Eastern Woodland

Indians Tribes

Tribes
The group of Native American known as the
Woodland Indians is made up of several
tribes. These are some of the major tribes.
Delaware

Wampanoag

Huron

Narraganset

Powhatan

Iroquois

Mohawk

Oneida

Onondaga

Cayuga

Seneca

Tuscarora

Location
These tribes lived east of the Plains
in the forest areas along the
eastern part of the United States.
They lived there long before the
Europeans came to this continent.
The people of these tribes found
everything they needed to live in
the forest.

Map of
the area
the
Eastern
Woodland
Indians
lived.

Clothing

Their clothing was made mostly

from hides of animals. In the
winter, the men and women wore
shirts/skirts, leggings, and
moccasins made of buckskin.
Buckskin is clothing made from
the skins of animals, mainly
deer.

This is a picture
of the traditional
dress of men in
many of the
Eastern
Woodland tribes.

Dyed quills decorated

moccasins in red, blue
and violet. These are
Seneca quilled moccasins

Wampum
Wampum belts and necklaces were
made from wampum beads. These
beads were actually white and
purple shells. Wampum was used
as money between white man and
Indians.
Wampum belts were used as a form
of communication between Indian
tribes.

Wampum Beads

The white beads are made from the inner spiral

of the channeled whelk shell

These are some of the types of shells

used in the wampum belts created
from around 200 AD to colonial
times.

This is a sample
of a wampum
belt.

The Great Chain, or Covenant Belt, is

generally thought to be a belt presented by
the U.S. government to the Iroquois in 1794
at the Pickering Treaty at Canandaigua, N.Y.
Adapted from The Native Americans. Edited by B. & I. Ballantine. 1993

How to make dyes

The Eastern Woodland Indians

used many plants to create dyes
to dye fibers, quills/blankets, and
other items used to decorate their
clothing and household goods.

Food
Many of the Eastern Woodland
tribes hunted small game such as
deer, rabbit, and bear. Berries, nuts,
and wild plants were also used for
food.
Since their villages were usually near
the ocean, streams, or lakes, they
also fished using spears and nets.

Food
Corn, beans, and squash were the
most important crops planted. They
were known as The Three Sisters
as they were also grown together.
Many of these tribes were considered
to be excellent farmers.

Shelter

The Iroquois Indians lived in

wigwams and longhouses.

Wigwams were made

by bending young
trees to form the
round shape of the
home. Over this shape
pieces of tree bark
were overlapped to
protect the Indians
from bad weather.

Longhouses were
long rectangular
homes.
Longhouses were
made by building
a frame from
young trees.

Tools
Snowshoes made winter hunting
easier for the Iroquois. They
traveled up to 50 miles a day
wearing the snowshoes in deep
snow.

Tools
An axe was created from
stones to help with carving,
splitting, or chipping wood and
stone into the needed items.

Tools

Arrow points and

spear points were
carved from flint
stone and
attached to the
shaft for arrows
or spears as
needed by the
men using them.

Tools
The antler was used
for flaking secondary
chips and notching
the points when
making arrowheads
and spearheads

These clay beads

were found at
Matts Landing
near Port Elizabeth
on the Maurice
River in South
New Jersey

The copper beads

were found near
Beasleys Point during
the excavation for a
housing development.
Deposits of copper
have been found in
northern New Jersey.

This clay pipe was found intact on

the Riggins Farm in New Jersey.

Pots were made using clay coils,

etched with sticks and other things,
and fired in coals.

Tools
The men
created dugout
canoes from
tree logs. They
used carving
and wood
burning to
create the
canoes.

Special Groups in the Tribe

The False Face Society was a
group of medicine men who wore
frightening masks made of wood.
They were thought to posses
special powers when they put on
their masks.

Sometimes the
Indians wore
corn husks
masks or painted
their faces to
frighten away
the evil spirits.

Bibliography
http://www.co.cumberland.nj.us/facts/history/unalachtigo/unalachtigo.html , April
25,2004
http://www.reacheverychild.com/feature/native.html , April 26,2004
http://www.mce.k12tn.net/indians/reports1/iroquois2.htm#tools , April 26, 2004
http://www.nativetech.org/scenes/ April 26, 2004
http://www.picadome.fcps.net/lab/currl/nativeam/primary.htm April 26, 2004
http://www.germantown.k12.il.us/html/woodland2.html April 26, 2004
http://www.nativetech.org/wampum/wamphist.htm

April 26, 2004

http://jamaica.u.arizona.edu/ic/kmartin/School/iroqcloth.htm April 26, 2004