Turtle Island
English
Etymology
Based on the role of turtles' backs acting as the base for the world while being surrounded by water in creation stories of multiple tribes of the Northeastern Woodlands region of North America[1][2] as well as Algonquian- and Iroquoian-speaking peoples.[1] Specific groups with such myths include the Lenape people,[2][3] the Haudenosaunee,[1][2][4] the Ojibwe people,[1][5] and the Cree.[1]
Noun
Turtle Island
- North America
- Earth
Usage notes
Primarily used by people who are Native Americans or First Nations people.
References
- Amanda Robinson; Michelle Filice (November 6, 2018), “Turtle Island”, in The Canadian Encyclopedia, Historica Canada, retrieved June 8, 2020: “Turtle Island is the name many Algonquian- and Iroquoian-speaking peoples mainly in the northeastern part of North America use to refer to the continent.”
- Jay Miller (June 1974), “Why the World is on the Back of a Turtle”, in Man, volume 9, issue 2, Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, pages 306–308
- William Wilmon Newcomb (1956), “Folklore”, in The culture and acculturation of the Delaware Indians, Ann Arbor Michigan: University of Michigan, OCLC 491669477, pages 71–73
- Harriet Maxwell Converse (Ya-ie-wa-noh); Arthur Caswell Parker (Ga-wa-so-wa-neh) (1908), “Ha-nu-nah the Turtle”, in Myths and Legends of the New York State Iroquois (New York State Museum bulletin 125), Albany, New York: University of the State of New York, OCLC 963792806, page 33
- Nokomis (n.d.), “The Creation of Turtle Island”, in Native Art in Canada, retrieved June 8, 2020