Daily Life in Olden Times Northeast Iroquois Nation Longhouses     Because animal and plant life were plentiful, big groups could live easily together. Clans lived in longhouses. The distinctive clan longhouses were really long - they could be over 200 feet long, 25 feet wide, and 25 feet high. That's huge! To get an idea of how big they were, measure the distance from floor to ceiling in your own house. Building a longhouse was hard work, and it took a long time. First, the people had to gather the materials - the wood and the hides. Since nothing could be wasted, it was not the gathering of materials that took a long time - it was using every part of every piece they gathered, as the materials they needed to build a longhouse began to pile up. First, they made a frame out of long poles of wood. Then, they tied young trees to the frame, trees young enough to bend and shape. Once they had the shape of the longhouse in place, they covered the house with bark. They added a few smoke holes and two doors - one at each end. The Iroquois rigged a flap on the smoke holes. When it snowed or rained, the holes could be opened and closed as needed. Later, the people might go back and add to the longhouse, making it even longer as needed. Longhouses, once built, lasted about twenty years. Many longhouses had a huge pole fence built around them for additional protection. Stairs were built on the inside of the fence, so that archers could easily climb up and defend against attack. The poles ended in long sharp points to discourage anyone from climbing over. Many families lived together in one longhouse. Each was assigned their own section. Fireplaces and fire pits ran down the middle of the longhouse for heat and for people to share as a place to cook food. Houses were not measured by feet. They were measured by camp fires. A house might be 10 fires long, or 12 fires long. Longhouses were so important to the Iroquois way of life that the Iroquois call themselves "the People of the Longhouse".   Return to the Iroquois Index Free Presentations in PowerPoint format  Free Clip Art Return to the Northeast Indians Index   or the Native American Index  All Rights Reserved    Clip Art Credit: Phillip Martin Have a great year!