Eastern Woodland Native Americans
The Native Americans in the Eastern Woodland Culture lived east of the PlainsNative Americans. At that time much of the land between the Mississippi River and the Atlantic Ocean was covered with forest. The Native Americans could be found from Canada to the Ohio Valley.
This group , like the tribes of the other cultures depended on the natural resources around them for all of their basic needs. Because this group lived in the forests, they were called the Eastern Woodland Indians. Their food, shelter, clothing, weapons, and tools came from the forests around them. They lived in villages near a lake or stream.
There were many diverse tribes within the Eastern Woodland People.
The most well known was the Iroquois nation. The Iroquois Indians lived in the Northeastern part of the Woodland Culture.
Today we call this part of our country New York. This group lived in wigwams and longhouses. Wigwams were made by bending young trees to form the round shape of the home. Over this shape, pieces of tree bark were overlapped to protect the Indians from bad weather. Over the bark a layer of thatch, or dried grass, was added. A small hole cut from the top allowed smoke from the fires to escape. Beds were matted and covered with animal skin. Approximately ten to twelve people could live in the wigwam. These houses could be unassembled and carried to another location.
Longhouses were long rectangular homes. Longhouses were made by building a frame from saplings, or young trees. They were then covered with bark sewn together. There was a long hallway with rooms on both sides. Sleeping platforms, covered with deerskin, lined each wall. There were also shelves for storing baskets, pots, and other things. Several families would live in the long house, and the families had to be related to each other. The Iroquois built log walls around their villages. The wall had only one opening. They could quickly close this opening if their enemies came near.
The Eastern Woodland Native Americans found their food by hunting, fishing, and gathering berries, fruits, and nuts. They also cleared the land and planted large fields of corn, beans, and squash which Native Americans called “the three sisters”. The Eastern Woodland’s used a bow and arrow to hunt. They would sometimes wear the skin of a deer over their body to sneak up on the deer.
During the winter the Indians tapped the maple trees for syrup. They cooked this syrup for many hours until sugar was formed in the large pots. Today this is known as maple syrup.
Many tribes in the Eastern Woodlands group had its own language and customs.
Women raised crops and cooked the meals. Men hunted animals and Fished. Boys learned from their fathers, how to hunt and to fish, and girls learned from their mothers how to raise crops and to cook meals. The skins of animals such as deer and bear, were made into clothing and blankets by the women.
They used feathers to make clothing and decorations. They shaped bones into tools. From deer came not only food and clothing, but also string, rattles, glue, and arrowheads.
These were some of the first Native Americans that came into contact with people from Europe. Their tribes were greatly diminished because of the diseases that they contracted from the newcomers.
Many kinds of trees grew in the woodlands, and the Indians used them in different ways. They made shelters, canoes, and baskets from the bark of birch trees. They peeled the white bark from the tree in large sheets. The thin sheets of birch bark were lightweight. They used these large sheets of birch bark to cover their houses, called wigwams.
The Indians also used birch bark to make canoes. First, they formed the bark into the shape of a canoe. Next, they built a wooden frame for the inside of the canoe. Then they used split tree roots to sew the frame to the bark. Finally, they covered the seams in the birch bark with pitch, a dark sticky material from certain types of evergreen trees.
In places where birch trees did not grow, the Indians made canoes from pines, oaks, and other kinds of trees.
These tribes also used the natural resources around them to make everything they needed.
Natural resources are the things foun in nature that are not manmade.
Birch bark canoes were used for carrying the Native Americans and their loads in the summer months. Its high ends and sides which curved upward toward the center, kept it from taking on water in rough seas.
The birch bark canoe was graceful and practical. They were light enough to carry easily but strong enough to transport a family with its possessions.
This group of Native Americans lived in villages.
The cheif and the Medicine Man were an important part of the group.