Chewing Blackbones’ Indian myth entitled "Old Man and Old Woman" is so similar to the well-known creation story of "Adam and Eve" from the Christian Bible that some readers see them as essentially the same. I do not, and a close examination reveals that the two stories differ in very important ways.

The Indian myth "Old Man and Old Woman" begins, "Long, long ago, there were only two persons in the world: Old Man and Old Woman" (538). In the beginning of Christian creation story, the two characters, Adam and Eve, are also the only two people in the world. The characteristic that I found that shows a difference between the openings of the stories is the presence of God in "Adam and Eve." I noticed that in Chewing Blackbones’ Indian version there is no third party. The Indian myth does not explain how Old Man and Old Woman were created; it just states there were two people in the world, Old Man and Old Woman.

The actual creation processes in both stories seem similar, yet they are actually very different from each other. If you read "Old Man and Old Woman," you will notice the Earth has already been created for them. Yet in "Adam and Eve" God is in the process of putting the Earth in its full form. God creates the land, the seas, and everything included in the land and seas like vegetation and animal life. After all of this, God first creates Adam: God "formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being" (3). He then creates Eve: "he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man" (4).

God created Adam and Eve, yet they didn’t have any creation power except to reproduce. God is the real creator of mankind in the Christian creation story. However, in Chewing Blackbones’ Indian myth, it is the Old Man and Old Woman who "decided how the people shall live when they shall be on Earth" (538). This is an important difference between the two stories because the creator in Adam and Eve is God, while the creators in the Indian myth are two apparently human characters, Old Man and Old Woman. And even if it were argued that Old Man and Old Woman were not human at all, but really gods, there are still significant differences since in the Bible there is only one all-powerful and infallible creator while in the Indian myth there are two and both show signs of weakness and fallibility.

Chewing Blackbones’ "Old Man and Old Woman" is very simple in its description of creation; this makes it confusing for the reader because there really aren’t any detailed explanations for any occurrences in the Indian myth. The Adam and Eve creation story, on the other hand, provides very detailed information. An ironic fact that I found is that the Indian myth is a creation story yet half of the myth deals with death. The Old Woman states, "it is better for the people to die forever. If they did not, they would not feel sorry for each other, and there would be no sympathy in our world" (539). I guess even death needed to be created. Yet there is no talk of death in the Christian creation story.

I believe that the only true similarity between "Old Man and Old Women" and the creation story of Adam and Eve is that they are both creation stories, and nothing more.

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"Old Man and Old Woman," a retelling of a Native American myth by Chewing Blackbones, a Blackfoot Indian, should serve as a lesson to all couples in how a good relationship works. In today’s society there is a great need for people to understand how to make their relationships successful. As the divorce rate gets higher every year; small children have begun to think that getting a divorce is something that is normal and to be expected. This story shows how to work through problems with a give-and-take approach where you make compromises, yet still stand up for yourself when you believe your convictions cannot be compromised.

The Old Man and Old Woman agree on certain rules from the beginning. It is important for couples to agree on certain points when they begin a relationship. Problems might arise later if certain ideals and standards for behavior are not established from the onset. The man and woman in the story agree that the man will have the first say in all decisions and the woman the second. For couples in today’s society the ideals that are established are more likely have something to do with religion, the number of children a couple wishes to have, or who should work in the family. The establishment of these principles will help couples to stay together longer and also be happier.

While the Old Man and Old Woman agreed, from the beginning, that the man should have first say and the woman the second, they both had equal input into decisions. When they were discussing the duty of tanning the hides, the man said "the women will have the duty . . . they will rub the animals’ brains on the hides to make them soft and scrape them with scraping tools. All this they will do very quickly, for it will not be hard work" (539). The woman did not completely agree with the man’s ideas about how this should be done. The woman suggested, "they must tan hides in the way you say; but it must be very hard work, so that good workers may be found out" (539). The Old Man and Old Woman used compromise in making this decision. While the woman had the final say, she did agree to part of the man’s original idea, while also adding some input of her own.

Couples today need to learn this important skill: compromise. It has become a lost art today. People have become stubborn and single-minded and want only to have their own way. Being in a relationship is not, however, about getting one’s own way. Two people must be satisfied with the outcome of all decisions, so these decisions cannot be made selfishly. Today’s society still has some remnants of the old ideal that one sex, generally the male, should be superior to the other in a relationship. This idea, besides being sexist, is outdated. Men and women should be equal in a relationship. The idea of compromise should be applied to all aspects of a relationship, not just decisions, as was the example in "Old Man and Old Woman." Housework should be shared equally by couples, as well as shopping, child care, and any other household duties. But this problem is not wholly to be blamed on men. Women expect to work outside of the home, while continuing to do most of the work inside the home. Both partners should set an agreement to how all chores, including money making, should be divided.

The final guideline I see in Chewing Blackbone’s myth is that when you know your convictions are right and true you should not give in to the demands of your partner. There are situations where compromise has no place. One such situation in "Old Man and Old Woman" was when the old woman asks to allow their child to live again, after they had already established that people should die. The old man knew that the original decision they had agreed to was right and just. They decided that people should die forever because "if they did not, they would not feel sorry for each other, and there would be no sympathy in the world" ( 539).

As I have demonstrated, "Old Man and Old Woman" has many life lessons for couples. More people should be considerate of each other and learn relationship skills, if they truly want to be happy in marriage, and in life. Couples should apply the concepts named in this paper, and demonstrated in the story, to their own relationships. Only when people are truly willing to work at their relationship will the divorce rate go down. Then people will know the true meaning of "marital bliss."

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