“ Ałk'idą́ą́' ” is how stories begin. Whenever you hear an elder begin a story, they start with that
one word. It translates to “Long ago”. It does not state a time, but more of a general statement
that this story happened in the past. When you hear an elder start their sentence with this one
word, you know it is story time.
First World
The First World was where everything started. There were no people present as we know them
today, but rather there were the Air Spirited People. This First World was filled with the
presence of what we now call insects. Ants, Beetles, Grasshoppers, and Dragonflys are a few
examples of the people that inhabited this world. This world was not a large as the world we live
in today. That being so, they begin to argue. It was this fighting that had destroyed this world and
they escaped by traveling upward until they have entered a whole new world.
Second World
The insects had reached the Second World, larger than their own and filled with other creatures.
They were greeted by Blue Feather Beings, which we now know as birds. Blue Jays, Hawks,
Falcons, and Swallows are just a few that lived in this Second World. These two bands of people
lived peacefully for a while, but just as in the First World, they began to bicker. Adultery and
arguments had caused this world to, once again, crumble, forcing the Air Spirited People and
Blue Feather Beings to flee upward, until reaching the Third World.
Third World
The Third World, now larger than the two first worlds contained even larger beings. It was
inhabited by larger two legged creatures and four legged creatures such as, Coyote, Turkeys,
Mountain Lions, and Deer. These lands were different than the first two, not only larger, but also
contained sacred mountains in each of the cardinal directions. But unlike the first two worlds, it
was not fighting that would destroy this world, but a great flood. It was Coyote who caused this
flood. He had stolen Water Monsters babies. Enraged, Water Monster floods the land. Everyone
escapes this world once again to the next.
Fourth World
The Fourth World is the world we now live in. It is populated not only by insects, birds, and four
legged creatures, but also humanity. It is here that the creation of the different clans came to be.
It is here that many other stories take place. Such as the Twin Warriors and their journey to the
Sun, which is depicted.
