Variations of the creation story can be found in many different cultures. Most of the native peoples were converted to Christianity when the Europeans came to America; however, many of these people were able to uphold their cultural traditions. Christian missionaries had a huge influence on the Akimel O’odham people living on the rivers of central Arizona. The Spanish missionaries, who renamed them “Pimas,” converted many Akimel O’odham people to Christianity. Through the teachings of the Spaniards, the Pimas were able to adopt their own story of creation; similar to the story found in Genesis.

The stories may seem parallel at first, but after taking a closer the differences are apparent. The Pimas accepted Christianity; however, they did not want to lose their ancient legends, so they formed their own oral tradition. The Pima narratives describe the establishment of their cultural practices including animals and vegetation that are important to them, head protagonists that are influential, and specific personalities and actions that are relevant to their culture. Unlike the stories in Genesis, these narratives do not talk about the creation of the world. They tell us the story of their culture.

Adopting their own creation story allowed the Pima to preserve their traditional beliefs and practices. They were able to alter the written stories in Genesis to better suit their cultural beliefs. I found it very interesting that the world was recreated three times before Juhwertamahkai was satisfied. In Genesis God only destroyed the earth once. This could point to something that happened in Pima history. Maybe the Pima people experienced great hardships such as a drought or starvation that cause them to fight one another and behave ungraciously. These narratives are direct references to the Pima’s culture.

In both the Christian and Pima stories of creation the higher power was not satisfied with how the people they created were treating their surrounding environment, so they made the decision to wipe out all human beings (except one) with a huge natural disaster. God sent the great flood and Juhwertamahkai let the sky fall. Both stories emphasize humans’ relationships with the environment and the higher power. The land, the animals, the water, and the sun were made first so human life could survive. The environment was a gift that we need to respect. I think that the Christian and Pima creation stories were told to teach us a lesson. The environment is the source of life that allows humans to live on this planet. The destruction of the environment will led to disaster.