Reading Notes: Pacific Northwest, Part A

How Silver-Fox Created the World

Summary:

This is a creation story from the Atsugewi tribe of the Pacific Northwest. In the story, the world is created by Silver-fox, who is accompanied by Coyote. Silver-fox wanted to make things and create the world, but Coyote was opposed. The story starts with there being nothing but water in the world until one day the Silver-fox sent Coyote off, took an arrow flaker and created a hole in the water, which was sky. The next day he created another hole, where he made an island. Coyote eventually came back and found him, but needed the island to be bigger. Over five days, Silver-fox made the world bigger and bigger until it satisfied Coyote. He then instructed Coyote to build a house with grass and wood and to go to sleep in it. While Coyote was sleeping, Silver-fox dressed up and then began to stretch out the earth in the four directions, again repeating the process over five nights. He eventually made the earth as big as it is now, and then created plants and animals by thinking of them. Coyote then suggested there be 10 moons for the seasons, but in end there were four moons: one for autumn, one for spring, and two for winter. 

Comparisons of Other Creation Narratives in the Unit

• How Kemush Created the World
• From the Klamath tribe
• the earth was flat and bare, not water
• Kemush was a man, who was ancient and old
• Kemush apparently planted all the plants, but there are no details as to how
• lots of details about the Sun, sky, night, day
• Kemush is more like the traditional Christian version of a god, rather than the Silver-fox
• How Old Man Above Created the World
• From the Shasta Indians
• the earth was flat and dark
• the Old man created a hole in the dark sky to get to the earth, like the Silver-fox
• the Old man created plants where the Sun apparently melted snow that was on the earth. He planted all things, like Kemush
• the animals came from plants, like birds from the leaves of trees
• good detail about the way the animal hierarchy goes, like the grizzly bear being the master
• the Old man lived in Mount Shasta for a very long time to be safe from the grizzly bear, but disappeared when white settlers came to America (of course the white men ruined it)

Sunrise on Mount Shasta (from the Shasta Indian Narrative)

(wikimedia commons)

There were lots of different details in the creation narratives, and I think I will try to incorporate a lot of different elements into the story I write for the week. I enjoyed this unit!

Bibliography:

How Silver-Fox Created the World -Atsugewi Tribe

How Kemush Created the World -Klamath Tribe 

How Old Man Above Created the World  -Shasta Indians