Native American Shelters
Longhouses and Wigwams
Did you know…
• Long houses can be 200 feet long and 20 feet
wide?
Did You Know…
• Long houses were made of upright logs and
cross poles, and covered with elm bark.
Did You Know…
The compartments in the longhouse were
separated from each other by skin or bark
partitions sometimes made into closets.
Did you know…
• Wigwams are Native American houses used by
Algonquian Indians?
Did You Know…
• Wigwams are small houses usually 8-10 feet
tall. About 1 family will be able to fit in a
wigwam.
Did you know…
• Wigwams are made of wooden frames which
are covered with woven mats and sheets of
birch bark.
Did you know…
Longhouses are good homes for people that
stay in the same place for a long time.
Did you know…
• For protection against enemies, they built
palisades or walls made of tall wooden poles
around their village.
Did you know…
• In the winter they sleep on the ground to get
closer to the fire for warmth. In the summer they
slept up high on stilts so fleas wouldn’t bite them.
Did you know…
The frame of the longhouse was made of poles
cut from young trees. The poles were bent
and tied and then covered with bark.
Did you know…
• When it rained or snowed the smoke holes of the
longhouse were closed. During those times, the
longhouses were filled with smoke. Many long
house dwellers suffered from loss of eye sight as
a result to the smoke.
Did you know…
• In the wigwam they did not sleep on beds
they slept on animal skin.
Did you know…
• On top of every longhouse door there is a
carved symbol of their clan.
Did you know…
• When you lifted the bark door attached at the
top, you looked down a center aisle all the
way to the other end. This aisle was about 8
feet wide.
Vocabulary
• Longhouse-a long house that can fit up to 20
families.
• Wigwam- a short house 8-10 feet tall usually used
for short stays.
• Algonquian- an Indian tribe.
• Palisades- walls made of tall wooden poles to
protect the people of the long houses.
• Clan- clans are a large group of Native Americans
mostly made up of relatives.
Thank you for watching!!!
By: Madelyn, Maddie,
Lucas and Dylan
Please watch this video on making
long houses!!!
Click here to watch
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