How Closely Do the Christian and Iriquois Creation Myths Align?

Perhaps the most fascinating and intriguing element associated with the various myths of disparate ancient civilizations is their striking commonality. While westerners are most familiar with the myth of a Great Flood as it relates to the Biblical account of Noah, for instance, the fact is that stories of a devastating flood can be found as part of the mythology of almost all ancient cultures. It should come as no surprise that every culture has devised an explanation for the creation of the world; it is certainly a primal need to justify one's own existence by outlining the origins of humanity. And yet even within these various creation myths lie similarities to the most well known of them all, the Biblical account in Genesis. David Cusick's interpretation of the “The Iroquois Creation Story” contains several correlations to the widely accepted Christian version of how the world was created.

Despite the obvious differences in both detail and a broader thematic cohesion that exist between the Iroquois and the Biblical creation stories, there are nonetheless several ideas that are shared between the two, presenting the question of whether this linkage always existed or did Cusick either consciously or subconsciously contrive to heighten the similarities. Susan Kalter suggests that the existence of certain commonalities between the two texts could be an indication that Cusick possessed an ideological motivation for tailoring his translation in this way: “Since the Iroquois version of the creation of humankind recalls the Christian version, it lends credence to it and to the handing down of both ancient accounts”. Kalter also notes that Cusick has been accused of inserting Christian beliefs throughout his text. What is not immediately apparent is whether Cusick did so intentionally or subconsciously and regardless of intent the fact remains that his version of the Iroquois myth contains some very definite thematic similarities to the Christian mythology.