Aboriginal Creation Stories Mi’kmaq Studies 10 Ms. Stewart

What are Creation Stories?  Creation stories bear witness to how women and men were created and populated the land.  These stories vary among First Nations, but all maintain that life began on the North American continent.

Aboriginal Creation Stories  For some aboriginal peoples, humans are at one with nature or Creation. They are not separate from it and do not have a special or dominant place in it.  Many aboriginal creation stories reflect this relationship between humans and the natural world.

Aboriginal Creation Stories  In many creation stories, animals cooperate in the creation of the world and the first peoples.  An important figure in Mi’kmaq spirituality is Glooscap, who is believed to have made the world habitable for human beings.

Who is Glooscap?  Glooscap is a divine but human-like figure who gives shape and order to the world  Glooscap is believed to have created and arranged the landforms of the Earth, given the animals their present characteristics and eliminated monsters from the Earth.

Glooscap as Teacher  Glooscap made the Maritimes a fit place to live by being a teacher and giving the Mi’kmaq people practical knowledge.  He taught the people how to hunt and fish, how to make tools like bows and canoes and how to find their way around.

Glooscap as Teacher  In short, Glooscap taught people how to survive on the land he had prepared for them.