Who is Sky Woman? Guide to the Haudenosaunee Creator
Sky Woman is the creator-figure of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) tradition. The Haudenosaunee are the Six Nations - the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and (since the eighteenth century) Tuscarora - whose traditional territories cover what is now upstate New York and southern Ontario. In their tradition, the world was created after Sky Woman fell from the sky world above. She was caught by waterfowl and lowered to the back of a great turtle. Muskrat dove to the bottom of the primordial sea and brought up a small amount of earth, which was placed on the turtle’s back. From that earth, Sky Woman shaped the world. This is one of the great creation stories of the North American continent, and it is a living tradition today - preserved and continuously retold in Haudenosaunee communities across New York, Ontario, and beyond.
A note on tribal specificity. Sky Woman is specifically a Haudenosaunee figure. She is not the creator of “Native American mythology” as a generic category. Different Native nations have their own distinct creation traditions, sometimes very different from the Haudenosaunee. This guide describes Sky Woman specifically as she is preserved in Haudenosaunee tradition.
Key Takeaways
- Sky Woman is the creator-figure of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) tradition, one of the great creation stories of the North American continent.
- The Haudenosaunee are the Six Nations - the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and (since the eighteenth century) Tuscarora - whose traditional territories are in what is now upstate New York and southern Ontario.
- In some Haudenosaunee tellings her name is Ataentsic or Ataensic.
- In the tradition, she fell (or was pushed, depending on the telling) from the sky world above through a hole caused by the uprooting of the great tree of light.
- She was caught in mid-fall by waterfowl (in most tellings, geese or ducks) who bore her gently down toward the primordial sea below.
- Turtle offered his back as the foundation for a new world. Muskrat dove to the bottom of the primordial sea and returned with a small amount of earth. The earth was placed on Turtle’s back, where Sky Woman began to spread it and shape the world.
- Sky Woman had a daughter, from whom (in most tellings) were born the twin grandsons Sapling and Flint, who further shaped the world.
- The tradition is continuously preserved and told today. It is the foundational narrative of Haudenosaunee identity.
Who is Sky Woman?
Sky Woman is the primordial creator-figure of Haudenosaunee tradition. She fell from the sky world above onto the newly-formed earth on the back of a great turtle, and from her the shaping of the world proceeded.
Definition - Sky Woman
The primordial creator-figure of Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) tradition. Sky Woman fell from the sky world above onto the back of a great turtle who offered his back as the foundation for a new world. Muskrat brought up earth from the primordial sea. Sky Woman shaped the world from that earth. She is called Ataentsic or Ataensic in some Haudenosaunee tellings.
The Haudenosaunee (also called the Iroquois Confederacy, though the Haudenosaunee name is preferred in the tradition’s own language) are the Six Nations: the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora. The first five nations formed the Haudenosaunee Confederacy under the Great Law of Peace, traditionally dated to various points between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries CE. The Tuscarora joined in the early eighteenth century. Their traditional territories cover what is now upstate New York and southern Ontario.
The Sky Woman story is the foundational creation narrative shared across the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Different member nations preserve their own tellings with local variations, but the core narrative is shared.
The fall from the sky world
The story begins in the sky world above. In this world, people lived similarly to how people live on earth today. At the centre of the sky world grew a great tree of light. The tree’s flowers gave off the light that illuminated the sky world.
The exact circumstances of the fall vary by telling. In one common version, Sky Woman’s husband asked her to look into the hole where the great tree had been temporarily uprooted (for reasons that vary by version). Sky Woman leaned over the hole. She fell. In some tellings her husband pushed her; in some she simply overbalanced.
She fell through the hole into the world below. In some tellings she grabbed at the tree as she fell and carried down with her seeds or plants from the sky world - which is why plants can grow on earth today.
Below her was only water - a primordial sea covering everything. There was no land. Read Sky Woman falls to earth.
The waterfowl and the turtle
The waterfowl on the primordial sea saw her falling. They took counsel. They flew up together and formed a great net with their wings, catching her in mid-air and bearing her gently down.
But they could not hold her forever. She needed a place to rest. The animals of the sea took counsel. Turtle offered his back. The waterfowl set Sky Woman gently on Turtle’s back.
Now the question was earth. Turtle’s back was small; Sky Woman was going to need real earth to live on. The animals of the sea took turns diving to try to bring up earth from the bottom of the primordial sea. Beaver tried and failed. Otter tried and failed. Loon tried and failed. Finally Muskrat tried. Muskrat was small and unimpressive; the others doubted him. But Muskrat dove and dove for a very long time. He surfaced dead, or nearly dead, but with a small amount of earth clutched in his paws.
The earth was placed on Turtle’s back. Sky Woman began to walk in a circle, spreading it. As she walked, the earth grew. Turtle’s back grew. What had been a small circle of earth on a turtle’s back became the continent - which the Haudenosaunee (and many other Native peoples of North America) call Turtle Island. Read Turtle Island creation.
Sky Woman’s daughter and the twins
Sky Woman had a daughter. The circumstances vary by telling. In some versions the daughter was conceived before Sky Woman fell; in others she was conceived on Turtle Island through wind or spirit.
