©Grand River Conservation Authority
You got it! Woodland people lived in longhouses. The frame was built from small trees called saplings and covered with bark. Sometimes they were covered with mats that had been woven from cattails.
Wisconsin Historical Collection Image	Many families lived in a longhouse. The families were part of the same clan. People sat and slept on mats along the edges. Fires to heat the house and to cook were built in the middle of the house. Small holes in the top of the longhouse let the smoke out.
The Iroquois built strong fences, called palisades, around their villages to keep out enemies. The villagers met in the center of the village for meetings and ceremonies. They were farmers and grew their crops on the outside of the palisade.
	Some woodland people, especially of the Algonquin family, lived in wigwams. Wigwams were built like longhouses with saplings bent in a dome shape for a frame covered with bark or grasses, but they were much smaller. Only one family lived in a wigwam. The tribes who used wigwams tended to move around often to good hunting grounds. These kind of people were called hunters and gatherers.

Click on the arrowhead to learn about plants in the region.

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