Howdy! And welcome to another terrific Tuesday!
Before I get into the subject of the blog today, let me tell you that I will be giving away two (2) of the original editions — mass market editions as the book was original published — of the book, SOARING EAGLE’S EMBRACE, book #3 in the Legendary Warriors series. I’ll do a drawing from all you who leave a post on today’s blog. So, without further ado, let’s have a look at the Iroquois, their festivals and especially their Harvest Festival.
Yummm… The smells of pumpkin pie, turkey and cranberry sauce reminds me of happy times with family and friends and I hope it does the same with you. And, this time of year is now upon us. Now, before I continue this post, let me say a few things about the word, Indian.
At the time Columbus discovered America, the country of India was not called India. It was known as Hindustan. And so Columbus’ “mistake” in thinking he was in “India” doesn’t make sense when seen in this light. Russell Means (Actor and Freedom Fighter) did much research on the word, Indian, and took note that Columbus (Italian) used the words, In Dios, meaning In God, to describe the people he met as a Godly people. The same words — or words quite similar — are used in Spanish, also, According to Russell Means, this is most likely where the word came from.
When I was writing about the Iroquois, I did some study and discovered the Iroquois had many festival days each year and one of them…which we all are familiar with …was the Harvest Festival. If you haven’t seen the movie, Squanto, staring Adam Beach, you might think about getting the video and watch it. It’s a wonderful movie and goes into detail about the first Thanksgiving. So, please bear with me as I talk a little about the festivals of the Iroquois (and most of the Eastern Indians, as well).
Thanksgiving was one of several festivals amongst the Eastern Indians. There were many festivals throughout the year, and they tended to follow the seasons.
All the Indians believed in God, the Creator. And their celebrations were to honor the Creator. The Iroquois celebrated six festivals, wherein they gave thanks to the Creator for all they had. These festivals would open with speeches by leaders, teachers, and elders. And of course there was much dancing, which was done not only for the fun of simply dancing, but it was also a sense of worship. It was thought that because the Creator needed some sort of amusement, He gave the people dancing.
In spring — early March — it was time to collect together tree bark and sap – this was needed to repair houses and other things, such as canoes, bowls, etc. Spring was also the time for planting. This was the maple festival. Next was the Planting festival. Here prayers were sent to the Creator to bless their seed.
The Iroquois’ main food source was corn, beans and squash (the three sisters), and of course deer meat or other meat when available. Family gardens were separated by borders that were broad and grassy — they would even camp on these borders and sometimes they would raise watch towers.
The next festival of the Iroquois was the Strawberry Festival. This is where the people gave thanks to the Creator for their many fruits (like strawberries). It was summertime. The women gathered wild nuts and other foods, while the men hunted, fished and provided various meats for cooking. Again, each festival was greeted with much dancing and merriment. Did you know that the Iroquois believed the way to the Creator was paved with strawberries?
The festival after the Strawberry Festival was the Green 
Corn Festival. Again, the people thanked the Creator for the bounty of food that had been raised all through the summer. Dancers danced to please the Creator and musicians sang and beat the drum. Again there were many speeches to honor the people and the Creator. There were team sports. Lacrosse was the game that was most admired and it was played with great abandon by the men. Women played games, too, and often their games were as competitive as the men’s.
The festival following that was…are you ready? Thanksgiving — or the Harvest Thanksgiving. By this time the women had harvested the corn, beans and squash. Much of it would be dried. Much went to feed families. Husks were made into many different items. Dolls, rugs, mats. Did you know that the dolls didn’t have faces? Now was the time to gather more nuts and berries. Men were busy, too, hunting far away. Bear, moose, beaver were all sought after and hunted. Again, there was much celebration. Dancing, speeches, prayer. And of course — food. It was this particular festival that was shared with the newcomers to this continent.
Can you guess what the next festival was? Although this festival took place around Christmas time, it was not a celebration of Christmas — but if you guessed this, you were very close. The next and last festival of the year was New Year’s. At this time, a white dog was sacrificed as a gift to the Creator. This was also a time for renewing the mind and body. (Does that not remind you of our New Year’s resolutions?) At this time, the False Face Society members would wear masks to help others to cleanse themselves of their bad minds and restore only their good minds. There was again much celebration, much dancing, much merriment and enjoyment as each person would settle in for the long winter ahead of them.
