This is one of several creation stories 
from our Lakota Culture.  

There was another world before this 
one. But the people of that world did 
not behave themselves. Displeased, 
Wakan Tanka (the Great Spirit) set out 
to make a new world, He sang several 
songs to bring rain, which poured 
stronger with each song. As he sang the 
fourth song, the earth split apart and 
water gushed up through the many 
cracks, causing a flood. By the time 
the rain stopped, all of the people and 
nearly all of the animals had drowned. 
Only Kangi the crow survived. 

Kangi pleaded 
with Wakan 
Tanka to make 
him a new 
place to rest. 
So Wakan Tanka 
decided the 
time had come 
to make his 
new world. 
From his huge 
pipe bag, 
which 
contained all 
types of 
animals and 
birds, Wakan 
Tanka selected 
four animals 
known for 
their ability 
to remain 
under water 
for a long 
time. He sent 
each in tam to 
retrieve a 
lump of mud 
from beneath 
the 
floodwaters, 
First the loon 
dove deep into 
the dark 
waters, but it 
was unable to 
reach the 
bottom. The 
otter, even 
with its 
strong webbed 
feet, also 
failed. Next, 
the beaver 
used its large 
flat tail to 
propel itself 
deep under the 
water, but it 
too brought 
nothing back. 
Finally, Wakan 
Tanka took the 
turtle from 
his pipe bag 
and urged it 
to bring back 
some mud. 

Turtle stayed 
under the 
water for so 
long that 
everyone was 
sure it had 
drowned. Then, 
with a splash, 
the turtle 
broke the 
water's 
surface! Mud 
filled its 
feet and claws 
and the cracks 
between its 
upper and 
lower shells. 
Singing, Wakan 
Tanka shaped 
the mud in his 
hands and 
spread it on 
the water, 
where it was 
just big 
enough for 
himself and 
the crow. He 
then shook two 
long eagle 
wing feathers 
over the mud 
until earth 
spread wide 
and varied, 
overcoming the 
waters. 
Feeling 
sadness for 
the dry land, 
the Wakan 
Tanka cried 
tears that 
became oceans, 
streams, and 
lakes, He 
named the new 
land Turtle 
Island in 
honor of the 
turtle who 
provided the 
mud from which 
it was formed.

Wakan Tanka then took many animals and 
birds from his great pipe bag and 
spread them across the earth. From red, 
white, black, and yellow earth, he made 
men and women. Wakan Tanka gave the 
people his sacred pipe and told them to 
live by it. He warned them about the 
fate of the people who came before 
them. He promised all would be well if 
all living things learned to live in 
harmony. But the world would be 
destroyed again if they made it bad and 
ugly.