The twelfth day of Christmas or Twelfth Night, is known as Kings Day at Turtle Mountain. In Catholic tradition, it is the Feast of Epiphany, honoring the three wise men who traveled to Bethlehem to see the Christ Child.
A boy born on this day at Turtle Mountain was entitled to the name "King" in addition to his given name. King Summer was a full-blood Chippewa who went by no other first name. Other notable individuals named King include tribal councilman Gregory Riel King Davis and musician Eddie King Johnson.
Kings Day marked the end of the New Year celebration, a week of feasting, dancing, and visiting. The sound of sleigh bells rang through the cold air as families visited elders, relatives, and neighbors, wishing them "La Bun Annee." At midnight on January 1, gunshots fired into the sky signaled the start of the festivities. Some households continued the nightly salute. One neighbor would shoot his gun twice at midnight and yell, "La Bon Annee!"
Fiddle music and French songs were common at many homes. Furniture was moved aside to make room for waltzing, square dancing, and the lively Red River Jig, a mix of Indigenous and European steps. Mary Jane Davis recalled that the dancing continued until 5 or 6 in the morning, with no drinking or fighting, just people enjoying each other’s company.
Visiting elders and relatives was the central focus of the celebration, as families were often isolated by snow until spring. A custom involved kneeling to receive blessings from the elders for the new year.
Elders were served first, and the table was cleared and reset until the younger guests ate all they could hold. The New Year feast featured bullets and bangs, French terms for meatballs and frybread, along with light bread made with yeast and baking powder bread known as gullet. Bullets were rolled in flour and cooked in a pot, often with potatoes and onions. Too-cayr, a ground pork pie with wild cranberry sauce, might also be served, along with fresh butter, home-canned wild berry sauce, or preserves. There were also raisin pies, juneberry pies, and home-canned peaches and plums.
Rita Gourneau remembered visiting her great aunt’s house after her grandfather’s. She wrote, "As soon as we got to Aunt Maggie’s, we were seated at the table, even though we had just come from the previous meal. For once, we ate small portions and hoped we wouldn’t be urged to eat pie!"
Dakota Datebook by Lise Erdrich
Sources:
- Turtle Mountain New Year by Rita Gourneau Erdrich. The Turtle Mountain Times, date unknown.
- Lise Croonenberghs. Day In, Day Out: Women's Lives in North Dakota. Pages 59-69. University of North Dakota Press, 1989.
- Laurence Barkwell. Metis Holidays and Celebrations. Louis Riel Institute. Page 148-230.
- https://www.metismuseum.ca/media/document.php/148230.Metis%20Holidays%20and%20Celebrations.pdf
