A Student Introduction to the Unit

Native American Lessons and Creations

Native Americans had permanent settlements in North America many years before the English arrived. We have proof of this today from the myths and legends the Native Americans wrote. These myths and legends are still believed by some today. Native American myths and legends "The Journey to The Sunrise," "When Grizzlies Walked Upright," and "Earth on Turtle's Back" all have significant creations or moral points in our society.

"The Journey to The Sunrise" is a myth that tells about a group of Native Americans and their misfortunes due to curiosity. Several young men are determined to find the place where the sky reaches down to the ground. The men travel for years to find the Sunrise. When they reach their goal one of them is curious and it ends fatally for him. The aging men who are still alive turn around to go back home when they reach home they are not the same young men who left, but elderly men who have no life left. This myth not only teaches us about curiosity but also teaches us to stay close to our home and family. Curiosity can lead to bad things but so can temptation.

The myth "When Grizzlies Walked Upright" is a story about a chief's daughter who disobeyed and ended up in trouble. In this myth the chief tells her not to stick her head out of the top of the smoke hole or she would be blown away. She did it anyways. Not only did it get her into trouble it got others into trouble also. When she was blown away a grizzly family found her. Before this myth supposedly grizzlies could walk on two legs and talk. When the chief finally found his daughter years later he was angry with the grizzlies for taking her and punished them by making them walk on all fours and no longer being able to talk. This myth teaches us that when you disobey someone, such as your parents, you can get other people punished for your mistake. Although the first myth talked about curiosity leading to bad things the next myth tells a story about curiosity leading to good things.

"The Earth on Turtle's Back" is a myth telling how the Earth was created due to a woman's curiosity. A chief and his wife lived up in Skyland before the Earth was created. All that was down below was water and animals. There was a big hole in the sky and she was curious to see what was down below. She leaned too far over and fell. When she got to the bottom all the animals knew that she could not live in these wet conditions. All the animals knew that there was earth down below the water but none knew how deep it was. One at a time the animals tried to dive down to the bottom and failed. Finally, the muskrat made it and brought some earth up. He put it on the turtle's back and it grew to be Earth. Sometimes it is good to be curious. If no one was ever curious than we would not have the newer, better things in the world today.

These myths had to come from somewhere. There were Native Americans that wrote these myths many years before the English arrived. Most of these myths are not believed today but many of there moral points still relate to our society.