The First Americans indeed did give this country very much, not only its festivals which we still remember to this day, but also it gave to this nation a fighting spirit for freedom. In these times when there seems to be a forgetfulness about our American roots, it is wonderful to remember that the American Indian and the Love of Freedom went hand-in-hand. I know I am thankful for my family and my husband and daughters and my granddaughter and grandson. I’m thankful to be able to travel this beautiful country. I’m thankful that I was raised in a country where one could voice one’s opinion regardless of the wishes of the “King,” even if those freedoms are not as easily found today as they once were.
Our country is not only beautiful, but it was built on solid beautiful principles.
Well, I’d love to hear your ideas on this post. Don’t forget: there will be a drawing for the gift of the original version of the mass market book, SOARING EAGLE’ EMBRACE, so please come on in tell me how you and yours celebrate the beautiful holiday we know as Thanksgiving.
This is not the original artwork for the paperback book, but it is what I have for the book that is for sale at Amazon. This artwork was done when I was publishing the work at Samhain Publishing.
KAREN KAY aka GEN BAILEY is the multi-published author of American Indian Historical Romances. She has written for such prestigious publishers as AVON/HarperCollins, Berkley/Penguin/Putnam and Samhain Publishing. KAREN KAY’S great grandmother was Choctaw Indian and Kay is honored to be able to write about the American Indian Culture.
Please refer to https://petticoatsandpistols.com/sweepstakesrules for all contest rules.
I always enjoy your posts on the history of the Indigenous Peoples. We only ever hear of the Harvest Festival, aka Thanksgiving, but we never learned a out the other festivals.
Thank you so much, Denise! I love this history and love to share it, too. Thanks for the post.
Very interesting. Never knew all this about the Native Americans. Would love to win a copy of your book. From the reviews it sounds really good. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
Hi Sarah! Thank you so much for your post and for your kind words. Means a lot to me.
Before we eat each person sitting at the table must tell something that we are thankful for.
I love this tradition. I didn’t have it growing up, but we’ve incorporated it into our own family. : )
Those were some interesting facts, some of which I did not know. My family like to go around the table and share something we are thankful for. We serve turkey, ham and a variety of sides as well as desserts.
Hi Cherie!
Wow, turkey and ham. That must be a wonderful meal. We usually have only had turkey, but at Christmas, we would often have ham, and as I grew old, sometimes roast beef. Thanks for sharing this with us today.
Always enjoy reading your blogs about Native Americans, Karen Kay.
As for Thanksgiving, I miss the family meals first with one side of the family and then the other side when I was growing up. Now, it is just my husband, daughter and me. I miss the family recipes because my family doesn’t like some of the old standards and prefer ham over turkey. It’s a lot of food and work to make a traditional Thanksgiving meal for just 3 people. But I sure miss sweet potato pies (I’m the only one that likes them).
Hi Billye!
When I was growing up, my mom would always invite friends or neighbors over to share in the Thanksgiving celebration, so we always had a lot of people for our celebration and lots of kids, too. When I grew older, my husband and I kept the tradition as best we could and often invited neighbors to our Thanksgiving celebration. Otherwise, as you mentioned, it doesn’t make sense to go to all the effort. I love pumpkin pie and I love to make it from scratch which is a lot like making a squash pie. Hope your Thanksgiving is great and thanks for your post here today, Billye.
We celebrate with family. It looks a little different every time, but turkey, cranberry orange sauce, rolls, green bean casserole, stuffing, and pies are staple. Gratitude and service abound. It warms my heart. I love November and December.
Hi K. Rees! Our celebration seems to have much the same as yours, only we usually have a spinach casserole…yum! LIke you, I love November and December! : )
celebrate with family and turkey
Thank you, bn100. Yes, we do, too!
To think that Indians were called heathens, when in fact they were very religious.
My favorite part about thanksgiving is just being with family, oh and stuffing!
Hi Rhonda!
I think when one is stealing the land and its resources from another people, the tendency is to try to degrade the people one is stealing from. Anyway, this is what I was taught and still believe might be true. Oh, my gosh, how could I have forgotten stuffing? I love it, too. I think the entire idea of Thanksgiving is very, very beautiful and I really do love this time of year.
