Native Nightlife Walks: 2019

L to R: Marcus Hendricks and Todd Kelley (photo: Vince DeWitt)

Click here to register for a Native Nightlife Walk.

Sponsored by Harwich Conservation Trust and Eastham Conservation Foundation, 12th generation Cape Codder Todd Kelley and native Wampanoag/Nipmuc Marcus Hendricks guide you on one of three walks exploring the cultural history and natural nightlife of Cape Cod. Learn about the lifeways of both First People (Native Americans) and old Cape Codders in relation to wildlife behaviors at dusk into nighttime and the ephemeral rhythms of moon phases. Learn why stories were told at night and how cultural knowledge and wisdom were preserved and passed on to younger generations.

Marcus & Todd share stories with the assembled group. Photo by Vince DeWitt

These walks take place close to the summer full moons in May, June, July, August, and September. For the First People, the full moon phases signaled seasonal changes in activity. They lived in concert with the elements and were not bound to a clock or calendar because the moon phases don’t fall on the same day and time annually. While we will likely not see the full moon during our walks, we will experience and discuss its influence. Choose any of the five dates to explore the many ways the natural world transitions from diurnal (daytime) to crepuscular (dawn and dusk) to nocturnal activities as day turns to night.