Iroquois creation

A symbolic scene of a woman descending from the sky toward a giant turtle on calm waters representing the Haudenosaunee creation story.

The Emergence of the Sky Woman

by Elizabeth Fabowale

February 27, 2026

American Myths·Native American Creation Myths

Long before forests covered the earth and before rivers found their paths, there was only Sky World above and a vast stretch of water below. In Sky World lived beings of light who dwelled in harmony around a great sacred tree. This tree stood at the center of their world, radiant and life giving, its roots reaching deep into mystery.

Parchment-style artwork of the Sun and Moon facing each other in the sky, Cherokee folktale scene.

The Sun and the Moon Are Man and Wife: Cherokee Folktale (United States)

In the ancient days, before the world found its rhythm of day and night, the Sun and the Moon lived together on

Parchment-style illustration of Rip Van Winkle waking on a Catskill Mountains slope, American folktale.

Rip Van Winkle, The Man Who Slept for Twenty Years: American Folktale of Time and Change

At the foot of the misty Catskill Mountains in colonial New York, there once lived a good-natured man named Rip Van Winkle.

Parchment-style illustration of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox in snowy woods, American folktale.

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox: An American Folktale that Teaches Lessons on Strength, Teamwork, and the Power of Legend

Long ago, in the rugged northern forests of America, where towering pines whispered to the wind and the snow stretched farther than

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Iroquois creation

The Emergence of the Sky Woman

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The Sun and the Moon Are Man and Wife: Cherokee Folktale (United States)

Rip Van Winkle, The Man Who Slept for Twenty Years: American Folktale of Time and Change

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox: An American Folktale that Teaches Lessons on Strength, Teamwork, and the Power of Legend