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Hoosier Hannah visits the famous Feast of the Hunter's Moon, a festival reenactment of the 18th Century Rendezvous of trappers and Native Americans that took place each year in September at Fort Quiatenon on the Wabash River, West Lafayette, Indiana.
Every September in Indiana, we celebrate a festival called "Feast of The Hunter's Moon." It is a colorful reenactment of the French Canadian and backwoods trappers, hunters and Indians who came down the Wabash River in their painted birch bark canoes decorated with porcupine quills to Fort Quiatenon. The colonial army of Indiana Territory maintained a fort here in Indian territory. The Native Americans, fur trappers, and colonials met at what is called a Rendezvous to trade their furs for winter supplies with the colonials who bartered their cottage industry skills of broom making, weaving, hand knit wool clothing, guns, and hand forged knives, and pots and pans. Everyone traded at the Fort for supplies of salt, sugar, coffee, tea, flour and cured pork bacon. The Rendezvous event lasted for several days of hard trading and at night the Native Americans performed ceremonial dances around the campfires ringing the Fort. The 38th Annual Feast of the Hunter's Moon takes place in West Lafayette Indiana this weekend, 24 and 25 September at Fort Quiatenon Historic Park, an immensely popular and colorful reenactment of the great Rendezvous of the 18th century. People from all over Indiana come to reenact the event, wearing the authentic army uniforms or trapper garb of the time. They bivouac on the grounds around campfires in their canvas tents. The trappers and Indians paddle down the Wabash River in their hand-made and hand-decorated birch-bark canoes and boats. They land, as of old, at Fort Quiatenon to the welcoming sound of canon fire from the Fort. They are met by hundreds of reenactors in army and colonial dress of the period who mingle with the 'mundane' visitors on the shore to greet the arrival of the canoes. They come in row upon row to land beneath the fort and drag their canoes onto the narrow beach of the landing. The trappers and Indians are welcomed to cheers from the crowds and escorted up the embankment to the Fort by the reenactors. During these two days, the Native Americans dress in their native costumes and put on Native Dances to celebrate The Feast of the Hunters Moon, which was an original Native American Festival in the first place. We watch and applaud the ceremonial dances sitting on bales of hay placed in a huge circle around the performers.
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