The Earth on Turtle's Back
Why does Skywoman think they need to uproot the great beautiful tree?
Because "One night she dreamt she saw the great tree uprooted" (1).
This myth is what type of story? And what developments show this?
It is a Creation story: the creation of Mount Shasta, Little Mount Shasta, and Indians shows this.
"He carved a hole in the sky with a stone and pushed all the snow and ice down below until he made a great mound that reached from the earth almost to the sky. Today it is known as Mount Shasta" (1)
"They were the first Indians, the ancestors of all the Indian tribes" (4).
In the Apache creation story, what is the magic number
Four
"He sang four times, which was the magic number" (1).
What does the narrator find in her mother's drawer at the start of the story?
Her mother's hair/braid
"A snake coils in my mother’s dresser drawer; it is thick and black, glossy as sequins. My mother cut her hair several years ago, before I was born, but she kept one heavy braid. It is the three-foot snake I lift from its nest and handle as if it were alive" (35).
In "Rabbit is Up to Tricks," what does Rabbit create?
Which Animal successfully dives deep enough to bring up the Earth?
Muskrat "grasped at the bottom with her little paw and floated upwards, almost dead. When the other animals saw her break the surface, they thought she had failed. Then they saw her right paw was held tightly shut. 'She has the Earth'" (2).
Why does the Chief kill the Mother Grizzly Bear?
She raised his child and created a new race:
"When he found a grown woman instead, and learned that the strange creatures she was taking care of were his grandchildren, he became very angry. A new race had been created that was not of his making!" (3).
In the Cherokee Creation Story, what are people afraid will happen to the Earth?
The cords will break and the Earth will sink underwater
"When the world grows old and worn out, the people will die and the cords will break and let the earth sink down into the ocean, and all will be water again. We are afraid of this" (4).
What famous Artist is highlighted in "Museum Indians"?
Picasso (see pg 36).
What is the first thing you must do in "Calling the Spirit Back from Wandering the Earth..."?
"Put down that bag of potato chips, that white bread, / that bottle of pop." (lines 1-2)
What Native American Value is related to this quote from the story:
“Someone is falling from the sky,” said one.
“We must help her,” said another.
"Community over Individualism" or "Respect and Reciprocity"
What Native American Value is shown in this passage:
"The Sky Spirit broke off the small end of his giant stick and threw the pieces into the rivers. The longer pieces turned into beaver and otter; the smaller pieces became fish. When the leaves dropped from the trees, he picked them up, blew upon them, and so made the birds. Then he took the big end of his giant stick and made all the animals that walked on the earth, the biggest of which were the grizzly bears."
Interconnectedness of all Living Things
Girl-without-parents
"You, Girl-Without-Parents, I leave you in charge over all" (3).
What does the mother believe does not belong in the Museum in the story?
The buffalo
"You don't belong here" (39).
What does Doubt look like in "Once the World Was Perfect"
It has a spiked head
"Then Doubt pushed through with its spiked head" (Line 4)
Find the passage where the Skywoman give in to her curiosity.
"The chief's wife came and leaned over to look down, holding the tip of one of the uprooted tree's branches to steady herself, Far below she thought she saw something glittering like water. Leaning out further she lost her balance and fell into the hole" (1)
Find the passage where the Chief's Daughter disobeys her father's advice.
"The girl hurried to the top of the mountain and stayed well inside the smoke hole as she spoke to the Wind Spirit. As she was about to climb back down, she remembered that her father had once said you could see the ocean from the top of their lodge. His daughter wondered what the ocean looked like, and her curiosity got the better of her" (2)
What animal created the mountains in the Cherokee Creation story?
The buzzard.
"This was the Great Buzzard, the father of the buzzards we see now. He flew all over the earth, low down near the ground, and it was still soft. When he reached the Cherokee country, he was very tired, and his wings began to flap and strike the ground, and whenever they struck the earth there was a valley, and where they turned up again was a mountain" (4).
What does the mother associate herself with at the end of the story?
"'I am just like you,' she whispers. 'I don't belong here either'" (39).
What kind of Native American Mythological character is Rabbit?
Trickster
What does Muskrat say that shows she is motivated to help Skywoman
“I will bring up Earth or die trying" (2).
What action does the chief do to kill the Mother Grizzly Bear?
"He frowned on the old grandmother so sternly that she promptly fell dead" (3).
In the Apache myth, what color cords does the Tarantula spin?
black, blue, yellow, white
"Tarantula spun a black cord and, attaching it to the ball, crawled away fast to the east, pulling on the cord with all his strength. Tarantula repeated with a blue cord to the south, a yellow cord to the west, and a white cord to the north" (2).
How does the narrator feel about living in the city as opposed to the country?
Unlike her mom, she prefers the city
"I am a city child, nervous around livestock and lonely on the plains. I am afraid of a sky without light pollution" (39)
What Native American Value does this passage from "For Calling the Spirit back..." emphasize:
"Welcome your spirit back from its wandering. It will return
in pieces, in tatters. Gather them together. They will be
happy to be found after being lost for so long" (lines 44-46)
Spirituality as a Part of Everyday Life