Is this creation story appropriate to teach American Children?

Question

CHEROKEE CREATION STORY

When the Earth begun there was just water. All the animals lived above it and the sky was beginning to become crowded. They were all curious about what was beneath the water and one day Dayuni'si, the water beetle, volunteered to explore it.

He went everywhere across the surface but he couldn't find any solid ground. He then dived below the surface to the bottom and all he found was mud.

This began to enlarge in size and spread outwards until it became the Earth as we know it.

After all this had happened, one of the animals attached this new land to the sky with four strings.

Just after the Earth was formed, it was flat and soft so the animals decided to send a bird down to see if it had dried. They eventually returned to the animals with a result.

The land was still to wet so they sent the great Buzzard from Galun'lati to prepare it for them.

The buzzard flew down and by the time that he reached the Cherokee land he was so tired that his wings began to hit the ground. Wherever they hit the ground a mountain or valley formed. The Cherokee land still remains the same today with all the land forms that the Buzzard formed.

The animals then decided that it was too dark, so they made the sun and put it on the path in which it still runs today.

The animals could then admire the newly created Earth around them.


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For those who want creation taught in school, don't you think it should an indiguous story?
We have many more if this is not to your liking.

Answer 1

Aloha sister,

I think your last sentence was dead on: "For those who want creation taught in school, don't you think it should be an indigenous story? We have many more if this is not to your liking."

It highlights the fact that there isn't only one "Creation" story. Too many Christians think there is only one God, one holy book. One Creation story. They would be wise to study up on the 50 others listed here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creation_Stories

My favorite for sheer creativity has to be the Scientologists who "believe an alien called Xenu (also Xemu), pronounced ['zi.nu:], was the dictator of the "Galactic Confederacy" who, 75 million years ago, brought billions of his people to Earth in DC-8-like spacecraft, stacked them around volcanoes and killed them using hydrogen bombs. Scientology holds that their essences remained, and that they form around people in modern times, causing them spiritual harm."

I like the idea of teaching native American creation stories such as these: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creation_Stories#North_America , since they were the indigenous people here. But, as others pointed out, the best place for all of these narratives would be a religion class, not a science class. It would actually be interesting studying comparative religion's various Creation stories.

"In a better world, science teachers would teach creationism along with evolution as an exercise in critical thinking."
— Katha Pollitt

Answer 2

BINGO! It's as good as whats taught in Sunday school now.
I have a brother who is a Jehovah Witness who thinks in the beginning all the water was in the clouds. When Noah built the Ark God made all the clouds rain and fill the low lying lands with water to form the seas. I like your story better.
The problem with most people is they believe every thing has to be created on a set time scale, days, months, and made from magic. And there is no such thing as real magic. If God did create every thing, just remember that he is not limited by time. He creates time with physics. Time to him is probably entirely different than what we experience.

Answer 3

Well, it's certainly much more peaceful and cheery than my own Norse one . . . I'm pretty sure by the time we got through talking about Odin and the other Sons of Buri dismembering Ymir, filling the oceans with his blood, ripping the cranium off his skull to form the vault of the sky, and how maggots swarming in his rotting corpse became the race of dwarves, we could have an entire class of 1st graders in tears . . . *G*

And it'd still make just a bit more sense than talking snakes, a god who likes to lie, and "Don't Touch" trees lit up brighter than a 7-11.

Answer 4

the creation story and the creation stories from many parts of the nations all have similar points....the knowledge that the nations have of the Great Spirit and of God are the same....it is being able to hear with a brothers ear...

Answer 5

Wahoo!!!
YES!!!

It's Great Story and Teach's Kids About the First People (The Native Americans) here in North American!!!

Their's NO Killing, NO lie-ing, NO Cheating, and NO Greed!!
Something Most Will Never Learn!!!


HOKAHE!!!
Pilamayaye For the Question!!!

Answer 6

Hope I remember this correct.
God formed man from clay and placed him in the oven. Mr. Coyote wanted to help God. The first man came out nice and brown and God placed him in Asian. The next man God formed and placed in the oven, but, Mr. Coyote was excited and took him out before he was brown, so, he was more light in color. God said; "Well, I will place him in Europe as the weather be more to his liking." Then God left to go do some other things and Mr. Coyote thought, "I will make a man and surprise God when he returns". But, Mr. Coyote left the man in the oven too long and he came out black. God returned and seen the man. "Oh, Mr. Coyote what did you do? I will put him in Africa where he will be more happy with the weather there". Then God said to man; "Even though you look different, remember, you all came from the same clay"!

Answer 7

Funny how science and the Bible disagree the same way. Both teach that life began in the sea.... Jim

Answer 8

A single textbook with a collection of -all- the world's known creation myths - if creationism should be taught in schools, _that_ is the *only* fair textbook it could ever work with. Anything else would be unadulterated hypocrisy.

Answer 9

Actually, in a comparative theology class, a social studies class, or in an American History class on a chapter about the ORIGINAL inhabitants of this land that was "discovered" by Europeans, I think this would be very appropriate.

But in a SCIENCE class, NO WAY !

Answer 10

I love all the creation stories. Ever notice they have a common theme?