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Bimaadiziwin Mitigoog - Trees of Life

Tree of Life on Turtle Island

— by Diane Maytwayashing

This art piece is titled Tree of life on Turtle Island, and it is this tree on turtle’s back which symbolizes a great spirit tree in the Universe. The legend goes back to the First Peoples Creation Story: it was a woman from a star nation who climbed down this great tree from the stars.

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The tree’s roots embedded on the Turtle’s back are shaped as spirals which represent the endless cycle of life. These spiral roots also are the symbol of the divine feminine and this sacred woman who came from the stars and created this continent, known at this present day as the Americas.

According to the First Peoples, this continent is “Turtle Island” because the land formation of this continent is shaped like a massive turtle over the ocean. We know this turtle as the Grandmother Turtle. The moon in the background represents the Indigenous matrilineal societies that once governed tribes on Turtle Island pre-colonization.

The woman standing connected to the water represents all women’s connectedness to all waters on Mother Earth. For it is the women who are the natural and true stewards of the waters. It is a woman who creates life from the waters inside her womb. The seven stars in the waters leading to the sky signifies our connection from water, land, to the sky. The sky is where we originated from as Star Nations.

Giizhik (Cedar) Teachings

The Cosmic Tree and Sky Woman

— by Diane Maytwayashing

The Anishinaabe people have told stories orally since the beginning of time. Sharing stories orally is an important way to express true emotions in a deeply spiritual manner. Tobacco was always offered to the storyteller for sharing his or her story. This story of the woman who came down from the star world is told in many ways by various people: however, the meaning of this story remains the same. Today, I will share this story in written form about a woman from the Star World who climbed down the Great Cosmic Tree.

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Up in the Star World was a beautiful woman who was carrying a baby inside her – meaning she was pregnant. The woman was hungry because – of course – she was feeding for two: herself and the baby growing inside of her. She saw a great tree of vibrating colors which illuminated from the brightness of trillions of stars. This tree displayed many colorful fruits.

She walked over to the tree and began eating the fruits. As she ate fruits from the tree she stood at the base of this tree, and she looked down through the roots – she saw animals and water. She then became curious and decided to climb down the roots. Before climbing down, she gathered fruits and seeds from the tree and placed them inside her medicine bag.

The animals down below in the water world saw this woman climbing down – they knew this woman was a being from the Star World. All the animals quickly discussed how they could help this woman climb down safely. The birds offered to help her, and they then flew up to assist her. A large turtle offered the top of its shell to have her placed upon. The turtle swam directly under the roots of the tree as the birds gently placed the woman on top of the turtle’s shell.

Once on Turtle’s back, the woman told the animals that she needed soil from the bottom of the great waters. Many animals attempted to reach the bottom, but they could not, the water was too deep. Then it was the muskrat who volunteered to gather soil from the bottom of the waters. He dove deep into the waters, and so they all waited a long time for the muskrat to come back up. Then suddenly, the muskrat floated up but sadly he had drowned. The woman saw that muskrat’s paw was clenched: she opened his paw and inside was a clump of soil. She took the soil and placed it on Turtle’s back. She then instructed all the animals to gather in a circle and dance, and with the powers of the Universe the soil grew and grew on the Turtle’s back until it shaped into a Turtle.

This is the story of Turtle Island, which is known as north and central America. Aho.