Karen, I always learn history from your posts. Thank you for sharing so much Harvest traditions and celebrations. So interesting. Our Thanksgiving feast is traditional. We roast a turkey and let the meat rest in its juices. Oh course, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet corn, green bean casserole, and homemade bread are served and pie which I always can’t decide which kind I want to bake! The most endearing part of the celebration is that everyone must share what they are thankful for and that includes the grandkids. After dinner, I play with the grandkids outside if weather permits. We love to go ATVing through the wood and sing Jingle Bells! Ha! It is a day of gratefulness and fun. Blessings on your Harvest celebration!
Hi Kathy!
I always enjoy your insights and love how you celebrate Thanksgiving. You have reminded me that I should make some homemade rolls this year. I make our own bread and experiment with different grains for the bread, but the one I’ve found that makes the best bread is the Turkey Red Wheat — a hard grain — brought to this country by the Mennonites when they were coming here to escape oppression. Also, the 0-0 flour from Italy makes a good bread. Because we make everything from scratch, it’s quite a celebration we have. I loved how you and the grandkids go walking through the woods singing Jingle Bells! I’m going to try to do that this Thanksgiving.
Thanks for your post here today. Quite uplifting.
They were very much in touch with nature and the seasons. The most important part is that they gave thanks for what they had. Great post!!
Hi Debra! You are right. They were very much attuned to God’s Creation here on earth and they gave reverence to the Creator everyday. I love the story of the seasons, which were six, I believe. I normally think of them as being only four. I like the fact that they celebrated six.
Thanks for your generous and kind words.
I enjoyed your writing on the Indians and how they lived and celebrated God. My children go to the desert evey year so I celebrate with my husbands family. We are all strong Christians and praise God for all we have. We are truly blessed. Thank you for sharing this. I’m interested in other books you may have written. A friend sent this to me and I’m thankful for that. Now I can follow you.
Hi Nancy! Thank you so much for your kind and gracious words. It is wonderful to meet you. It is a thing with me that I tell some actual history to others. I have to do a great deal of research for my books and so I’m constantly reading history from the people who were there living it. Yes, even today, all of the Indians that I know personally are a very religious people, many of them Christian. They all believe in God and pray to Him everyday. This might be changing in our world today, I don’t know about that. But,all of the people from the tribes that I know believe in God and honor Him daily.
Good morning Karen, as usual I loved reading your post, Thank you for sharing all this info with us, I always learn something from your posts and I Thank you. Yes, we all should Thank God first for everything that we have just like they used to before our times. God gives us Everything that we need and we need to Thank Him. We celebrate Thanksgiving with our family, we either go to our daughter’s house who lives in the same town as we do or we have them over. Our son and grandson join us whenever they can. We usually have Turkey, stuffing , sweet potato casserole, salad and green bean casserole and for dessert Pumpkin Pie and Pecan Pie and sometimes a Cream cheese Pumpkin roll which my husband makes. My son in law makes the Best tasting homemade cornbread stuffing. Before we eat one our grandchildren will say Grace. We have 1 grandaughter and 2 grandsons. I love Thanksgiving and I Love Christmas. Have a great day and a great week.
Hi Alicia! Thank you so much for your kind and loving words. Loved reading about what you do for Thanksgiving. We all chip in and make things. Usually, I make the pies and the stuffing and turkey — but we celebrate Thanksgiving with our daughters and grandchildren — usually at their house. This year, if I have a moment (which I rarely do), but if I have a moment, I’d like to make the rolls, too. They aren’t too complex to do since I make all of our own bread nowadays.
Thanks for leaving your post and thanks for sharing with us today.
I enjoy reading histories about different peoples. This was very interesting. Thank you for sharing.
Thanksgiving is actually my favorite holiday. Family gathers for a delicious meal of all the traditional items and catchup with each other. We chat during the year one on one but not as a large group. Our group is only a quarter of what it used to be since my generations children moved from the area and my brother’s boys stopped coming but maybe someday they will come back even if it’s just one at a time.
Many blessings to all this Thanksgiving….
Hi Carrie! What a lovely post. It’s so nice to meet you here on the blog. Like you, I share your love of history and have my nose in a history book quite a bit. Loved reading about your Thanksgiving traditions. It is one of my favorite holidays, too. Famly gets together and we share stories. Hope the boys do come back — often over time, they do.
