Daily Life in Olden Times Woodland Ojibwa/Chippewa Indians Homes/Wigwams   Today, Native Americans live in houses just like yours and mine. But once, they lived in very different homes. Everything was made by hand. Everything was made with things they found in nature. It took hard work to make a home. A wigwam, the Ojibwa home, was a round building with a round top. It was made from tree logs covered with hide, and then covered again with bark. Some were quite large - about 6 feet long.  There were huge rush mats in front of the fire. The walls were covered with brightly dyed mats. The women wove bags of raveled blankets to hold clothes and other storage goods. They made the wigwam as colorful as they could.  Extended families - kids, parents, and grandparents - all lived together in one wigwam. A wigwam is not a tipi. A tipi is totally portable. It is made with long poles covered with hides. Some wigwams were fixed shelters. Some were a mix of permanent and portable. The Ojibwa, for example, made their wigwams by covering a wood frame with hide and then covering the hide with bark. When an Ojibwa family moved to a new location, the hide was rolled up and taken with them. The frame stayed. When they returned, they simply unrolled the covering they always carried, and placed it on the frame. If a frame was not available, they would make a new one. Homes of other Native American tribes Virtual Coloring Book - Wigwam Return to the Ojibwa 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!