            First of all, the story is 100%, without a doubt, an artifact of history and this is why. It was written by the Native Americans to explain how their deities created the world and all of its inhabitants. Many people have different beliefs on how the world was created, according to scientists, it was caused by some random force known as the Big Bang. According to Christians, the Earth and the universe was created by God and the Greeks believed that it was created by the titans. However, the Native Americans believe that a few deities known as Earthmaker, Coyote, and Meadowlarke were responsible for all of Earth’s creation. So, on a historical standpoint, it fits perfectly for how different religions and people believed the Earth was created. It’s very interesting read the mythology that the Native Americans believed. Mythology is something that has always fascinated me about history, to learn how different cultures perceived creation and how different religions differed on their creation beliefs. There is the one specific passage that really fascinates me about their beliefs, it states “He stretched it out to where the day breaks; he stretched it out to the south; he stretched it out to the place where the sun goes down; he stretched it out to the North Country; he stretched it out to the rim of the world; he stretched it out!” (Origins and the Way of the World, 25). This passage is incredible because it really explains how they believed that the Earth was created. For a little background, they believed that the world was just one giant ocean/lake and Earthmaker then wanted to create the land. The reason that this passage stands out a whole lot is because it shows how Earthmaker went about creating the land on the Earth. Its very interesting because they believed that the world always kind of existed, but the land was never there until Earthmaker decided to make it. So, this story is an artifact of history because it has to tie in with mythology and the history of the world, which is also part of the Native American history.

            The next thing is that this story teaches us the views that the Native Americans had for the creation of Earth. This is very important, because without knowing their views we would all be incredibly ignorant in denying the fact that Native Americans had this kind of belief. Like it was previously stated, the Native American people believed that the Earth was created in that way. With knowing their beliefs, we can have a greater understanding of their culture and their history. The story states “And then, Earthmaker was standing there alone. Standing there, they say he went somewhere to the south. He went traveling along. Afterwards, going across the rim of the world to somewhere near where the sun floats away, he came elsewhere, into a different part of the country, traveling always from one place to another. And, when the had gone toward where the sun rises, he came to a place where he had once turned aside before, and he stopped and got things ready. Then, he made creatures, two by two" (Origins and the Way of the World, 28). This quote highlights the beliefs of the Native American people and how they believed the land and all creatures were created. With knowing how they perceived creation, we can really get an understanding of their culture and their beliefs as a people. Mythology is incredible in this way, you can really learn a lot about a culture on how they perceived creation.

            This story has a deeper look into the history of the Native Americans rather than a history book. A history book has a very generic overview of the culture of different ethnicities. The thing about a history book, is that they are very matter of fact. A history book is made to say teach people how the history went, not go in depth on their mythology. The purpose for the history book is to state important battles or how the colonists stole the land from the Native Americans, not to state their views on creation. Where the story differs is that it is a primary source of what the Native American people really believed, a history book is usually comprised of multiple sources, so it isn’t really known if they are entirely accurate to the religion that the Native Americans practiced. If a history book did decide to talk about the Native American beliefs on creation, they may not be as accurate as we would like. What is great about the story is that it is most likely a primary source for the information so we can really believe the story of the creation of Earth as told by the Native Americans.

Works Cited

Hicks, Jack, and James D. Houston. The Literature of California. University of California Press,

 2000.