The daughter grew up. She became pregnant. She bore twin sons but died in childbirth. From her body sprouted plants: corn from her breasts, tobacco from her head, beans and squash from her hands and feet. She became the earth herself.
Her twin sons - called Sapling (or the Good Mind, Tharonhiawakon) and Flint (or the Evil Mind, Tawiskaron) - continued the shaping of the world after her death. Sapling created what was good and useful: gentle rivers, edible plants, deer and other creatures useful to humans. Flint created what was difficult and destructive: rapids, thorny plants, dangerous animals. Together they made the world both bountiful and difficult - the world humans live in. Read the twins Sapling and Flint, the origin of clans, and the stone giants.
The eventual conflict between Sapling and Flint, and Sapling’s victory, is one of the central subsequent narratives of Haudenosaunee tradition.
Sky Woman’s continuing significance
Sky Woman’s story is not distant literature. It is a living tradition, told and retold in Haudenosaunee communities today. It appears in oral tradition, in written form, in contemporary Haudenosaunee art and literature, and in the cultural and educational programs of Haudenosaunee schools and organisations.
The story is also foundational to the concept of Turtle Island - the name for the North American continent used by many Native peoples. This name has become widely used across Native political and cultural movements, and increasingly by non-Native scholars and organisations who wish to acknowledge Indigenous perspectives on the continent’s identity.
The Sky Woman narrative is one of many Native creation traditions. Others include the emergence stories of the Diné (Navajo) and other Pueblo peoples; the earth-diver stories of many other traditions; and specific creation narratives of hundreds of Native nations, each with its own character.
Sky Woman compared to other creation figures
Sky Woman belongs to a category of female primordial creators.
| Tradition | Creator figure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Haudenosaunee | Sky Woman | Falls from sky; shapes world on turtle’s back |
| Diné (Navajo) | Changing Woman | Central creator figure |
| Hopi | Spider Woman (Kokyangwuti) | Weaves creation into being |
| Chinese | Nuwa | Shapes humans from clay |
| Sumerian | Ninhursag | Shapes humans with Enki |
| Yoruba | Odudua | In some traditions, creator |
Sky Woman’s specific pattern - the falling-from-sky and the earth-diver combined - is distinctive to Haudenosaunee tradition and closely related Native traditions. The general pattern of a female creator figure appears widely; the specific Haudenosaunee form is its own.
Read the stories
Sky Woman and related Haudenosaunee tradition appear in several stories on the site:
- Sky Woman Falls to Earth
- Turtle Island Creation
- The Twins Sapling and Flint
- The Origin of Clans
- The Stone Giants
- Thunderbird and Underwater Panther
- Changing Woman (a Dine creator figure, for comparison)
Sky Woman is what Haudenosaunee tradition kept as its origin figure - the woman who fell from the sky world, who was caught by waterfowl, who rested on Turtle’s back while Muskrat brought up the earth from below. Her story is continuously preserved and continuously told. It is the foundation of Haudenosaunee identity and the foundation of the Native concept of Turtle Island - the name millions of Native peoples still use for the North American continent.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Sky Woman?
Sky Woman is the primordial creator-figure of Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) tradition. She fell from the sky world above onto the back of a great turtle, and from her the shaping of the world proceeded. She is called Ataentsic or Ataensic in some Haudenosaunee tellings.
Who are the Haudenosaunee?
The Haudenosaunee (also called the Iroquois Confederacy) are the Six Nations: the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora. Their traditional territories cover what is now upstate New York and southern Ontario. The first five nations formed the Haudenosaunee Confederacy under the Great Law of Peace, traditionally dated to various points between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries CE. The Tuscarora joined in the early eighteenth century.
What is Turtle Island?
Turtle Island is the name for the North American continent in Haudenosaunee tradition and in the traditions of many other Native nations. According to Haudenosaunee tradition, after Sky Woman fell and Muskrat brought up earth from the primordial sea, the earth was placed on the back of a great turtle. As Sky Woman walked in circles, the earth grew, and Turtle’s back became the North American continent. The name has become widely used across Native political and cultural movements today.
Who are Sapling and Flint?
Sapling (also called the Good Mind, Tharonhiawakon) and Flint (also called the Evil Mind, Tawiskaron) are the twin grandsons of Sky Woman in Haudenosaunee tradition. Their mother, Sky Woman’s daughter, died giving birth to them. Sapling created what was good and useful in the world; Flint created what was difficult and destructive. Their eventual conflict, and Sapling’s victory, is one of the central narratives of Haudenosaunee tradition.
Is the Sky Woman story the same across all Haudenosaunee nations?
The core narrative is shared across the Six Nations, but different member nations preserve their own tellings with local variations. Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora storytellers preserve the story with distinctive details, emphases, and sometimes names. All versions share the fall from the sky world, the catching by waterfowl, the offering of Turtle’s back, the earth-diver sequence with Muskrat, and Sky Woman’s shaping of the world.
Is this story still told today?
Yes. The Sky Woman story is a living tradition in Haudenosaunee communities today. It is told in oral tradition, taught in Haudenosaunee schools, preserved in contemporary Haudenosaunee art and literature, and central to the ongoing cultural identity of the Six Nations. It is not a historical or literary curiosity but a current cultural inheritance actively maintained by the communities that hold it.