The Walam Olum: Native American Testimony to the Bible’s Creation Story
Across the world, cultures have preserved stories of creation, the fall of humanity, and a great flood. These recurring themes suggest that such events were not isolated myths but shared human memories of real history. Among Native Americans, the Walam Olum—the “Red Record” of the Lenape people—stands as powerful testimony. Its remarkable alignment with the biblical account in Genesis affirms that God’s truth has been remembered across continents and centuries.
A Record Preserved Through Time
The Walam Olum tells of a Creator who made the heavens and earth, followed by the appearance of a serpent of evil, bringing corruption and suffering into the world. Later, a catastrophic flood destroyed much of creation, after which survivors began migrations, eventually settling in the eastern woodlands of North America.
The story parallels Genesis so closely that it cannot be coincidence. Just as Moses recorded God’s work in the Torah, so too the Lenape preserved their ancestral memory of the same divine events.
Key Parallels with Genesis
Creation by a single divine Creator (Genesis 1:1–31).
The serpent of evil that tempts and corrupts creation (Genesis 3).
The Flood that cleansed the world of wickedness, leaving only the righteous to repopulate (Genesis 6–9).
Migrations of peoples across the world after the flood, echoing the dispersion at the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11).
Lineages of leaders and chiefs, mirroring the genealogies of Adam, Noah, and Abraham.
These connections reveal that the Lenape did not live in isolation from the biblical history of humanity. Rather, they preserved their own portion of the same great story.
A Universal Testimony
Some dismiss the Walam Olum as a fabrication, but such skepticism overlooks the fact that nearly every ancient culture has a flood story and a serpent figure of evil. From Mesopotamia’s Epic of Gilgamesh to the Maya’s Popol Vuh, from Chinese traditions to the Hebrew Bible, the core truths are the same:
A Creator made the world.
Humanity fell into sin.
A flood reset the earth.
Peoples dispersed across the globe.
The Lenape, like so many others, carried these truths through oral history and symbolic records. The Walam Olum shows that the biblical account is not isolated but universal.
Why This Matters Today
The Walam Olum bridges Native American heritage and the Bible. It affirms that the Creator left His imprint on all peoples, and that humanity shares a common memory of creation and the flood. Far from undermining Scripture, Indigenous traditions like this strengthen it, showing that God’s works were known from the beginning.
For Christians, the Walam Olum offers an opportunity to honor Native history while recognizing that the truth of Genesis is woven into the memory of humanity itself.
Conclusion
The Walam Olum is more than a legend. It is another witness to the biblical story of creation, the fall, and the flood—echoing across time, culture, and geography. While skeptics may deny its authenticity, believers recognize in it the hand of the Creator, preserving His truth in every nation. The Walam Olum reminds us that the Bible is not just Israel’s story, but the world’s story.
References
Anderson, G. C. (1991). The Indian Southwest, 1580–1830: Ethnogenesis and Reinvention. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.
Custalow, L. R. (2007). The True Story of Pocahontas: The Other Side of History. Golden, CO: Fulcrum Publishing.
Rafinesque, C. S. (1836/1954). The Walam Olum, or Red Score: The Migration Legend of the Lenni Lenape or Delaware Indians. Indiana University Press.
Whelan, R. (1982). Lost America: The Story of the Walam Olum. San Diego: Creation-Life Publishers.
