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Sky Woman and the Big Turtle

This Iroquois creation myth is told using modern style artwork in graphic novel form, but with only one frame per page. The text box at the top of each page sits in a frame made of four bare bark tree branches stretching an animal hide. Sky Woman is wearing stylized pre-1492 Iroquois clothing.

Sky Woman becomes ill, then falls through a hole in the clouds. Swans gently carry her to a watery earth. Toad brings up earth from under the water and places it on Big Turtle’s back. It magically grows into an island, which eventually becomes all of North America. Sky Woman has twin boys, one is evil-spirited and the other is good-spirited. They bring good and evil into the world.  Six pages later, it skips back to “Big Turtle still carries the land on his back. Sometimes he stretches out his legs, causing the earth to tremble.”  [The End]