The World on Turtle's Back

In Cusick’s version of “The Iroquois Creation Story” the mother who gives birth is unnamed and takes no action of her own. Discuss several examples of the woman’s passivity. Within her inaction, does she remain vital to the story?

Research the cultural associations of turtles to the Haudenosaunee specifically and/or to people generally. What might be the symbolic significance of a turtle bearing the world on its back?

Creation stories go through many iterations over time. Compare and contrast Cusick’s version of “The Iroquois Creation Story” with another. What themes emerge as particularly important in one version and not in the other?