There are various creation myths from Native American cultures, although many have similar characteristics. One of the most common forms of the creation myth seems to be the emergence myth. Typically, in the myth of emergence, instead of seeing how the world is created, we see how people arrive in an already created world. This particular type of story is commonly found in Native American cultures of the southwest (Ryan). The Tewa Pueblo version of this myth, titled How the People Came to the Middle, was collected and written about by anthropologists Alice Marriott and Carol K. Rachlin in their book American Indian Mythology. The myth was told to them by two separate sources, Maria Martinez of San Ildefonso and Leonidas Vigil of Nambe Pueblo. This myth helps illustrate important parts of their culture and likely served multiple functions for the Pueblo people. The myth of emergence differs greatly from common Western Christian thinking. In Christianity, humans were once in a perfect situation until they disobeyed God and were sent to the present world, which is considered punishment. In the myth of the emergence of Tewa Pueblo, the people are stuck in a place of darkness until their friend, the Mole, helps lead them to a new world (Marriott, Rachlin 66-67). They do not view this world as their punishment but as a good place, improved from what they were before. Many of the things that appear in this myth are also characteristic of other Native American myths. For example, the mole is an animal but speaks and acts the same as a human. This shows the great respect the culture had for animals. They did not believe that they were superior or dominant over animals. They acknowledged their differences until middle of paper... me and what the constellations are may have been told separately before becoming part of this story. It would not be surprising if this happened since most Native American mythology was told orally. In conclusion, this myth was likely very important to the Pueblo people and helps illuminate some of the most important parts of their culture and beliefs. Works Cited Leeming, David. “Native American Mythology of North America.” The Oxford Companion to World Mythology. Np: Oxford University Press, 2005. Oxford Reference. Internet. March 2, 2014. Marriott, Alice and Carol K. Rachlin. “How people got to the middle – Tewa.” Native American mythology. New York: Crowell, 1968. 65-72. Print.Ryan, John Barry. “Native American Creation Myths.” Encyclopedia of American Studies. Np: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010. Reference Credo. Internet. March 2. 2014.