ABOUT THE ICON

"When there was only water,

the turtle became the Earth and the Earth will feed us.

The Earth will quench our thirst.

It will shelter us and allow us to breathe clean air.

Our Elders ask us to respect the Earth -

Our Great Turtle."

Whirling Thunder, Paul Bullock, Wampanoag

     The petroglyph of a turtle shown above, in a drawing by William S. Fowler, has been engraved on a sandstone shaft abrading tool. It was found in the Narragansett drainage, possibly in the Attleboro, MA area, and is the icon of Robbins Museum.

     Many native cultures tell of the creation of the North American continent on the back of a great turtle. The Robbins Museum tells the story of the first people to live on this part of Turtle Island.

     The following will take you to two

of the many narratives describing

this belief (Sky Woman painting by

Jean-Jacques Rivard):