Acorn Feast

The Hupa people reside in the Hupa Valley in Northern California, through which the Trinity River flows prior to its junction with the Klamath River.
The United States designated their land a reservation in 1864. By the end of the century, there were fewer than 500 residents. The Hupa had two main ceremonies each year, the First Salmon Rite in the spring and the Acorn feast in the fall, both foods being major components in their diet. The Acorn feast gained added significance as being one of the few ceremonies among Native Americans of the Northwest that were overseen and led by women.

The Acorn fest would begin as the nuts began to drop from the local oak trees each fall. A female officiant would gather the first acorns to reach the ground, cook them, and prepare them with appropriate prayers and ritual actions. When the ritual was completed, the acorns would be offered to the group for consumption.

The ritual appears to have been abandoned through much of the 20th century, as the Hupa people adopted Christianity and acorn flour became less important in their diet; but in 1989, for the first time in more than 50 years, it was again revived. It is now seen as part of their cultural heritage.

References
Goddard, Pliny E. Life and Culture of the Hupa. Berkeley: University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology, 1903–1904. Hirschfelder, Arlene, and Paulette Molin. Encyclopedia of Native American Religions. New York: Facts on File, 2000.

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