What is the Pequot tribe and the Green Corn Dance?
What is the Pequot tribe and the Green Corn Dance?
The Feast of Green Corn and Dance (“Schemitzun”) is celebrated annually by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation in Ledyard. The feast was canceled this year due to the COVID pandemic, but is expected to return in 2021, the year the rest of the country will celebrate the 400th anniversary of the “first” Thanksgiving.
What does the name Pequot mean?
destroyers
The name Pequot (pronounced PEE-kwot) comes from an Algonquin word meaning “destroyers,” referring to the warlike nature of the group in early times. The Pequot call themselves “fox people.” In the early twenty-first century there were two Pequot tribes: the Mashantucket (Western Pequot) and Paucatuck (Eastern Pequot).
Where is the Schemitzun?
Located at the Mashantucket Pequot Cultural Grounds in the heart of one of America’s oldest Indian reservations, Schemitzun features traditional and contemporary tribal dance exhibitions, drum and live music, and plenty of authentic Native American-made crafts.
What happens during the Green Corn Festival?
Green Corn festivals are still held today by many different Southeastern Woodland tribes. The Green Corn Ceremony typically occurs in late July–August, determined locally by the ripening of the corn crops. The ceremony is marked with dancing, feasting, fasting and religious observations.
What was the purpose of the corn Dance?
Greatest ceremonial rite of Creek Indians was Green Corn Dance. It was held at time of year before corn had fully matured and while grains were soft. Dance was celebration of harvest season and was of intense religious devotion.
What did the Pequot eat?
The Pequots were farming people. Pequot women plant ed corn, squash and beans and also gathered nuts and fruit to eat. Pequot men did most of the hunting. They shot deer, turkeys, and small game, and went fishing on the coast.
When did the Green Corn Festival happen and why?
One of the most important was the Green Corn Festival. This festival was held in late summer or early fall, when the corn they had planted had ripened on the stalk. The expression “green corn” refers to ripened sweet corn, corn you could eat. These early people were great farmers.
Why is the Green Corn Dance important?
The Green Corn Ceremony is a celebration of many types, representing new beginnings. Also referred to as the Great Peace Ceremony, it is a celebration of thanksgiving to Hsaketumese (The Breath Maker) for the first fruits of the harvest, and a New Year festival as well. The Busk is the celebration of the New Year.
Is Foxwoods Native American?
About Foxwoods Resort Casino Foxwoods Resort Casino is owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation.