Canoes and Lobster Traps

Canoes were very important to the Wampanoag people. They used them to travel and to fish. The Wampanoag made canoes by using huge tree trunks. They would set the top part of the trunk on fire and scrape away the ashes until the trunk was dug deep enough so that they could sit in it. Canoes were made in different sizes. They could carry one or two people or an extremely large one might hold as many as 30 paddlers.

Equally important were the lobster traps that the Wampanoag fashioned. They placed sticks in the water in the shape of a semi-circle. Then they wove twigs around the poles. That way when the lobster or any fish would gather in this area, the Wampanoag could throw their nets over the open side to trap the fish or lobster.

Wampanoag Weavers

Native Americans living near the seas had to be good at weaving. They needed nets to catch fish. Men, women, and children made nets by hand. It usually took one day to complete a fishing net. You can see from the photo how the Wampanoag would set up their frame to make a fishing net. Women also used plants to dye their yarn or rope. The purple yarn in the photo got its color from the berries of pokeweed while the flowers of the goldenrod plant were used to create the yellow-gold yarn.

Wampanoag Cooking

The Wampanoag women farmed, took care of the children, and cooked whatever the Wampanoag men brought home. It might be some sort of fish or sea food that they caught in the ocean or a wild animal they found in the forests. Wampanoag women would grind corn into meal to make corn cakes, sometimes they even added blueberries. Children would gather nuts and berries that grew wild throughout the area.

Inside a Wetu and Longhouse

The Wampanoag Indians were a Woodland tribe so they used bark and other plant materials to make their homes. The inside of a wetu or longhouse had a dirt floor. The dirt was pefect for a small fire to keep warm and allow the smoke to rise through an opening in the roof. The opening also allowed light into the wetu or longhouse. The Wampanoag people built cot-like elevations along the sides of the inside of the wetu or longhouse for sleeping. If the house was a longhouse, it might have two levels for resting and sleeping. The soft furs of animal skins covered these cot-like structures and were used as beds. Several generations of one family might live in a longhouse. It was big enough to hold as many as 60 people.

Wampanoag Homes

The Wampanoag tribes lived in "wetus" (the Wampanoag word for wigwams). The wetus were small homes made of wooden frames made from saplings and then covered with sheets of elm bark. Once the sheets of bark were added, ropes and strips of wood were used to hold the bark in place. Another home that the Wampanoag lived in was the longhouse. A longhouse was like a wetu except it was much longer and took more time to build. Some longhouses could hold several families. They had two levels for sleeping. An opening(s) in the roof would allow for smoke to rise up out of the wetu or longhouse.

The Wampanoag People

Massachusetts and Rhode Island were the native lands of the Wampanoag. The Native American word "Wampanoag" means "easterners". They were the first Native Americans to befriend the Pilgrims and show them how to plant corn. But disease that the new people brought and attacks by the British killed most of the Wampanoag people. About 300 descendents of the Wampanoag live in Massachusetts and Rhode Island today.

Wampanoag women wore knee-length skirts while the men wore breechcloth and leggings. They wore moccasins on their feet. They usually wore a beaded headband with one or two feathers. The women carried their babies in cradleboards. They planted crops, took care of the children, and cooked while the men hunted or fought to protect their land. Both men and women were storytellers, created art and music, and practiced traditional medicine using plants.

The Great Cabin of the Mayflower

The Great Cabin is where the master of the ship or captain lived, slept, and ate. The master's officers also slept and ate here. This part of the ship was the most comfortable part of the ship.