Especially when considering the broad history of North America as a continent, Native American cultures are often homogenized for the sake of convenience, in ways that would be considered immediately disrespectful if they were applied to European nations. The Native American creation myths we viewed for class tell us a very different story, of course. Although there are some notable similarities between the three videos, such as the importance of animals, and the emergence of humans from somewhere other than on the surface of the earth, the Cherokee, Lakota, and Hopi creation myths are vastly different from one another, telling separate, distinct stories about the origins of the people they represent. In a day and age where only a small handful of religions are practiced by the majority of people, this diversity is especially interesting, though not surprising in hindsight. Religious homogenization among Indigenous peoples is yet another imperialist falsehood that requires examination and deprograming.
Most creation myths, from my understanding, are meant to convey the origin of the world and its people, as well as fundamental truths about humanity and morality. The Native American stories which we listened to and read also conveyed the origins of people, as well as moral truths, but also added an additional layer by layering on practical knowledge of hunting and husbandry. The Lakota Emergence Story, for example, highlighted not only the spiritual importance of bison, but intertwined that importance with the many practical uses for bison products. In Theda Perdue’s book Cherokee Women, Part 1: A Woman’s World discusses a Cherokee creation myth, in which the woman Selu instructs children on how to properly farm corn. “Failing once again to follow their mother’s instructions, the boys dragged her body only twice over the circle, and so the Indians still cultivate their corn but twice a year” (Perdue, 14). This myth tells not only of how humans learned to cultivate corn, and why corn can only grow in certain places, but also provides practical farming information about when corn can be cultivated. These lessons would be passed from one generation to the next through oral tradition, which makes their survival into the modern day all the more impressive. The history of Native Americans is often purely told from the perspective of European settlers, what they were told, or believed to be fact, because so much of Native history was destroyed by those same settlers, and is under constant threat to this day.
Hi Rhys!
Thank you for sharing these thoughts. It is incredibly easy (for all of us) to fall into the trap of generalization in history, and this seems to happen a lot when talking about Native American communities. Although this may not be intentional, it still results in certain harms– lumping diverse communities into one category and homogenizing the complexity and depth of Indigenous cultures, life ways, and religious practices. We can all make very simple adjustments– such as referring to communities by their endonyms– that begin to deconstruct the colonial generalizing of Indigenous peoples and their experiences.
I think beginning with creation stories was a valuable exercise for completely reorienting our worldview and engaging with Indigenous perspectives. Despite often being told to youth, these creation stories offer key lessons about life, maintaining balance, and understanding one’s place in much larger systems.