THANK YOU
My thanks to Alice Marriott, my godmother,
who taught me at a young age to love the power of stories.
This book is dedicated to all the people who
came forward to share their Creation beliefs.
Their bravery and courage is appreciated.
Many thanks to my back-up drivers, writers and supporters:
Musa Pijoan, Reinaldo A.Z. Garcia, Michelle LeBeau,
Andrea Santillanes, Della Willis, Claire Agoyo Povi Connally,
Lillie Mae Many Giggles, Nicole Kotcinanako Garling, Joseph Garling,
Thomas Black Bart Van Etten, Millie Older Sister DeFabio, Debra J.
Venable, Dr. Kay Puro, George Shaffer, Dr. Michael Montoya, Alex
Wise Bear Apostolides, Neil Hamilton, B.P. Apostolides, Teri Morrow,
Laura Cliff, Frederico & Elsie Chavez, Big Michael & Little Michael
Gallegos, Frederico Michael Chavez, Mary & Ken Barnhart,
Aaron Sieben, Daniel ‘of the Ditch’ Martinez, Rita Logan,
Eileen Davis, Dr. Tommy & Josephine Roe, Sandy Chomor,
Jim Smith and Vicki Ahl of Sunstone Press made this book
possible with their care and understanding.
Special Thanks to:
Barbara Blair, who was kind enough to write the introduction and is
also a fine writer and an excellent librarian.
Marianne Hamilton, an international translator, who patiently read
and reread all collected works. May we do her proud!
This work is dedicated to Judy Burkhalter who with love and
dedication edited this manuscript into a substantial book.
Thank you for your persistence!
A NOTE ON METHODOLOGY
Collectors of tales cannot follow the rigorous theory, experiment, and proof of the hard sciences. Collectors of tales must convince someone to talk about their past and their people's past. They must ask what stories their grandparents told. The collector must sit quietly and listen and only talk to ask questions to further the stories they are told.
In collecting these tales no tape recorder was used and no notes were taken during the telling. Immediately after the session, copious notes were taken and later expanded into a retelling of the myth as it was told to the author.
Subjects were located through word of mouth and after a short time people started coming forward and volunteering their story. All subjects were promised that they would remain anonymous.
Many of the tellers of the creation myths refer to their tribe or linguistic group. Perhaps the linguistic background at the end of this book will help you appreciate the histories of our tellers' lives.
As an example of my experiences, here is what happened at one of the sessions:
“Who are you?”
“What do you mean who am I?” I asked.
“Just that, who are you?” he replied.
“You mean my name?”
“No, no, no, we already know your name. Tell us about who you are and why you are here?”
“Oh, that's a long story,” I replied.
“You want us to tell you long stories so maybe you better tell us your long story, only make it short.”
“All right. I was born in Española, New Mexico, and lived on the San Juan Pueblo Reservation until I was twelve and then moved to the Nambe Indian Reservation. My mother is from the East Coast and my father was born in Spain. How's that?”
“That's weird. Why are you asking us about our stories? Don't you have some of your own?”
“Yes, I have stories you wouldn't believe or maybe you would. The reason I am asking you YOUR stories is out of specific interest. You see, I never really had a culture except for the culture I was raised in, which was at San Juan Pueblo in New Mexico. I loved stories when I was little and was taught the Pueblo stories. I have a great love for the stories of the Old Ways and collect them.”
“Just Indian stories or everybody's stories?”
“To be quite honest, everyone's stories, but my love for Indian stories is the strongest.”
“What are you going to do with these stories?”
“Keep them, write them down, and perhaps publish them so they are not forgotten. Most stories today disappear with people moving around and traditions are lost. My goal is to keep your stories, the traditional stories, alive by having them written down so others can read them and remember.”
“Sounds good to me, how about you guys?” he said to the others.
“Sure, my kids aren't interested, but maybe my grandchildren would like to know. Who would publish these stories and will our names be used?”
“There are publishers who will understand the purpose and your real names will not be used to protect you.”
“We will sign these papers to give you permission to use our stories, but first you must speak some Tewa.”
“Does anyone here speak Tewa?”
“No, but we will tell you our stories.”
1
CREATION FROM THE SKY
PAWNEE
The Pawnee are part of the Caddoan language family. Once, they lived freely from Nebraska to southern Arkansas and into Kansas. The Pawnee were removed to the Indian Reserve in 1876. This version was given by two tellers and has been verified by several texts, one of which is Legends and Lore of the American Indians, edited by Terri Hardin, Barnes and Noble, New York, 1993, and the BAE Anthology. This story was gathered at a car repair shop in Window Rock, Arizona. The tellers wanted to remain anonymous.
In the beginning, Atius created the earth. He put Stone People on the earth. Stone People were strong and powerful, they felt they were more powerful than Atius. Every day they would laugh at Atius as they crushed animals, tore up trees, and trampled the
