Iroquois Indian Longhouse
Iroquois was actually a confederation of six Native American nations including Mohawk, Oneida , Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora. It was a very powerful and prominent American Indian tribe.
Iroquois people are also known as “Iroquois Indians.” They were broadly the native North American Indian people. Seneca Indians are the westernmost Nation within the Six Nations or Iroquois League.
Iroquois Indian people called themselves Haudenosaunee, which meant “people who live in the extended longhouses.” Actually the type of dwelling that Iroquois Indians used to live is known as a longhouse or Iroquois Indian longhouse. An Iroquois Indian longhouse used to be a long, narrow, big single room. It was so spacious that as many as twenty families or more could live in it.
Longhouses were built by the Native American Indians, and many inhabitants of Asia and Europe . Generally Iroquois Indian longhouses were 100 meters long and 5 to 7 meters wide. They were built by setting poles in the ground. Horizontal poles were used to support the vertical poles. A series of poles were bent to create the shape of roof of the longhouses. The frames of the longhouses were made by sewing bark and using that as shingles.
Iroquois Indian longhouses were usually covered with animal skins during the winters to keep the inside warm. The longhouses had wooden platform booths that were used for sleeping. They had doors on both ends, but no windows. The only other openings in the house were at the ceiling. The inside of the houses were usually dark. The fire pits were located in the hallway, which were shared by the families. There were holes to let the fire pit smoke to escape. These holes also provided some natural light.
Iroquois Indian longhouses are only used for ceremonial purposes nowadays. The North American Indian people live in modern houses and apartment buildings today.
Please send any comments directly to the author, Joseph Paige.