Understand Native Minnesota: Tahecapṡuŋ Wi

Tahecapṡuŋ Wi (Deer Break Off Antlers Moon) starts today for the Dakota people. It was during this moon that deer would go into rut. Bucks would fight with each other. They would sometimes hit each other so hard that their antlers would break off.

Dakota people would not hunt deer during this time. Instead, time was used for preparing their winter camps and finalizing their winter food storage systems. Today, you can still see buck scrapings and broken antlers on the ground while the bucks are in rut. The male deer do not naturally shed their antlers until January.

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