Meskwaki dancers

Meskwaki dancers

with eagle feathers, jingle cones,

rattles, ribbons, fur,

porcupine quills, stone pipes, beaded

moccasins beat to the drum

The Brown Otter Song and Dance Group from the Meskwaki Settlement community near Tama, Iowa, performing the Friendship Dance at the Sondheim Center in Fairfield, Iowa. They are wearing traditional costumes decorated with bead work, ribbons and feathers.

The Meskwaki, the Red Earth People, are one of the Algonquin-speaking tribes that originated in the Eastern woodlands around the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes. In the 1600s they were pushed west into what is now Michigan and Wisconsin by the Iroquois. After battling the French they moved to the Mississippi River region. By 1848 all of the tribes west of the Mississippi had been removed by the United States government to reservations further west, except the Meskwaki. In 1856 the newly-formed state of Iowa ("this is the place") gave them permission to stay as long as they lived in peace, purchased land using only friendly means and not by seeking government help, pay taxes on purchased land and obey all state laws. In 1857 the Meskwaki purchased the first eighty acres along the Iowa River, where the present Pow Wow grounds are located. Today the Meskwaki Settlement includes more than 8,000 acres.

Harlan Brown sings a traditional dance song while beating his drum.

Eagle Dancer, wearing an eagle feather bustle and headdress and carrying a gourd rattle and redstone peace pipe, bends low during the Pipe Dance.

Grass Dancer's ribbons and beaded bands swirl as he dances the Grass Dance with eagle feather fan and hoop.

Men and women face each other during the Harvest Dance, then trade sides back and forth as they "walk the rows," harvesting corn, beans and squash.

Moving in a sacred circle, the dancers perform their tribal Meskwaki Dance. The young girl wears rows of silver jingle cones on her skirt and high-top beaded moccasins, while the woman wears a skirt bordered with traditional ribbon applique in a vine design.

The men show off their footwork during the Victory/Veteran's Dance. Many Meskwaki and other Native American tribes proudly served in the U.S. Armed Forces and during World War II eight Meskwaki soldiers served as code-talkers.

golden heartstrings

golden heartstrings

in a butternut heart cave

protect the ripe seeds

For Thanksgiving dinner I am preparing a casserole with layers of Butternut squash, Gala apples and cranberries. With a cleaver I slice open the squash from stem to stern, exposing the firm orange-gold flesh. I notice, for the first time it seems, that the seed-filled cavity is shaped like a heart. 
          The American tradition of Thanksgiving is a wonderful celebration of the heart. Family and friends gather together for a feast commemorating the first Thanksgiving, when the Pilgrims gave thanks to God for their safe arrival in the New World. The first feast provided food for 13 Pilgrims and 90 Native Americans and lasted three days. Perhaps this is why the official holiday, proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, was set for a Thursday, conveniently providing us with a long weekend to consume the leftovers. 
          The first feast consisted of fish, shellfish, wild fowl (including our traditional turkey), venison, vegetables, berries and fruit, grains, and the Three Sisters: dried Indian maize (or corn), beans and squash. My casserole includes squash, apples and cranberries, called sassamanash by Native Americans, who may have introduced them to the Pilgrims. 
         In addition to the squash, I am baking pinto beans and tomorrow I will pop some Chief Appanoose popcorn. This tiny, hull-less popcorn is named for the chief of the Sauk tribe in the early 19th century. Appanoose means "a chief when a child," indicating that his position was inherited. He was one of the "peace chiefs" sent to Washington, D.C. in 1837. The Sauk ("yellow earth people") and their relatives the Meskwaki ("red earth people") shared this heirloom variety of popcorn with a pioneer family in Iowa in the 1850s, and it was grown on the family farm for generations. The last quart of this flavorful popcorn was nearly lost in the 1970s, but enough was saved for planting. One more thing to be thankful for!