Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz offer a collection of over 150 Native American tales in American Indian Myths and Legends. Within the tales are stories of animals, wars, life and death. Throughout the stories, the relationship between nature and the tribes is emphasized. A common theme within the stories is creation; creation of life, which occurs through this relationship. This creation process through nature is seen in numerous tales, including “Creation of First Man and Woman” and “The Old Woman of the Spring”. What each of these tales has in common is the significance nature plays in the creation process.
The tale, “Creation of First Man and Woman”, tells the story of how the gods brought to life the first man and the first woman. The creation of the first man and woman involved two buckskins, feather of a white and yellow eagle, and two ears of corn. The people, along with the gods, honor and praise nature, which is seen in this tale as the first man and woman are created. Along with the animals and crops, wind brings life. The gods state that wind brought life, wind now comes out of your mouths, and when the wind stops life is gone. This praise of nature is represented in almost every tale. The Native Americans treated natural resources with humility. They believed that spirits exist within nature and should be used respectfully. This praise and honor exists in the tale of how the first man and woman were created. The gods explain that nature brings life to the people, as well as saves life, which can be seen in the tale “The Old Woman of the Spring”. In “The Old woman of the Spring” all the buffalo has left the camp and the fear of starvation overcomes the tribe. When a few men of the tribe meet an elderly woman, she advises them to look south and then west. When they looked, the men saw lands covered with buffalo and other animals. The woman told them to look north, where they saw an abundance of corn. The significance of this tale is to show the relationship between the Native Americans and nature. Nature created the people and now nature saves their lives. The way in which Native Americans worship and honor nature is seen throughout each of the tales.
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