Have you ever wondered why there has always been war in this world? There has been war between different races, cultures, religions, and many more. As stated in the article “Conflict on the Plains”, Native Americans and White Americans were against each other because of their different lifestyles and cultures. The White Americans did not understand the Native American’s lifestyle, while the Native Americans thought the White Americans were devils who ruined the earth. Eventually, this led them to war. “Genesis” and “The World on the Turtle’s Back” are creative myths about how the earth was first created. These two myths have some similarities but also many differences. The clash of the cultures is inevitable because as humans, we have different beliefs, religions, and cultures which causes us to disagree with one another.
Just like Christians believe in the myth “Genesis”, the Iroquois believe in the myth “The World on the Turtle’s Back.” Christians believe there was only one god who created everything. They believe this god created man and woman, Adam and Eve, who he favored the most out of all his creations. “.. have dominion over our fish in the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” (Genesis) On the other hand, the Iroquois believe everything was created by the sons of this greedy woman who fell from the sky and made the earth grow. Although these myths have a different story based on how the earth was created, they both share similarities. One of these similarities are how they both have a sacred tree. In “Genesis”, Adam and Eve were allowed to eat from every tree in the garden, except the tree of knowledge. As for “The World on the Turtle’s Back”, the sacred tree is called the Great Tree. In the myth, the husband tries to get the roots from that prohibited tree after his pregnant wife keeps nagging him to do it.
The Iroquois and the Christian’s religion are very different. For example, baptism is a religious act Christians follow as a commitment to their god. They feel as if they should obey their god and his rules unlike Adam and Eve, who suffered the consequences for disobeying him. “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbearing…In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life” (Genesis) The Iroquois’s religion is not about a single god. They believe there were many gods who