Many blessings to you this season!
Thank you for the blog about all the festivals the Indians celebrated throughout the year. They truly believe in the Creater, Our GOD. Thank the Lord. I was very pleased to hear they think the way to Heaven is paved with strawberries. I can sure enjoy that. The life of the Indians is very intriguing to me and learning of them is something we all should do and set aside the negativity so many carry. Thank you again. Have a blessed Thanksgiving with your family and friends. GOD bless you.
Hi Judy! Wonderful to hear from you! Yes, all these Indians believed in God and prayed to Him daily and honored Him with their celebrations. I love these little bits of history and I find their life very intriguing — I think it’s why I have my head stuck in reading history from the person who lived the story. Really brings it home to me.
Have a beautiful and yummy Thanksgiving.
I love that pic of the dogs dressed up… that made me smile from ear to ear! 🙂 My grandma’s pumpkin pie is a must have… and even though she has not been with us for many years, it is a tradition that lives on. Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi Colleen! I’m so glad you mentioned the photo. It made me smile, too! : ) Ah, I bet your grandma’s pumpkin pie was really something. Each year I make both pumpkin and pecan pie, as well as my husband and I usually do the stuffing and turkey and cranberry sauce. I love Thanksgiving. Have a wonderful one!
I have two favorite children’s books that I always read during story time at the library this time of year. They show well the Native American perspective on giving thanks all times of the year, what to be thankful for, and the essential nature of their the deities. The first can be used as a good Thanksgiving blessing, especially for little ones. What I like best is that it emphasizes the importance of being thankful every day. This one is Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message by Chief Jake Swamp (Mohawk), simple text and illustrations. The second is The Circle of Thanks: Native American Poems and Songs of Thanksgiving by Joseph Bruchac. It has a nicely illustrated collection of poems based on traditional Native songs and prayers. It draws on celebrations of thanks from a variety of different tribes. It should help us appreciate our world and all the wonderful things in it we have to be thankful for, no matter the time of year. You can appreciate the beliefs and respect behind these poems no matter what your religion is.
No need to enter my name into the giveaway. I already have the book.
I hope you and your family all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Hi Patricia B!
You know, sometimes these children’s books are a real treasure. I’m not family with Chief Jake Swamp , but I am going to try to find the book. I already have several books by Joseph Bruchac. I love his storytelling and the little details he puts in his stories. I’m going to look for these books. Thanks for mentioning it.
I am always struck by this, too, about them giving thanks and praying each day. I remember when my friend from the Blackfeet rez stayed with us for a few months, she prayed every morning on the porch outside her bedroom. And she often sang her prayers. She left little bits of the meals for God on Thanksgiving, too.
I love these Traditions.
And, I agree with you about respecting another person’s ideas and views of his Faith. Thank you, Patricia.
Hi Karen, I have been a reader of your Awesome books for years. Your, insight into the Native Americans are always informative. I didn’t know that the Iroquois celebrated so many Holidays to praise God. They appreciated the earth as we are now finding out that we should have followed their lead. Also, we need to appreciate each other more as we celebrate Thanksgiving; all of us have so much to be thankful for. That we can voice our opinions & enjoy this beautiful world. Our families gather & eat & enjoy catching up. Hope, you & yours & your families have a blessed Thanksgiving & Christmas.
Hi Lois! Thank you for your praise and your kind and generous words. Brings joy to my heart and especially in these times in which we live. Until I studied the Iroquois for 2 books that I wrote about them, I had no idea how much civilization that had brought to their people. Not only did they have these many ceremonies to show their appreciation to the Creator, they also had a ceremony to cure a man’s or a woman’s mind from the need to bring revenge to another person in another tribe — the cause of war, they thought. And before the settlers came here, they had in their own way brought peace and freedom to their people and they did not go to war. It was only with the coming of the white man’s wars (The French and Indian war and the American Revolution war) that they were lured into fighting) by the military. Not by your every day people or settler, but by the military whose job is to make war. Anyway, my admiration for the Iroquois skyrocketed with this research and to this day, I greatly admire all they did to bring peace and freedom to this land.
Really nice to see your post, Lois.