Aboriginal People in Upper Canada The Wendat The Anishinabe Southern part of Upper Canada Northern part of Upper Canada

The Wendat People Shelter

Wendat Village The Wendat people settled (lived) in large villages of up to 1000 or more people. They built walls around their village to protect themselves from attacks from enemies. Thirty to sixty people often would live in one longhouse.

Longhouses Wendat homes were called longhouses.

Longhouses (Wendat) Many families lived together in one longhouse. Each family was given their own section (space) in the longhouse. Fireplaces and fire pits ran down the middle of the longhouse for heat and for people to share as a place to cook food.  Longhouses were huge! A longhouse were between 20 meters to 40 meters long, and 7 meters to 10 meters wide, and 10 meters high.  But longhouses were not measured by meters. They were measured by camp fires. A house might be 10 fires long, or 12 fires long or even bigger.  Longhouses were so important to the Wendat way of life that the Wendat called themselves "the People of the Longhouse“.

The Longhouse The Wendat built shelters called longhouses. Farming was important to the Wendat people. There were usually two or more longhouses in a village. The village would be moved after about 10 – 15 years, because crops would not grow as well after that long. Many families lived together in one longhouse. Each family was assigned their own section in the longhouse. Fireplaces and fire pits ran down the middle of the longhouse for heat and for people to share as a place to cook food.  Longhouses were huge! A longhouse could be over 200 feet long, 25 feet wide, and 25 feet high.  But longhouses were not measured by feet. They were measured by camp fires. A house might be 10 fires long, or 12 fires long or even bigger.  Longhouses were so important to the Iroquois way of life that the Iroquois call themselves "the People of the Longhouse".

Thirty to sixty people often would live in one longhouse Thirty to sixty people often would live in one longhouse. They were built by sticking wooden poles into the ground. The poles were bent over and tied together at the top. Pieces of bark were used to cover the wooden frame. The inside often had food hanging from the wooden frame. Each family had a small space of about 2 metres by 3 metres.

Stored Food Food was often hung from the frame of the longhouse.

Farming provided most of the Wendat’s food. The Wendat grew fruits and vegetables such as: Corn beans squash pumpkins

The Anishinabe Shelter The anishinabe lived in small camps. Each family live in their own wigwam.

Wigwams bent poles covered with sheets of bark or animal skins

Wigwams The Anishinabe lived in wigwams. A wigwam was a dome-shaped building. It had a wooden frame made from young trees. The wooden frame was covered with bark and animal skins. The Anishinabe put spruce tree branches on the wigwam floor. They covered the branches with animal skins. In the middle of the wigwam they made a fire to stay warm and to cook with. Wigwams could be built in a day by bending peeled green ironwood saplings into arches; lashing the arches into a circular or oval shape with basswood fiber; and weaving birch bark strips or rush, cedar bark, or cattail mats around the saplings. The dwelling had two openings, a door and a hole on top to emit smoke from the cooking fire located directly below. When they moved to another camp, the Ojibwa left the frame, taking the lightweight birch bark strips and rush mats. During warm months the Ojibwa slept on cedar bough mattresses, each person wrapped in a bearskin or deerskin robe. Read more: Ojibwa - History, Migration to the great lakes http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Le-Pa/Ojibwa.html#ixzz1eP2uL9nJ

The Anishinabe lived in small camps or villages The Anishinabe lived in small camps or villages. Each camp only had a few homes. One family lived in each home. Their homes could not be moved like teepees, but were smaller and easier to build than longhouses. They did some farming, but mainly they were hunters. Animals such as moose moved around. Moose lived in one area in winter and another in summer. The Anishinabe would follow them.

Transportation (Wendat and Anishinabe) snowshoes walking canoe