The Rainbow Bridge

Title: The Rainbow Bridge

Inspired by a Chumash Tale

Retold by: Audrey Wood

Paintings by: Robert Florczack
Genre: Folk Tale

This folk tale comes for the Chumash Indians of California. The story begins with Hutash, the earth goddess, walking on her island of Limuw alone. She decided she would create people in her image. She planted seeds and from them came the humans. She saw that they were suffering, so she asked her husband, the Milky Way to see them and help them. He sent them a lightning bolt to create fire so they would be warm and could eat. Soon, though, there were too many people scaring the animals and destroying the land. At this time, a boy and a girl recognized Hutash and invited her into their hut. She told them that the Indians would need to choose half of their tribe to travel to another island across the sea. They were worried about how they could cross; when the woke up the next morning, however, a rainbow from island to island was in the sky for them to cross. In crossing the bridge, some of the Chumash began to fall into the ocean and drown. Hutash didn't want any of her people to die, so she turned the drowing Chumash into dolphins of the sea. From this point on, the Chumash tribe have viewed the dolphins as their brothers and sisters lost in the crossing.

I would definitely use this story in my classroom. At the beginning of the book, the author speaks about the research she has done on the Chumash Indians. She uses the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and The Chumash People: Materials for Teachers and Students as references for her story. Because of this, I believe this story correctly depicts the Indians and their belief in the story. I would use this story in an American history lesson. Many people have heard of the Indians, but not necessarily the Chumash. Giving students a glimpse into a culture they haven't seen or heard of before has many benefits. They learn new things and can delve deeper into our history.

I believe that a beneficial lesson would be to have my students create their own versions of this story. It will give them a chance to be creative while learning that many cultures have different tales for a reason. It is a part of culture and a way of expressing life in that culture. We can discuss why having these stories is important to us and how they help us learn about cultures. We can also discuss checking to make sure stories like this do not depict a culture in the wrong way. There are many different areas of study just off this one book which I find wonderful!