Native Americans Vs Puritans

Native Americans and Puritans

Religion was very important to both Native Americans and Puritans even though

both were significantly different from one another . Native Americans believed every

one was the same no individual was better than the other. Puritans believed that God had

chosen a numbered of individuals to join him in heaven . Since the first contact between Native Americans and Puritans both parties formed opinions about one another.

Puritans first viewed Indians as either barbaric or noble savages. Native Americans views had divisions, in between their tribes some Indians initially believed Europeans were liberators, others did not passively accept Spanish rule. Many violently resisted.(Encarta Encyclopedia)

The Native tribe the Iroquois's creation story begins when there was an island, floating in the sky, in which the Sky People lived in . They lived quietly and happily. No one ever died or was born or experienced sadness. However one day one of the Sky Women realized she was going to give birth to twins. She told her husband, who flew into a rage. In the center of the island there was a tree which gave light to the entire island since the sun hadn't been created yet. He tore up this tree, creating a huge hole in the middle of the island. Curiously, the woman peered

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into the hole. Below, she could see the waters that covered the earth. At that moment her husband pushed her. She fell through the hole, tumbling towards the waters below. Water animals and birds already existed on earth. Once the woman fell out of the sky, two birds spotted her and rushed to catch her right before she hit the water. All the animals were determined to save the woman, they dove into the water to try and retrieve mud from the bottom of the sea,but almost all of the animals failed,except for the little toad, he filled up his mouth full of mud and

succeeded. All the animals took mud and spread it on the back of a huge turtle the mud began to grow and grow until it became the size of North America. Once the woman gave birth to her twin sons one was named Sapling whom was gentle and kind; Flint who was cold hearted . As they grew they began filling the earth with their creations. Sapling created the good :no suffering, rivers,fish with no bones and plants people could eat. Flint did the complete opposite of his brother he destroyed all his of the creations he made monsters beneath the earth. Eventually they decided to fight until one of them conquered the other . Flint was beaten and his anger is felt on earth in the form of a volcano. The Iroquois people hold a great respect for all animals. This is mirrored in their creation myth by the role the animals play. Without the animals' help the Sky Woman may have sunk to the bottom of the sea and earth may not have been created(Cs.Williams).

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There are about twenty five versions of this Iroquois creation story. (Franklin)

According to the Pima’s retelling of the creation of earth, two main characters also appear in the myth. Juh-wert-a-mah-kai opens the story, floating in the nothingness of darkness. He states he has wondered far enough and rubs his hand on his breast, creating “moah-haht-tack, that means perspiration, or greasy earth.” He attempts to make the moah-haht-tack stand up in his hands four times, and the fourth time it stands up on its own , and it becomes the earth. First, Juh-wert-a- mah-kai created a grease wood bush, and on it, he places ants. Sadly, the ants fail to survive and he creates white ants, which worked and enlarged the earth until it was large enough for sitting. Later he produces Noo-ee out of his own eye. Nooee holds the same powers as his creator, yet only Juhwertamahkai creates the world. From his breast, he created two little dolls out of moahhahttack, one male and one female. For a time, the people multiplied and lived well. Later their food source diminished, and they resolved to cannibalism. Juhwertamahkai was disgusted by the manner in which his people acted, and he let the sky fall on them. Not only once but twice, because each time he created people they would disappoint him repeatedly. The last time he planned a flood because evil was upon the earth once again. He took his staff and made a whole in the earth and let all those through who had come to him,but the rest drowned. (Hyper History,Norton)

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On the contrary Puritans, who had been forced out of England to the Netherlands set sail on the Mayflower with the expressed purpose of founding a biblical “city on a hill”