Feast of History: Native American Strawberry Moon

In Native American culture, each full moon of each month had its own name. The names often reflected the seasons and what the Native Americans observed happening in nature around them during that month. The Wolf Moon is the full moon of January. The Snow Moon is the full moon of February. October is the Hunter Moon, May is the Flower Moon and so on.

June is the Full Strawberry Moon and also the celebration of the Summer Equinox. A time of long days and much sunlight, it was welcomed in the native cultures as a time to enjoy themselves before the full days of harvesting and preserving began.

If you would like to celebrate the summer equinox with a Native American inspired feast, here is a list of wonderful foods from the native cultures to give you some ideas! Remember the Native Americans did not have access to dairy or wheat products until the Europeans arrived. This is why I didn’t include the well known Native American dish of fry bread in the list. It was a food that came about from what was distributed to the Native peoples after they were moved onto reservations.