Native American Dwellings A Virtual Field Trip Created by Mrs. Gillispie 3 rd grade

Let’s Go!  Hundreds of years ago, America’s first people lived in a variety of dwellings.  Dwellings were different depending on where the people lived.  Let’s begin our trip by taking a look at a map that shows where the different tribes were located.

Wigwams  Arched poles covered with bark and brush mats.  Permanent and more solidly built form of a wickiup.  Used by Algonquian, Great Lakes, Ojibway, Delaware, Powhatan, Massachuset and Cree tribes.  Click on the picture to the left and watch a wigwam being built!

Longhouses  Elongation of the wigwam.  Wooden frame with bark sewn together for cover.  Many families shared the longhouse.  Used by Iroquois tribes such as Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora.  Let’s click on the picture to the left and watch a video clip about the Longhouse.

Chickees  Palmetto thatch over a bald cypress log frame.  Open-sided for circulation.  Used by South Eastern tribes such as the Seminoles.

TeePee  Long wooden poles form the frame.  Animal skins cover the frame.  Usually have paintings.  Lived in by Plains tribes such as Sauk & Fox, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Sioux, Blackfeet, Comanche and Pawnee.

Wickiup  Arched wooden poles covered with brush and mat.  Temporary form of wigwam.  Used for a short time while hunting.  Apache tribe used these types of dwellings.

Pueblo  Apartment style  Made of adobe, clay and dried vegetables.  More rooms could be added on top when needed.  Used by Zuni, Hopi and the Rio Grande Pueblo tribes.  Click on the picture to the left to learn more about the pueblo!

Hogans  Partially imbedded into the earth.  Resemble grass huts with a more tunnel-like opening.  The Navajo people favored the Hogans.

Bark/Grass Huts  Wood poles covered with grass and/or bark mats.  Used by California and Intermountain seed gatherers such as the Pomo.

Plank  Large cedar logs were used for a rectangular frame.  Hand split cedar formed the walls and roof.  These dwellings were often located on beaches.  Built by NW coastal tribes such as the Tlinget, Chicook and Makah.

Igloos  Domed houses built of snow blocks.  Tunnel entrances to trap heat inside.  Inner walls were lined with seal skin.  The Inuits of the Arctic region lived in igloos.  Click on the black box to see an igloo being made!

Quiz  What type of logs were used to build Plank houses?  Which type of dwelling was partially imbedded into the earth?  What type of dwelling would you build if you were an Apache out hunting?  Which dwelling was apartment style and could be added on to?