© 1994 - Tara Prindle
unless otherwise cited.
Scenes from the Eastern Woodlands
A Virtual Tour ~ Circa 1550
Where would you like to go?
Working inside our wigwam ... You will see where we sleep and store many of our necessary things. Father sits on a sleeping platform. These platforms are made from strong hardwood branches. Underneath the sleeping platforms, we store our supplies for hunting and fishing, for weaving and sewing and for many other activities. I watch father putting the turkey wing feather fletching on some brass tipped arrows. If the fletching is not tied down perfectly, then the arrows will not fly well. Mother sits on a mat on the floor and she prepares some food. We have a small central fire hearth in our wigwam that keeps us warm when it is cold. Because it is hot today and sunny today we will not light an inside fire, but this is where we cook when it is raining hard outside. From the second hoop of our wigwam frame, you can see the finely woven bullrush mats that line the inside of our house. They are beautifully woven, in geometric designs and colors of black and red. Sometimes the mats have blue patterns when the women use wild indigo or larkspur to dye their bullrush reeds. Father hangs his tools for tanning hides and carving wood above his sleeping place. You can see his deer mask and his snaping turtle rattle; he will use these in the special Trading Dance that will be held tomorrow. Above our doorway there is a bit of special flat cedar, which keeps our family safe. |
This series is now available as a soft-cover book: "Woodland Windows," with expanded descriptive text and additional resource materials |
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Text and Graphics
© 1994 - Tara Prindle unless otherwise cited. |