The tradition continues at the annual Schemitzun festival with green corn and dancing

August 24, 2024, 7:09 p.m. • Last updated: August 24, 2024, 7:37 p.m.

Mashantucket – Marita Scott of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe gathered with her family Saturday for the Schemitzun festival of green corn and dancing at the Mashantucket Pequot Cultural Grounds.

“It’s exciting,” she said. “It’s beautiful. So many people from different nations come together – the music, the food and the regalia.”

More than 100 tribes came together for Schemitzun, a traditional corn harvest celebration on the Mashantucket Pequot cultural grounds, said Nakai Northup, a member of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and chief judge at Schemitzun.

“It’s really a great time of year here in Mashantucket where we can host everyone in our home and share the space with each other,” Northup said. He called it a time to see old friends and share good energy, good dancing and singing, and good food.

Schemitzun has always been and will continue to be open to the public, he said.

“We are open and want people to come and participate so we can tell them a little bit about ourselves,” he said.

This year, Schemitzun also welcomed the islanders of St. David and the indigenous people of Bermuda.

“In the 17th century, after the Pequot War, part of our community was sold into slavery and sent to Bermuda. We have reconnected with them in the last 30 or 40 years,” Northup said.

The Warwick Gombey Troupe from Bermuda performed Gombey dances, culture and traditions that feature West African, Native American and Caribbean influences, said Irwin Trott, founder and executive director of the Warwick Gombey Troupe and vice president of the St. David’s Islanders and Native Community. He said the indigenous community is connected to the Pequot, Wampanoag and Narragansett tribes and it had been 22 years since they had last been to that tribal territory, although they had also visited the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe since then.

Trott described the hospitality at Schemitzun as overwhelming.

“The tribe just welcomes us and welcomes us home,” Trott said.

Northup was also enthusiastic.

“It’s beautiful,” he said. “They also have a powwow every two years, so we can go there and visit them. And now they’re here with us. This is the first time they’ve been with us in a long time. It’s nice to have them back home.”

Edmond Nevaquaya, a Comanche native who served as master of ceremonies for the celebration, came from Apache, Oklahoma, for the intertribal powwow. He said nearly every nation has an annual celebration and many people travel miles to come to enjoy the fellowship: seeing old friends, making new friends and enjoying the singing and dancing.

In the Eastern Woodland Village exhibit, Lauren “Sun Turtle” Peters of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe explained the features of a traditional Eastern Woodland Village dwelling, from the longhouse where several generations of a family lived to a “three sisters garden” where corn, beans and pumpkins are planted to grow together and protect each other.

“Everyone has their place in the circle and our food reflects that,” said Peters.

Later, as a pot of soup boiled over the fire, her cousin Toodie Coombs told them that it was a tradition to offer people food as a greeting, and that people brought and carried their own bowls.

She said she really enjoyed dancing on Saturday.

“It’s healing,” she said. “It’s a long tradition.”

Schemitzun continues on Sunday. For more information and a schedule, visit https://www.schemitzun.com.

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