Today most of us live in wood or brick homes with central heating and running water. In the early days in the New World, things were a bit different.
Housing is always a priority, and things were no different back in Canada's early days. The Native population had several answers to the housing problem.
IGLOOS
The igloo is a house built of ice and is still in use today in more primitive areas of Canada's north. The Inuit people find them the best mode of housing, especially when away from home on hunting or fishing trips. The igloos used on such trips were smaller and only temporary homes to be used for a few nights at most.
The more permanent structure was built as one large room and several of these grouped together formed an Inuit village. The largest igloos were also temporary and used for special occasions including feast and dances.
Igloos are dome-shaped and made of blocks of ice or snow. First a hole is scooped out in the snow and this forms the lower part of the igloo. Then the blocks of snow are built in a slant inward and upwards from this base. Often a short tunnel leads to the door. This prevents the cold winds and snow blowing into the structure.
Igloos are heated by a stone lamp. This heat melts the snow until a sheet of hard ice forms, making the igloo stronger and warmer.
TEPEES, TIPIS, WIGWAMS
These are all terms for the hide or bark covered dwellings used by the majority of Native people across America. Some First Nations people still prefer them to other types of housing.
These structures were formed by a frame of branches covered with, usually, either buffalo hide or birch bark. A flap formed the doorway and a hole at the top let out the smoke from the cooking fires. Naïve tribes were mostly transient, following their food supply across the countryside. Tepees were easy to take down, carry and reassemble at the next stopping place.
These dwellings were often colorful, painted with Native symbols, animals or tribal colors.
LONGHOUSES
Another type of dwelling was the longhouse. This is exactly what the name implies - a long narrow building that could house ten or twenty families. Built of poles covered with hides, these dwellings were common to the Iroquois people of Ontario and New York.
These structures were also used on the West Coast by the Squamish Indians. These were usually occupied by an extended family and divided into individual rooms, each with its own cooking fire. These were decorated with totem emblems and a totem pole by the front door told the history of the family.
In an upcoming article, we'll look at the types of housing used by the early settlers.
