Longhouse Living Pacific Northwest Native Americans in Olden Times   Longhouse Living: The coastal Indians did not live in tepees, as did the Yakima Indians of Eastern Washington. Instead, they lived in longhouses built of thick cedar planks. These homes were also called plank houses. These early people chopped down and split massive cedar trees using beaver teeth and stone axes. Amazing! The longhouses were huge. Some were about 100 feet long and 25 feet wide, with low roofs for easy heating. The only openings in the whole building were the entrance door and a hole in the roof to allow smoke to escape. Assigned Living Spaces: If the tribe built the longhouse, the Chief would assign space within the longhouse. Each family would be assigned a living area, a space of their own, within the house. If an individual built the longhouse for his own family, he lived in that longhouse, along with his wife, his male and female children and their children. As each member of the family grew to adulthood and married, they were assigned space for their family, within the family longhouse. When the owner of the house died, this arrangement ended. Either the house was given away to someone outside the family or it was burnt to the ground. It was believed if the family remained the spirit of the departed might be either bothered by them or worried about them. To avoid the possibility of this, the family had to move and live elsewhere. Whether space in the longhouse was assigned by the father of a family, or by the chief of a tribe, life in each longhouse was the same. Furniture: Furniture was pretty simple. In their private area, each family built bunk beds for sleeping. Above the bunks, underneath the rafters of the longhouse, they built open shelves to hold personal belongings and stores of food. Underneath the bottom bunk, they dug a hole, about two feet deep, into the earth, to store other foods. Their separate areas were tidy, cheerful and colorful. Clothing, blankets, mats, and beautifully woven baskets provided color. Free Presentations in PowerPoint format  Free Clip Art Return to the Northwest Indians Index   or the Native American Index  All Rights Reserved    Clip Art Credit: Phillip Martin Have a great year!