In "The Comic Vision of Anishinaabe Culture and Religion," Anishinaabe Native American Studies Professor, Lawrence W. Gross, says that non-native scholars have focused only on Native American myths' (ex. Earth Diver) "food economics (i.e. Native American's relationship to food resources)," reaching a general consensus that these "myths teach morality, especially environmental ethics." 

 

While Gross acknowledges that these conclusions are "insightful, as far as they go," he emphasizes the importance of myths like Earth Diver to the healing of his people in the here and now by saying that such myths serve to help Native American peoples "maintain a distinct identity" and to sustain "cultural sovereignty."

 

Further, Gross credits the "cultural continuity" provided by the retelling of myths like Earth Diver to mitigating what he calls "Post Apocalypse Stress Syndrome." Explain Gross, the Anishinaabe "have seen the end of our world, which has created tremendous social stresses." Now, the Anishinaabe are "recovering." As part of a broader comic worldview, this is helping the Anishinaabe to "survive" and "overcome trauma  (Gross 2002, 436 -437)."