Myth. A myth is a story that explains objects or events in the natural world. What specific aspects of nature does this myth explain?
Point of View. Point of view is the vantage point from which a story is told. If a story is told from the first-person point of view, the narrator uses the pronouns I and we and is a part of or a witness to the action. When a story is told from the third-person point of view, the narrator is outside the action; uses words such as he, she, it, and they; and avoids the use of I and we. Is this story told from the first-person point of view or from the third-person point of view? How do you know?
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• Many early cultures developed myths to explain the beginnings or creation of the earth. These creation myths often formed a basis for the religious beliefs of a culture group. Many American Indian creation myths focus on the roles of nature and of animals in forming the world as Native Americans knew it.
• History Connection. In the early 1600s, five Native American groups joined together and became known as the Iroquois. The group, or federation, was called the Five Nations. They were the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca, all of the region that is now upper New York State. In 1722 the Tuscarora joined the group, which became the Six Nations. Each of the Six Nations sent representatives to a main council, which acted as the government of the federation. The organization of the Iroquois may have served as a model for the writers of the U.S. Constitution. Women played an important role in tribal politics. They nominated members of the tribal council and could also remove them from the council. During the French and Indian Wars (1754–1763) and the American Revolution (1775–1783), the Iroquois fought mainly on the side of the British. Many of their settlements were destroyed, and many Iroquois moved west or north into Canada. The headquarters of the Iroquois federation are at Onondaga Reservation near Syracuse, New York.
How do you believe the earth began?
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