If the name Turtle Island sound familiar to you , this may well be why – if you ’re in North America right now , it just so happens to be the very place you ’re standing on .
Turtle Island is the name used by some Indigenous peoples for the continent of North America ( or the Earth as a whole ) and , as theUrban Native Collectiveexplains , is ruminative of the vista that the land we live upon is also live .
“ At the heart of Native American philosophy lies a profound respect for the natural world , embodied in the concept of Turtle Island , ” they write . “ This terra firma , stretching across vast dominion , is not merely a geographical entity ; it is a keep , breathe proportional . ”
With that in mind , where did the name come from ?
The creation of Turtle Island
The lineage of the name Turtle Island lies in multiple Indigenous institution floor , in which a turtleneck bet a key role in the formation of the continent . One such storey comes from theHaudenosauneeand begins with the Earth in deep water system and duskiness .
At this time , only water - dwelling creatures lived here – the beaver , muskrat , duck , and loon . One twenty-four hours , they pick up a brilliant light falling towards them ; this was the daughter of the Great Spirit , also known as the Creator , who ’d dropped her down a stone pit he ’d made after pull up an orchard apple tree tree diagram in the upper kingdom in which they hold out .
Fearing this light , the animals dive underneath the water , but after returning to the surface became concerned that the Great Spirit ’s girl – who would then be known as Sky Woman – would have no situation to land .
The animate being decided to go back underneath the water system in search of earth for the Sky Woman to shore upon . While the top hat and addle-head were unsuccessful and died , the muskrat , though still losing its life to the journey , float up with soil in it claws .
The remaining beast then come in this soil on the back of a turtle , which begin to develop – and just sustain going . So too did the filth on its back , and eventually , this forge Turtle Island , or what would become North America .
This is just one example , however – whileturtlesare at the heart of many Indigenous North American creative activity stories , there can be variation between them .
Mythologies verbalize of polo-neck supporting the Earth can be found alfresco of North America too ; inHindu mythology , the Earth is held up by four elephants , but the elephant themselves are stood upon the back of a turtleneck , a renascence of the divinity Vishnu .
proficient line of work , turtles .
