Long before the creation of the world, there was an island in the sky where the sky people lived. One day, a woman fell into a hole left by an uprooted tree. Her fall seemed to last an eternity.
Finally, she emerged from the darkness and saw the Sea World. The animals of that world, having gathered to try to understand what they were seeing, sent the Geese to come to the aid of the Sky Woman. The Geese caught her, and then laid her gently on the back of the Great Turtle. The aquatic animals like the otter, the beaver and the toad, made a place for her on the turtle's back by bringing up mud from the bottom of the ocean and depositing it on the turtle’s back, until the mud solidified and formed a large enough surface.
Thus, the Sky Woman settled on the Island of the Great Turtle. She made a life for herself there and became the mother of Haudenosaunee culture as we know it today.
The story of the Sky Woman, Yäa'taenhtsihk, continues with the birth of the Sky Woman's daughter who gave birth to twin sons, Iouske'a and Tawihskaron. These two became rivals and this rivalry defines the laws of Creation.