Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Native American
Mythology
2. What birds influenced the outcome of the button and thimble game?
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3. What four animals hid in the darkness after the button and thimble games?
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5. What did the people build in order to reach the upper world? _________________________________
11. What material finally worked for the building of the ladder? ________________________________
15. Where did the Jicarillas tell the Ruler they wished to stop? ____________________________________
TEACHER’S KEY
“The Orphan Boy and the Elk Dog”
TEACHER’S KEY
Reading for Content in “The Jicarilla Genesis”
1. the people
2. magpie and quail
3. black bear, brown bear, mountain lion, owl
4. the sun
5. four mounds
6. black
7. blue
8. yellow
9. variegated
10. the two girls
11. buffalo horns
12. weight of people
13. the four storms
14. to save water for people
15. in the middle of the earth
2 3
7 8
10
11
12
13
14 15
CLUES
ACROSS
7. What did the People use for torches? (two words)
9. In the beginning, with what was earth covered?
10. In the beginning, what could people, animals, trees and rocks do?
12. What did the people in the North, South, East and West each build?
13. What did the crow eat that caused his color to change?
14. What did the beaver make for People?
DOWN
1. On what did people stand to reach the surface of the earth? (two words)
2. In the beginning, where were all living things?
3. By what are the sun and moon fastened so they won’t float away? (two words)
4. Where did the Jicarillas decide to stop?
5. Who lost the button and thimble game? (two words)
6. Out of what did the people try to make ladders?
8. Which animal slunk away after the third round of the button and thimble game? (two words)
11. Who discovered why the mountains stopped growing?
15. What made the badger’s and the polecat’s legs black?
TEACHER’S KEY
“The Jicarilla Genesis” Crossword
U S U
N P F T
D I N F A
E D I F A O
R E A G L E P L U M E S
W A T E R H A O O
O T T T H U
R H A H O N
L R N E R T A L K
D E I R N A
A M S S I T
M O U N D A N O
S L L R
S C A R R I O N
O A
N D A M
O U
Recognizing Similarities
In the Native American myths “The Orphan Boy and the Elk Dog” and “The Jicarilla Genesis,” there are
ideas present that are similar to ideas in other familiar stories. See if you can think of a story from another
culture that contains the elements listed below.
1. In the myth “The Orphan Boy and the Elk Dog,” there were spirits living at the bottom of a lake who
emerged when the hero of the story appeared.
2. In the myth “The Orphan Boy and the Elk Dog,” Long Arrow met three spirit men, and each one he met
was more powerful than the previous one.
3. In the myth “The Orphan Boy and the Elk Dog,” a human being turned into a kingfisher.
4. In the myth “The Orphan Boy and the Elk Dog,” the main character in the story was allowed to ask the
Spirit Chief for three things.
5. In the myth “The Orphan Boy and the Elk Dog,” the people in Long Arrow’s village thought they saw a
creature who was half man and half horse.
6. The myth “The Jicarilla Genesis” explains why Polecat and Badger have black legs, why buffalo horns are
curved, and why the crow is black.
TEACHER’S KEY
Recognizing Similarities