On Saturday, Oct. 27 from noon to 9 p.m. Honeysuckle Tea House in Chapel Hill will be holding the Full Hunter’s Moon Party to honor the First Nations of North America’s tradition to hunt the summer deer on autumn nights.
“We throw a party every month because each new moon is special for something,” Alisa Wilcher, the C.O.O. of East West Organics said. “It signals something going on, another event...and this is our way to kind of showcase it. It’s always nice to be able to throw a big party.”
At the event, there will be plenty of food, fun and music. Harmonica Bob and Near-Blind James will be playing from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., and Boricua Soul Food Truck will be catering.
The Full Hunter’s Moon Party, a celebration of the hunting traditions of First Nations people, brings up the topic of cultural representation and the effect it has.
“Cultural representation has been a very big issue in the United States for a very long time.” Keith Richotte Jr., a professor within UNC’s Department of American Studies said. “There seems to be a willingness to engage in representations of Native peoples that we don’t see in other contexts. So, for example, your Washington Redskins, or many other products, Land of Lakes butter, and so on and so forth. So folks in Native America tend to be very wary of representations unless they have significant Native participation, and sometimes even if those representations have significant Native participation are intended to be positive or intended to be celebratory, they nonetheless can fall into the same traps that more negative stereotypes can fall into, as well, too."
Students planning on attending the event said they appreciated the education and introduction into Native American culture that this event provides.
“I think this event is pretty cool because it has different music and different food.” said Cayla Ifill, a first-year student at UNC. “And I think it’s cool how it’s not just for people who understand what the event is, but more for people who want to learn more and the atmosphere is really relaxing. I think this will help people understand the perspective, it’ll expose people to Native culture more.”
