Turtle's Back

“The World on the Turtle’s Back”

Directions: As you read the story, fill out the chart below. Put notes in each category based on what you read. For each note you record, use a quote from the text to support your response.

Details about Creation and Nature
Social Values and Beliefs
Social Customs
Animals existed before people: “There were no men” (38). However, “In the air there lived the birds of the sea; in the ocean lived the fish and the creatures of the deep” (38).
They believed there was a Great Tree in Sky-World that was the center of the universe: “It was a sacred tree that stood at the center of the universe” (38).
Animals in nature help the Gods: “The birds of the sea saw the woman falling... now the turtle floated about on the

a tiny crumb of earth clutched in his paw” (40).
Plants grew from the twin's dead mother in the ground: “They buried their mother. And from her grave grew plants which the people still use” (41).
Mad was made from clay: “Man was made of clay, like pottery and baked in the fire” (42).
The twins created opposites and kept the world balanced, “The world the twins made was a balanced and orderly world” (42).
The right-handed twin represents daytime and the left-handed twin represents nighttime: “When the sun rises from the east and travels in a huge arc along the sky dome... the people are in the daylight realm of the right-handed twin. But when the sun slips down in the west at nightfall... the people are again in the domain of the left-handed twin-the fearful realm of night” (44).
The Grandmother’s head is the moon: “There, ‘Our Grandmother, the Moon’” (44).

They believe in multiple gods and that they were similar to themselves: “Here lived Gods who were like people” (38).
The twins represent the straight minded and the crooked minded Indians, “The right-handed twin was the one who did everything just as he should... The left- handed twin never said what he meant or meant what he said... He was the devious one”