The stories considered so far portray the creation of a Middle World inhabited by people, animals, and plants. The Middle World exists between the Above and Below Worlds, both occupied by spirit beings. The supernatural occupants of these two realms oppose each other because they possess antithetical powers. Above World powers sustain order and life, whereas Below World powers inflict disorder and death. The supernatural beings from these realms are also capable of bringing chaos into the Middle World.

The stories also suggest that humans can act to counter such troubles. People can even undertake the dangerous task of combining antithetical Above and Below World powers to restore orderly conditions to the Middle World. The Osage creation story we started out with makes use of this theme to tell what happened as the Little Ones explored the Earth’s surface and joined with another group to create the Osage tribe. We resume that story next.