These Unique Native American Homes Will Make You Want to Redesign Your Space

Before Europeans came to North America, Native Americans were already busy building all sorts of homes, towns, and even nations across the land. They had a bunch of different traditions and ways of building things, kind of like how the landscape varies from place to place.

They made igloos out of snow to deal with the cold up north and chickees that caught the breeze in warmer spots. We're going to check out all these cool homes that indigenous folks built, and I'll show you where you can still see them today. So, let's dive in and explore!

Longhouses

Longhouses, linked to the Iroquois of North America and indigenous groups in the Pacific Northwest, were big structures covered in bark or planks, shaped like a long arbor.

They were wide enough, about 20-23 feet, to hold multiple families. Inside, a central aisle split the house into two parts, with extra storage space at one end. While families had their own areas, everyone gathered in the central aisle, where there were shared hearths.

Though not many original longhouses exist today, reconstructions, like the one at Ganondagan State Historic Site in New York, offer a glimpse into how these homes were set up, with sleeping bunks and cooking areas.

Pueblos

The term "pueblo" was first used by Spanish explorers to describe the towns they found in what's now New Mexico and Arizona. These villages were made up of multi-story apartment buildings built from stone or adobe.

To defend against intruders, the upper floors were accessible only by ladders leaning against the walls. Pueblos were meant to accommodate many families and sometimes even thousands of people, with each family having its own apartment. The buildings were clustered around central courtyards or plazas and strategically located for defense, often on steep mesas.

Thanks to their sturdy construction and the care of their residents, many pueblos are still inhabited today, like the Acoma Pueblo near Albuquerque, which has been continuously occupied for around 2,000 years according to tribal tradition.

Wetus

Wetus, domed huts used by northeastern Native American tribes like the Wampanoag, served as seasonal shelters. Found in wooded, coastal areas, these homes were temporary dwellings for families during hunting and fishing seasons.

Built from red cedar frames covered in tree bark or woven grass, wetus could accommodate multiple families, providing space for sleeping, cooking, and storing tools and food.

While no original wetus remain due to their temporary nature, reconstructions can be explored at heritage sites across the northeastern US, such as the Plymouth Patuxet Museums in Massachusetts, where visitors can experience a recreated Patuxet homesite and delve into Native American history spanning thousands of years.

Tipis

Tipis, often seen as the quintessential Native American dwelling, are conical tents made of animal hides stretched over wooden poles, mainly associated with the indigenous peoples of the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies, especially the Sioux tribes.

The term 'tipi' comes from the Dakota and Lakota languages. What sets Tipis apart are the smoke flaps that allow fires inside without damaging the structure. Portable and vital for the nomadic life of Plains peoples, tipis were arranged in circles around communal campfires, with entrances facing east toward the sunrise.

Although many tipis are still used today, they're mostly for ceremonies rather than daily living, often made with canvas instead of traditional hides.

Plank houses

Plank houses, crafted by the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest, have been a staple dwelling in North America for over 3,000 years, though documentation about their widespread use is scarce due to the nature of the building materials.

These houses were constructed from cedar logs and arranged similarly to modern American frame houses. Each cedar plank was carefully placed side by side, overlapping to keep out wind and rain, and then covered with a slanted cedar plank roof. Designed to house large extended families, plank houses were primarily used as winter residences, with more temporary shelters used in the summer.

During the long winter months, inhabitants adorned their homes with intricate carvings and paintings, celebrating their ancestors, family history, and prestige.

Wattle and daub

Wattle and daub homes were commonly used by several Native American tribes, including the Seminole, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Cherokee, mainly in what are now Mississippi, Kentucky, Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Florida.

These houses were meant to be permanent, fitting well with the farming and hunting lifestyle of the tribes. Typically built within fenced villages for protection, they were made by weaving thin branches between stakes in the ground, a technique called wattling, and then covering them with a mixture known as daub.

Daub, made by combining binders like clay or lime with aggregates such as mud or sand, was applied to bind the branches together. It could also include fibers like hair or straw for added flexibility and stability. After daubing, the entire structure was whitewashed to make it water-resistant.

Hogans

Hogans, a traditional type of dwelling and ceremonial space, are closely associated with the Navajo people of Arizona and New Mexico. These dome-shaped buildings were made from a base of logs or stones covered in compacted mud or dirt.

While lacking windows, they had a hole in the ceiling for smoke to escape and an east-facing entrance, similar to tipis. Typically, hogans consisted of a single room without internal partitions. Thanks to their adobe construction, some older hogans have survived, still serving residential and ceremonial purposes today.

Known for their energy efficiency, with the dense earth keeping them cool in summer and insulated in winter, hogans have even influenced modern architectural trends like Earthships.

Chickees

Chickees, distinctive shelters of the Seminole people in the Florida Everglades, featured raised platforms supported by poles, open sides, and thatched roofs.

Adopted during conflicts with US troops for their ease of construction and mobility compared to log cabins, each chickee in a settlement served a specific purpose like sleeping or cooking. Their design, with palmetto thatch and cypress log frames, suited the damp Everglades environment better than enclosed cabins.

Traditional chickees can be seen at Florida's Miccosukee Indian Village Museum, but their influence extends to modern architecture across the state, with chickee-inspired structures adding flair to restaurants, homes, gardens, and even campsites in Everglades National Park.

Igloos

The igloo, a familiar semi-spherical shelter, is built from tightly packed snow blocks and is traditionally associated with the Inuit peoples of the Arctic, though it's also used in parts of Canada and Greenland.

In the Inuit language, 'iglu' just means 'house,' but outside of that dialect, 'igloo' specifically refers to snow homes in a dome shape. These structures are excellent at trapping air pockets, providing insulation against freezing temperatures. The snow used needs to be of the right consistency, ideally wind-blown to help the ice crystals interlock. Blocks are carved from the ground with saws and assembled into a paraboloid shape to prevent them from collapsing.

Igloos come in various sizes, from temporary shelters to larger, semi-permanent family homes. Though not as commonly used today, they hold cultural significance for Arctic communities.

Wigwams

Wigwams, like wetus, were dome-shaped homes used by Native American groups in northeastern North America, Quebec, Ontario, and central Canada.

Constructed from arched poles covered in various materials like hides, cloth, reeds, or bark, wigwams were more circular than wetus and better equipped to withstand harsh weather. Their frames, made from flexible green saplings, were designed to resist strong winds, while the layered outer shell provided protection from rain and wind.

Just like wetus, wigwams served as temporary shelters for seasonal activities such as hunting and fishing. While original wigwams no longer exist, recreations can be found at heritage sites in the northeastern US and Canada, like the traditional Innu Wigwam at the Mokotakan open-air museum in Quebec.