550 - Knife River Indian Village National Historic Site

It is the week of the Green Corn Ceremony in the Knife River Villages - the Mandan and Hidatsa people are preparing to celebrate the arrival of their summer crops. A hunting party has also previously returned with their game. Women’s voices sing the praises of the hunters. A dance will be held in their honor during the ceremony. Successfully hunting bison, deer, and other small prey means meat, hides, bones, and sinew for the families of the hunters. It also means that the hunters will gain respect and status within the villages - unsuccessful hunts can be crippling to a reputation.

It is still early in the season; many of the crops - like squash, beans, or sunflowers - are still growing. A feast on the first night of the ceremony will be supplemented with the remains of last year’s crops, dried corn or berries, roots, fish, and of course the meat from the hunt. After the feast, the men of the villages will fast. Inside the circular earthlodge houses, which, like the gardens, are inherited through the female line, smoke from the cooking fires is thick and spicy with sage. The meat is being divided and prepared using the sharp Knife River flint that the Hidatsa and Mandan are known for. Native peoples throughout the Americas travel to this confluence of the Missouri and Knife Rivers to trade for the expertly crafted projectile points, knives, and tools made from the quarried flint. In exchange for their tools and surplus crops, the villagers have obtained many unique goods like obsidian from Wyoming, copper from the Great Lakes, or even special tubular mollusk shells from the West Coast called Dentalium.

Only those known to possess “medicine” will be permitted to conduct the Green Corn Ceremony. Having “medicine” comes from the ownership of sacred objects and knowing the songs, stories, and prayers for spiritual communication. In this particular ceremony, some of each new crop, not just the corn, will be rubbed in bear oil and made into an offering to ensure success for the rest of the crops. Other rituals undertaken during the ceremony will focus on purification and fresh beginnings for the people of the Knife River Villages. Everyone is excited for the contributions they will make to the ceremony and the plentiful harvest yet to come.