| All about the
Eastern |
Powhatans |
Homes
 |
Food |
Jobs/Hobbies  |
Transportation |
Colthing/Art/Tools   |
Webquest
(Resources) |
All About the Eastern Woodland Tribes  The Eastern Woodland Indian were made up of many tribes. The most known of these tribes were the Powhatan, Mohawks, Iroqoius, and the Susquehanna. Most of these tribes belonged to a group of tribes called the Iroquois Nation. The Iroquois tribes all took animals as there tribal symbol and would mark all of their communications between each other with that symbol. Also when the tribes would meet the chiefs of the different tribes would always wear a animl skin that was designed to look like the tribes sacred animal. The Eastern Woodland Indians inhabited a wide area in the eastern part of the United States that extended eastward from the Mississippi River, through the Great Lakes region, to the Atlantic Ocean. The inhabitants in this region were forest dwellers living in a vastly wooded area that extended, not only from Lake Superior to the Atlantic Ocean, but south from Canada into the southern states of Kentucky and Virginia. Go back to the top |
Powhatans Many people don't say this tribes name correctly. The Powhatan tribe is pronounced (Pow, which rhyme s witheved to be named
after Chief Powhatan's home. The Powhatans are
famous for interacting with the English settlers in Jamestown. They helped
the English settlers learn how to use the land to help survive in this
harse new world. In exchange the English showed the Powhatans how to
use guns, and make their tools better. The two most famous Powhatan Indians were Chief Powhatan, and his daughter Pocahontas. A lot of stories told about Pocahontas are not true. Pocahontas was only eleven years old when she met John Smith, and they did not have a romance. The story about Pocahontas saving his life may not be true either. But Pocahontas really did marry another English colonist, John Rolfe. Pocahontas was only 21 when she died, but many people are descended from her son Thomas.  Originally, there were many different Algonquian tribes in Virginia, including the Powhatan, Pamunkey, Mattaponi, and Chickahominy tribes. They shared the same language and culture, but each village was independent from the others. In the 16th century, Chief Powhatan united all these villages into the Powhatan Confederacy. Many villages joined the Powhatan Confederacy willingly. Others were conquered by Chief Powhatan. Most of the Powhatans lived in present-day Virginia around the tidewater  region. Many
of the descendants of the Powhatans still live in Virginia, but many
were forced to move to Pennsylvania and New Jersey during President
Jackson's push for expansion of the United States. The
Tidewater
Region of Virginia is mostly made up of many wooded areas, with a few
grassy hills that all were close to the Atlantic Ocean. The Powhatans
and many of the Eastern Woodland tribes would build their homes near
water because it allowed them to easily find food, as well as they had
a constant source of water.The
Powhatans and many of the other Eastern Woodland tribes were trying to
protect themseles from the waring faction of the Eastern Woodland
tribes, which were the Iroqouis. Most of the Eastern Woodland tribes
would eventually be taken over and form under what we now know as the
Iroqouis Nation. The Powhatan Indians spoke a language that was common to many of the Eastern Woodland tribes. The Powhatan Indians speak English today. The Powhatan language, also known as Virginia Algonquian, has not been spoken in centuries. Some Powhatan Indians continue to use Powhatan today for cultural and religious purposes, the way Italians may use Latin words today. Here are some common Powhatan words. Go back to the top |
Homes 
All of the Eastern Woodland
tribes, which include the Powhatan, were a stationary tribe.
This meant
that the tribes did not move very much, except when they were in search
of food. This meant that they needed to create their own types of
shelter. The Eastern Woodland tribes lived in homes called
"longhouses", which all varied in size depending on how big of an area
they had to use, as well as how many families were going to live in
them. It was not uncommon to see 20 different families living in one
longhouse. The longhouses were rectangular in shape, used saplings
(baby trees), and branches for the frames. The branches were then woven
together using the bark from the trees. Most Eastern Woodland tribes
would then use animal skins, wood, and hay to construct their homes. Like most longhouses used by the Eastern Woodland Indians, they contained shelves  that could be used
for storing food, equipment, and tools. While it was common for the
Indians to sleep on the floor,
some homes had platforms or racks that could be used as beds or chairs.
The  Indians in these
homes slept on platforms lined with deerskin on each wall. In
the center
of this longhouse was an area to build a fire which was used
for keeping warm in the winter or for cooking during rainy
weather. Some larger longhouses might contain more than one place to
build a fire. A hole built into the top of the longhouse served as a
chimney to allow smoke to rise from the fire and ventilate to the
outside.  Most of the
longhomes also would include shelves and drying racks where they would
put the skins of the animals they killed
to dry to use in their clothing, as food, and as part of new homes. Go back to the top |
Food The
Northeastern Woodland Indians were expert farmers and farming was the
main focus of their lives. Though primarily farmers, they were also
skilled hunters and animals were a staple in their diets. The Indians
also fished the fresh waters of the many  rivers
and streams throughout the region using hooks, spears, and nets. Tribes
along the coastal Atlantic waters also dug for shellfish such as
oysters and clams.Many
tribes planted corn, beans, and squash which they called the "Three
Sisters". In addition to the three principal crops, gourds, Jerusalem
artichokes, melons, pumpkins, sunflowers and tobacco were also grown.
