Bog Turtle
Glyptemys muhlenbergii
Status: Threatened. Development of the land has resulted in degradation and fragmentation of their wetland habitat.
Many of the indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands share a tale of how the world began, and of a turtle who carries the world upon his back.
In ancient times, there was a world above the dome of the sky. In this upper world the Great Chief, and other beings, knew nothing of what lay below their domed crust. In the center of their world grew an enormous tree laden with sweet flowers and fruit.
The great chief found cause to have the tree uprooted, and in so doing revealed a yawning pit. Sky Woman was drawn to it by her curiosity, and the Great Chief pushed her through. As she tumbled through the vast space between, she was aided by waterfowl who softened her fall, and at last she landed upon the back of a turtle of the underworld. All about was watery darkness and no land.
Many creatures attempted to swim down under the waves. All the best divers made an attempt, otter, muskrat, beaver, toad. In the different variations it is sometimes one or another of these creatures that at last succeeded. Bringing up a bit of mud, it was heaped upon the turtle's back. From this earthly mud, and from the handfuls of sky dirt and seeds from the celestial tree Sky Woman had in her hands during her fall, the world below began to spring to life.
References:
Barbeau, C. M. (1914). Supernatural Beings of the Huron and Wyandot. American Anthropologist, 16(2), 288-313. http://www.jstor.org/stable/659612
Parker, A. C. (1912). Certain Iroquois Tree Myths and Symbols. American Anthropologist, 14(4), 608-620. http://www.jstor.org/stable/659833
Fenton, W. N. (1962). "This Island, the World on the Turtle's Back." The Journal of American Folklore, 75(298), 283-300. https://doi.org/10.2307/538365