Research Guides: NYU Reads: Skywoman Falling

Skywoman Falling

The Skywoman story, shared by the original people's throughout the Greak Lakes, is a constant star in the constellation of teachings we call the Original Instructions. These are not 'instructions' like commandments, though, or rules; rather they are like a compass: they provide an orientation but not a map.

-Braiding Sweetgrass, Skywoman Falling (p.7).

Articles

Creation Story- Skywoman
The story of Skywoman as told by Kay Olan, a Mohawk storyteller.
Skywoman Falling
Robin Wall Kimmerer provides a brief overview of her first chapter Skywoman Falling and the story of Skywoman.

Oral Traditions and Stories

To have agency in the world, ceremonies should be reciprocal creations, organic in nature, in which community creates ceremony and the ceremony creates communities.

- Braiding Sweetgrass, Burning Cascade Head (p.250)

Museum and News Articles

The Seven Grandfathers – A Potawatomi story
A Potawatomi story of the Seven Grandfathers, their gifts and teachings.
Potawatomi Oral Tradition - Milwaukee Public Museum
Learn about the origins of corn, tobacco, creation of the world and more. The left side of this page also includes oral traditions of the Ojibwe, Oneida, Ho-Chunk, and Menominee.
Creation Story- As Told by Amos Christjohn
The story of how the world was made told by the Oneida Nation.
Traditional Stories and Creation Stories
Listen to various creation stories from six indigenous storytellers from Canada.
*This may not be accessible to those with a hearing impairment*

An Offering

Rituals and Ceremonies

The Encyclopedia of North American Indians is a resource for general information on Indigenous life, traditions and history. For more information on rituals, type in the search bar specific rituals or deity names of interest. Some major rituals to look for include the sun dance, and the ghost dance.

Native American Rituals and Ceremonies
Legends of American provides a list of Native American ceremonies, rituals, myths and legends along with its history and significance.
History of the Modern Hoop Dance
The hoop dance, its history and evolution into the modern world.
Totem Poles- Encyclopedia of North American Indians
Carved from red cedar trees, totem poles can represent a person, animal, supernatural spirit, clan membership or status.

Totem poles located in Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver, British Columbia. From the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee.

Creation Stories, Myth's and Legends

Print Books

Spider Woman Stories by G. M. Mullett
Publication Date: 2016
Presents Hopi Indian legends of the Creation, the adventures of the hero Tiyo, and the Twin War Gods and their activities on behalf of the Hopi.
*An ebook version is also available courtesy of Muse*
American Indian Myths and Legends by Richard Erdoes; Alfonso Ortiz; Richard Erdoes
Publication Date: 1985
More than 160 tales from eighty tribal groups gives us a rich and lively panorama of the Native American mythic heritage. From across the continent comes tales of creation and love; heroes and war; animals, tricksters, and the end of the world. In addition to mining the best folkloric sources of the nineteenth century, the editors have also included a broad selection of contemporary Native American voices.
*An ebook version is also available courtesy of HathiTrust*
Books and Islands in Ojibwe Country by Louise Erdrich
Publication Date: 2003
In Books & Islands in Ojibwe Country Erdrich compellingly writes about the Ojibwe spirits and songs, language, and sorrows that have passed down through generations. Erdrich later travels to Rainy Lake, to an island of real books, the world of an exuberant eccentric and close friend to the Ojibwe, who established an extraordinary library there a hundred years ago. Set against commentary about her own family and contemporary life and written in beautiful and powerful prose Books & Islands in Ojibwe Country is an intensely thoughtful, intimate, and fascinating cultural excursion.
Creation Myths and Legends of the Creek Indians by Bill Grantham
Publication Date: 2002
For the first time, an extensive collection of all known versions of Creek Indian stories has been compiled from the reports of early ethnographers, sociologists, and missionaries, obscure academic journals, travelers' accounts, and from Creek and Yuchi people living today. The Creek Confederacy originated as a political alliance of people from multiple cultural backgrounds, and many of the traditions, rituals, beliefs, and myths of the culturally differing social groups became communal property. Bill Grantham explores the unique mythological and religious contributions of each subgroup to the social entity that historically became known as the Creek Indians.
Songs of the Tewa by Herbert J. Spinden; W. Farrington (Introduction by); Alice Mariott (Introduction by)
Publication Date: 1993
For centuries the American Indian literary tradition was primarily an oral one. Since written languages were rare among native North and South American cultures, all literature-myth, legend, story, poetry-was passed along the generations through memory and the spoken word. Herbert Joseph Spinden collected these at a time-around 1933-when the Indian poetic voice was a nameless one. The songs included here are of that period and his translations of Tewa ritual and secular songs are remarkable for their sensitivity to and consonance with Tewa (Pueblo) thought.

