THE INDIAN NAMES FOR THE MONTHS OR MOONS
he moon goes through its changes from new moon to new moon in twenty-eight days. The Indians reckon their time of year by these changes in the Night Sun, as they call the moon.
Tribes living in different parts of America have various names for the months, which they call Moons. They all keep their calendar hung in the sky, and it is never lost for any length of time. They have given these moons names after what interests them most.
One nation has named them in the following way. The month in our calendar is also given, so that you can easily guess the Indian’s reason for his name for the month.
| January | The Cold Moon. |
| February | The Snow Moon. |
| March | The Green Moon. |
| April | The Moon of Plants. |
| May | The Moon of Flowers. |
| June | The Hot Moon.[[40]] |
| July | The Moon of the Deer. |
| August | The Sturgeon Moon. |
| September | The Fruit Moon. |
| October | The Traveling Moon. |
| November | The Beaver Moon. |
| December | The Hunting Moon. |
If you were spending the year among the Sioux or Dakotas, little Winona might tell you that January is the Hard Moon.
February is when the braves and the boys take their dogs and hunt the raccoon; hence, they call it the ’Coon Moon.
The Sioux have lived for a long time in the north. They know the effect of the bright sunshine of March when it shines upon the snowdrifts. It is called the Moon of Snow-blindness.
April is the Egg Moon. It is the moon when the wild geese lay their eggs, and the Indians gather them for food. The next time you watch the dark triangle of wild geese flying northward, you can say it is near the time of the Egg Moon of the Dakotas.
May is the Planting Moon. What! You did not know that the copper-colored people planted anything? Oh, yes, they do! Remember our maize, or Indian corn, is one great gift from them.
June has the prettiest name. Bright, beautiful June that we all love. It is the Strawberry Moon. The [[41]]luscious wild strawberries are more delicate in flavor than any grown in the gardens. The wild Indian has many dainties.
July, our red-white-and-blue month, is their Moon of Red Lilies. Has it ever been your good fortune to see a vast tract of land covered with these gorgeous wild tiger-lilies? O Moon of Red Lilies, how beautiful you make our western prairies! In this same moon the wild cherry is ripe, and many tribes know it as the Cherry Moon.
August is the Ripe Moon. Have you ever heard of the Harvest Moon? Is not that nearly the same name? Seeds from thistle and the milkweed are filling the air with their downy carriers. Wild grasses and grains are ready for the gatherers, and the maize will shortly be ready for the harvest.
While at Lake Superior, some time ago, we saw Chippewa Indians in their birch-bark canoes, anchored in what seemed to be a very reedy bay. We found out that the bay was filled with wild rice instead of reeds and rushes. It was the time of their wild-rice gathering. Two moons are given names referring to wild rice: September is the Ripe-rice Moon; October is often called the Harvest Moon. With plenty of maize and wild rice the winter is not dreaded. The Indian puts away his winter stores with much the same care that his white brother uses; he stores corn in pits [[42]]that he digs in the earth. He could learn this from the squirrel.
November is the Moon of Michabo, or Indian Summer. Michabo is another name for Menabozho, the Chippewa Indian’s manitou friend; he has given them this second summer of the year, they believe.
December is the Moon of Dropping Horns. The deer lose their long antlers about this time, and the Indians can find them in the forests where the deer trails are.
The Indians have twelve moons in their year, the same number that we have in our calendar. [[43]]
Mokis ready for a Sacred Dance
From a Photograph
[[44]]