They also gathered seeds, berries, and nuts. They dried berries, corn,
fish, meat and squash for the winter.Deer were abundant in the meadows and hunting grounds of the Woodland Indians and was probably the most important animal to the  Woodland
Indians. Deer were used for clothing, moccasins, and food. The antlers
were used for arrowheads and the hooves were used for glue. To prepare
a deer hide they placed the skin in a running brook, preferably with a
clay bottom. This loosened the hair that was then scraped off
the
hide. In addition to deer, the Woodland Indians also hunted rabbits,
bear, squirrel, beaver,  and other animals that could
be found in the region.Fires were built in the middle of the longhouse and shared by two families, one on each side. Cooking methods included boiling and roasting, and most meals incorporated a soup or stew prepared in a simple black clay pottery or bark container. During good weather a fire for cooking was built outside of the longhouse where women roasted the meat over an open fire. During inclement weather cooking was done indoors. |
Jobs The Northeastern Woodland Indians had their own farm plot and each member of the family had
an important responsibility. The women of the family were responsible
for gathering wild plants, such as berries, nuts, and edible plants and
flowers. The men's responsibility was to hunt, fish, and fell trees to
make canoes. Many of the Eastern Woodland tribes were not nomadic and
relied on agriculture to provide food for the tribe. Being expert
farmers, farming was the main focus of their lives. The Iroquois lived
in areas that provided good farm land and the Powhatan also cultivated
the land for food.Women usually did the cultivating after the men had cleared the land and, along with their children, spent a lot of time in the fields during the spring and summer seasons. It was probably the women who experimented with agricultural techniques that resulted in the successful cultivation of domestic crops. The
women in a Powhatan, or Eastern Woodland tribe held a very high role.
They lived in what is called a matriarchal society, which just
means women were the most important. This was due to the fact that the
Eastern Woodland tribes believed that eaverything had a spirit and that
the most important spirit was called "Mother Nature". Since women were
the ones who cared for the children they were "kindred spirits" to
mother nature. The  children mostly got to play
during the day when they were young. Children were expected to go into the
gardens to help their parents work everyday. Boys would go out with the
men of the tribe and learn how to hunt, track, and gather food for the
tribe. Their main job was to learn how to be a Powhatan Indian. At the
age of ten, boys would be blindfolded and taken out to somewhere in the
woods. If they were able to make it back to the village, and many did
not, then the tribe had a huge celebration to celebrate them entering
manhood. They were then expected to go on hunts, protect the village
and the tribe, as well as find a wife. The girls were taught by their
mothers how to be a good wife. They were taught how to farm, how to
take care of the children, how to make clothing, and were expected to
marry by their eleventh birthday. Go back to the top |
| Transportation The Eastern Woodland tribes were not nomadic tribes, which means they did not move around.
Their homes were built on the ground and were not easily moved.
However, there were times when it was necessary for them to move
around. Some of the reasons they may have needed to move around were
for hunting, gathering of food, when there was a drought, if an enemy
was trying to envade, or food was scarce in the area they were in. When
times like these occured they would dug-out canoes to get around which
enabled them to travel over water for short distances, follow food that
uses water to try and escape, and to fish easier using nets. The
Powhatans would also walk every where they went. Since they were not
nomadic they did not need to walk far, so it was not a big deal. Though
it would not be out of the ordinary if you saw someone walk three days
to get where they needed to go, or in search of food.The Eastern Woodland tribes were one of the first to use animals to help them. The  Powhatans would use the
dogs/wolves to help them hunt by scaring the animals and then shooting
them with their bows and arrows. Some of the Powhatans would use the
dogs to help them carry their hunting supplies and carry the food back
to the village. The thing about these dogs are that they were free,
they were not a pet and so were allowed to roam free, but they still
hung around the villages. Many of the Eastern Woodland tribes believed
that this was because the dogs were the spirits of their ancestors
helping them to survive. Go back to the top |
Art, Clothing, and Tools Powhatan
warriors used tomahawks or heavy wooden war clubs. They also carried
shields to protect them from animal attacks, as well as attacks from a
waring tribe. Powhatan hunters used bows and arrows. Fishermen used
nets and pronged spears to catch fish from their canoes. All of these
tools were made from animals that they had killed. No part of an animal
was wasted because they felt that if they wasted something the spirits
would retailate against them and something bad would happen to the
tribe or to  them
individually. Some examples of ways they used the whole animal are they
would use the stomachs of animals to hold water, they would use the
bones and teeth to make their tools/weapons, and they would even use
the bones to create pipes and spoons. Powhatans usually wore a beaded headband with a feather in it. They painted their faces and bodies with different colors and designs for different occasions, and both men
and women often wore tattooes. Powhatan women wore knee-length skirts
and the men wore breechcloths with leather pant legs tied on if the
weather was cool. Traditionally the Powhatans did not wear shirts,
although they did wear cloaks made of turkey feathers or furs in
the winter. Both genders wore earrings and moccasins on their feet.
Today, some Powhatan people still have traditional headbands or
moccasins, but they wear clothes from today like jeans instead of
breechcloths and they only wear feathers in their hair on special
occasions. The
Powhatan Indians are known for their beadwork and
basketry.
The Powhatans crafted wampum out of white and purple seashells or shell
beads. Wampum beads were strung together in many different
patterns. The designs usually told stories about
important
events or a family. Wampum was used like money. The
Powhatans would trade the white man wampum for
goods.
Wampum belts would be made into pictures showing the reason it was
made. All Indian messengers carried wampum belts when going to other
tribes because they were used as a form of communication between Indian
tribes. The baskets that the Powhatan Indians would weave,
were
made from the bark of trees. They coated the  baskets
with pine pitch to make them waterproof. They were very light
in
weight. The Powhatans used these baskets for gathering
berries,
nuts, water, corn, beans, and squash.Go back to the top |
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