Mohegan Wigwam Festival
August 20, 2023 3:44 pm
• Last Updated: August 20, 2023 4:02 pm
Chali’Naru Dones, left, of Boston, dances with her grandson Dakari Mitchell, both of the Taíno Tribe, during the Wigwam Festival at Fort Shantok in Uncasville on Sunday, August 20, 2023. The annual festival, a modern version of the ancient Mohegan Thanksgiving for the Corn Harvest, was open to the public for the first time since 2019. (Sarah Gordon/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints
Albert Zamora, of Ledyard and a member of the Pequot and Navajo Tribes, helps his son Awasoous, 7, put on his dancing regalia before participating in the Grand Entry during the Wigwam Festival at Fort Shantok in Uncasville on Sunday, August 20, 2023. The annual festival, a modern version of the ancient Mohegan Thanksgiving for the Corn Harvest, was open to the public for the first time since 2019. (Sarah Gordon/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints
Josiah Hill, of Pennsylvania, a member of the Shawnee and Ojibwe Trribes, participates in an intertribal dance during the Wigwam Festival at Fort Shantok in Uncasville on Sunday, August 20, 2023. The annual festival, a modern version of the ancient Mohegan Thanksgiving for the Corn Harvest, was open to the public for the first time since 2019. (Sarah Gordon/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints
The Ottertrail Singers, a Southern Intertribal Drum group from Oklahoma, plays during the Wigwam Festival at Fort Shantok in Uncasville on Sunday, August 20, 2023. The annual festival, a modern version of the ancient Mohegan Thanksgiving for the Corn Harvest, was open to the public for the first time since 2019. (Sarah Gordon/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints
U.S. Treasurer Lynn Malerba, chief of the Mohegan Tribe, greets dancers before the Grand Entry during the Wigwam Festival at Fort Shantok in Uncasville on Sunday, August 20, 2023. The annual festival, a modern version of the ancient Mohegan Thanksgiving for the Corn Harvest, was open to the public for the first time since 2019. (Sarah Gordon/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints
Dinalyn Spears, of the Narragansett Tribe, competes in the women’s fancy shawl dance during the Wigwam Festival at Fort Shantok in Uncasville on Sunday, August 20, 2023. The annual festival, a modern version of the ancient Mohegan Thanksgiving for the Corn Harvest, was open to the public for the first time since 2019. (Sarah Gordon/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints
Dancers wait for the Grand Entry to begin during the Wigwam Festival at Fort Shantok in Uncasville on Sunday, August 20, 2023. The annual festival, a modern version of the ancient Mohegan Thanksgiving for the Corn Harvest, was open to the public for the first time since 2019. (Sarah Gordon/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints
Dancers participate in a song during the Wigwam Festival at Fort Shantok in Uncasville on Sunday, August 20, 2023. The annual festival, a modern version of the ancient Mohegan Thanksgiving for the Corn Harvest, was open to the public for the first time since 2019. (Sarah Gordon/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints
Melanie Tonepahhote, of Uncasville, a member of the Oneida Tribe, helps Mattah Wright, of New York, a member of the Shiinnecock Tribe, braid her hair during the Wigwam Festival at Fort Shantok in Uncasville on Sunday, August 20, 2023. The annual festival, a modern version of the ancient Mohegan Thanksgiving for the Corn Harvest, was open to the public for the first time since 2019. (Sarah Gordon/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints
Sookunon Jackson, of Massachuestts, a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, warms up before participating in the Grand Entry during the Wigwam Festival at Fort Shantok in Uncasville on Sunday, August 20, 2023. The annual festival, a modern version of the ancient Mohegan Thanksgiving for the Corn Harvest, was open to the public for the first time since 2019. (Sarah Gordon/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints
Dancers wait for the Grand Entry to begin during the Wigwam Festival at Fort Shantok in Uncasville on Sunday, August 20, 2023. The annual festival, a modern version of the ancient Mohegan Thanksgiving for the Corn Harvest, was open to the public for the first time since 2019. (Sarah Gordon/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints
Uncasville ― For the first time since 2019 the Mohegan Wigwam Festival at Fort Shantok was open to the public.
The annual festival, a modern version of the ancient Mohegan Thanksgiving for the Corn Harvest, is an opportunity for tribes to gather and share aspects of their culture, including crafts traditional dance and storytelling, with eachother and the community.
Last year’s festival was open to Mohegans and members of neighboring tribes while the year before that, it was limited to Mohegans due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The theme of this year’s festival was “Healing of the Bear,” a symbol of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual recovery among many Native American tribes
STORIES THAT MAY INTEREST YOU
