“Nature” vs. Nature: An Analysis of the Nature Character in Two Creation Stories and Their Practical Implications

Abstract

Sacred stories are an entryway into societal attitudes, and so are worth examining in relation to the most pressing societal issues, including the climate crisis. This project contributes to the larger climate conversation by asking what the “Nature” character in the Christian and Algonquin Anishinaabeg creation stories tell us about the societies’ attitudes towards the natural environment. Drawing on narrative theory and thematic narrative analysis, the study investigates this question in the context of Ottawa, Canada, tracing the relationship between mythological frameworks, attitudes, and practical behaviour. The findings resist easy conclusions. Rather than confirming a straightforward relationship between myths and practice, the analysis reveals a more complex – and sometimes surprising – picture. What does emerge consistently is that the two creation stories encode a fundamental connection between human and other-than-human nature – a connection that contemporary Canadian society may have lost sight of. The broader implication is urgent: if we are willing to read our creation stories closely and to interrogate our assumptions about them, they may provide a pathway for rethinking our environmental attitudes. At a moment of ecological crisis, this may be not merely illuminating, but necessary for our survival.