Red Moon Gourd Dance Clan...

[David Flick]

My hometown is Hammon, Oklahoma. Hammon was established in June of 1894 and was named for James H Hammon, an Indian Agent with the US Government. Mr. Hammon was sent to the location to establish the Red Moon Agency to provide government assistance for a Cheyenne village headed by . Between 1898 and 1910, white settlers migrated to the location and built the small town that became Hammon. My great-grandfather, migrated to Hammon from French Lick, Indiana in 1907.

The place now called Hammon is commonly referred to in the Cheyenne tongue as "Ese'hohma'aheveno" ("Red Moon's Village"). Almost all references to the Cheyenne community in Hammon are associated in some way with the name Red Moon. Annually, on the Memorial Day weekend, the big Red Moon powwow is held 2 miles northeast of Hammon and 1 mile (as the crow flies) southeast of the house where I was raised. Two years ago at the annual powwow, local tribal headsmen organized the Red Moon Clan. Members of the Red Moon Gourd Dance Clan are all from Hammon or have married people from Hammon.