Children’s Virtual Exhibit

Southeast

Like people all over the world, many Native Americans love stories. This is a story about how the world began:

“In the beginning, when Great Spirit created Earth, our mother, there was no land. Just water.

Then Great Spirit sent Turtle to Earth. His shell was smooth and bright yellow like the sun.

 

Turtle swam and swam, but soon grew tired, for there was no place to rest.

Great Spirit sent Muskrat and Beaver to Earth. They swam and swam, but when they grew tired they rested on turtles back.

 

So Great Spirit told Muskrat and Beaver to dive down to the bottom, bring up mud and pile it on Turtle’s back. They did what they were told, and this became the first land.

 

Turtle’s back was now stained black except for where Muskrat and Beaver left their footprints. These were bright yellow like the moon and stars.

The land began to grow. Soon Turtle was able to slip out from beneath and crawl up on top to rest.

After a long while, Great Spirit placed other animals on Earth. Birds flew above and fish swam in the waters below. This is how it all came to be.” (In a Circle Long Ago, p96-97)

This story might have been told by the people who made the objects in this section of the exhibit. Native Americans in the Southeast used to live right here in North Carolina. Do you know the names of any North Carolina tribes? (Cherokee, Haliwa-Saponi, Lumbee, Waccamaw-Siouan, Tuscarora, etc).