I am writing my first reflective paper on the creation myth of the Iroquois. In this reflection I will summarize the myth, explain the Iroquois and their relation to this myth, and finally discuss how I respond to the meaning and importance of this myth.
             This myth focuses on how the universe was created according to the Iroquois. The story starts out with "sky people" living on a floating island. A woman, on the island, falls down to the water below and helps create the earth and the sky with the help of sky people turned animals. She has twin sons who create the rest of the world, seasons, animals and all remaining aspects of nature. One son is good and one is evil. The two sons create a balance of ease and happiness with difficulty and hardships. This myth is obviously a creation myth because it explains how the earth and sky are first non-existent and then created through the steps in the myth. I perceive this myth as having "fairy-tail" elements, which seem fictional, but nonetheless entertaining.
             Through research I have found that women play a very important role in Iroquois societies. I am curious if this has some link to the universe being created by a woman, in this myth. The women own all the property and determine relationships and leaders in their clans. Individual tribes are divided into wolf clans, turtle clans, and bear clans, and led by the clan mother. This association is similar to that in the myth because the women who created the earth and the sky led the animals and ordered them to help create the earth.
             This myth is simple, but I believe that part of its purpose is to show that there are difficult paths and there are easy paths. I see this distinction in the differences of the two sons of the Sky Woman. One is good and wishes life to be happy and easy for all, and the other is bad and wants there to be suffering and hardships.
             I believe this myth also strives to show the...