Ebooks

Invisible Reality: Storytellers, Storytakers, and the Supernatural World of the Blackfeet by Rosalyn R. LaPier
Publication Date: 2017
Rosalyn R. LaPier demonstrates that Blackfeet history is incomplete without an understanding of the Blackfeet people's relationship and mode of interaction with the "invisible reality" of the supernatural world. The stories they passed to new generations and outsiders reveal the fundamental philosophy of Blackfeet existence, namely, the belief that they could alter, change, or control nature to suit their needs and that they were able to do so with the assistance of supernatural allies. Their relationship with the supernatural provided the Blackfeet with stability and made predictable the seeming unpredictability of the natural world in which they lived. In Invisible Reality LaPier presents an unconventional, creative, and innovative history that blends extensive archival research, vignettes of family stories, and traditional knowledge learned from elders along with personal reflections on her own journey learning Blackfeet stories.
*A physical copy is also available via NYU Libraries*
Stories from Quechan Oral Literature by A. M. Halpern; Amy Miller
Publication Date: 2014
The Quechan are a Yuman people who have traditionally lived along the lower part of the Colorado River in California and Arizona. They are well known as warriors, artists, and traders, and they also have a rich oral tradition. The stories in this volume were told by tribal elders in the 1970s and early 1980s. This book makes a long-awaited contribution to the oral literature and mythology of the American Southwest, and its format and organization are of special interest. Narratives are presented in the original language and in the storytellers' own words. The stories are organized into "story complexes," that is, clusters of narratives with overlapping topics, characters, and events, told from diverse perspectives. In presenting not just stories but story complexes, this volume captures the art of storytelling and illuminates the complexity and interconnectedness of an important body of oral literature.
Choctaw Tales by Tom Mould
Publication Date: 2004
Including stories from the 1700s to today, Choctaw Tales showcases the mythic, the legendary and supernatural, the prophecies and histories, the animal fables and jokes that make up the rich and lively Choctaw storytelling tradition. The stories display intelligence, artistry, and creativity as Choctaw narrators, past and present, express and struggle with beliefs, values, humor, and life experiences. Many of these stories, passed down through generations, address the Choctaw sense of isolation and tension as storytellers confront eternal, historical, and personal questions about the world and its inhabitants. Choctaw Tales, creates a comprehensive gathering of oral traditions from the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.
Uqalurait by John R. Bennett; Susan Rowley
Publication Date: 2004
An authoritative and comprehensive compilation of the ancient knowledge of Inuit elders.
The Knowledge Seeker by Blair A. Stonechild
Publication Date: 2016
The Knowledge Seeker tells the story of the developing Indigenous-run education movement and calls forth the urgent need to teach about Indigenous spirituality.

A Gift of Corn to the Choctaw

Closed captioning in English is available.

Organization

Lighting Boy Foundation Inc.
The Lighting Boy Foundation is a non-profit located in New Mexico geared towards building confidence through cultural and artistic expression through the traditional hoop dance.
National Museum of the American Indian
Part of the Smithsonian Institution, the National museum of the American Indian has one of the largest collections of Native objects, art, artifacts, objects, photographs and media. Two locations are present: New York, NY and Washington, DC.