Maps
Wampanoag : English Colonist
Nanepashemet’s Map of Wampanoag Country in the 1600’s
printable map
This map shows the extent of the Wampanoag homeland in the 17th century. It was adapted from an
original drawing by Nanepashemet, former Director of the Wampanoag Indian Program.
At the time the colonists arrived, the Wampanoag did not call themselves “Wampanoag .” However,
among these various villages, the inhabitants considered themselves part of the same Nation of
People.
Although there were around 67 different Wampanoag villages at that time, this map shows only a
small number of them. This area was well traveled by the Native People in the 1600’s, whether by
foot or by mishoon (dugout boat). People in the various villages interacted with each other, celebrated
different Thanksgiving ceremonies together, traded and helped each other.
Sometimes People in the villages had different opinions about important things. To settle matters
between them, men of the two villages would engage in a serious game. One such game was football,
played on a mile-long beach. The women and children came to support the men as they played and the
outcome of the game would settle the disagreement that might have occurred.
Captain John Smith's Map of New England
printable map
Explorer Captain John Smith made this map after his exploration of the New England coast in 1614.
The map was printed in his book, "Description of New England," in 1614. The colonists at Plymouth
probably brought this book along with them.
On the map, Smith gave English names to many of the parts of New England. Most of the names
weren't kept in later years (like Cape James for Cape Cod). Smith did give the Plymouth area its name.
Plymouth was, and still is, called Patuxet, by the Wampanoag.
http://www.plimoth.org/learn/education/teachers/maps.asp
http://www.plimoth.org/learn/education/teachers/timeline.asp
What were Wampanoag homes like in the past?
The Wampanoags didn't live in tepees. They lived in villages of small
round houses called wetus, or wigwams. Here are some
Wampanoag wetu pictures. Each Wampanoag village was built
around a central square used for councils and ceremonies. Some
villages were palisaded (surrounded with log walls for protection.)
Today, Native Americans only build a wigwam for fun or to connect
with their heritage, not for shelter. Most Wampanoags live in modern
houses and apartment buildings, just like you.
How do I cite your website in my bibliography?
You should ask your teacher for the format he or she wants you to use.
Our names are Laura Redish and Orrin Lewis and the title of our site is
Native Languages of the Americas. The site was first created in 1998
and last updated in 2006.
Thanks for your interest in the Wampanoag Indian people and their
language!
http://www.nativetech.org/wigwam/phototour.html making wigwam-weetu
http://www.geocities.com/bigorrin/wampanoag_kids.htm
http://www.plimoth.org/learn/education/kids/homeworkHelp/building.asp
Building a Home
Wampanoag : English Colonist
Wampanoag Houses in the 1600s
In the 1600s, both Wampanoag men and women took part in the building and making of a home. They
were willing and happy to work together. By working together they knew the houses would be well
made. Working together also made the People in the village a strong community.
The Wampanoag lived with a close spiritual connection to the land. They believed that The Creator
made their People out of the Earth and the trees, with whom they shared the breath of Life. When they
went to gather what they needed from the Earth to build their homes, they connected with Mother
Earth in a good way and gave thanks for what they gathered.
Wampanoag children learned spiritual ways of connecting to The Creator and Mother Earth from their
parents, family members and the elders. In Wampanoag villages, the elders were most respected for
their long lives and their wisdom. By watching and helping the adults, the children learned how to
build houses as well.
Saplings (young trees) were gathered in the spring to build frames for the houses. The men took the
trees, and peeled the bark from the saplings. It took 40 saplings to make the frame of a small house, or
up to 200 saplings for a large one. The bark was split and used to lash the frame together.
Wide sheets of bark taken from large, older trees covered some houses while cattail mats covered
others. With prayers of thanksgiving, the women gathered cattails from the swamps and marshes in
late summer. The reeds were then dried in the sun. When they were ready, the women sewed the
cattails into large, double-sided mats. The mats were laid over the frame of the house to channel the
rain away and keep the inside warm and dry.
The women also wove mats of bulrush, another kind of plant that came from the marshes. These mats
took a longer time to weave and were often decorated and dyed red and black. They were then put up
all around the inside of the homes. Bulrush mats helped the keep the house warm during the cold New
England winter.
Wampanoag houses had a hole built into the very top of the house. This hole allowed the smoke of the
indoor fire to escape. Sheets of bark above this hole kept the rain or snow from coming in. The family
living there changed the position of this cover when it was needed.
Wampanoag houses were built in a round shape because that is best to heat or cool the house evenly.
This circular shape also represented many things in Creation that are circular, like the cycles of Life.
Once built, the houses belonged to the women. In the Wampanoag way, this is because they gave birth
to the children, who were the future of the People and must be protected and nurtured. The men lived
with their families in the houses and were responsible for providing for them and protecting them as
well.
Wampanoag People built their homes in this same way for thousands of years, but today live in
modern homes. In the Wampanoag Homesite at Plimoth Plantation, Native staff members build homes
in this old, traditional way. They have discovered that the homes are as cozy and comfortable as they
were in the days of long ago.
English Colonist Houses in the 1600s
A Good Roof Over Their Heads: The English Colonists Build Their Town
Imagine arriving in a strange land after a long sea voyage. Imagine that it is the middle of winter and
freezing cold. You are weak and tired from seasickness and just want a warm house on dry land. Now
imagine that you have to build that house first!
This is what the English colonists (or “Pilgrims” as they are sometimes called today) had to do when
they sailed to New England on the Mayflower in 1620. The colonists knew there were no English
towns where they were going. They were prepared to build their own houses. But they were not
prepared to build those houses in the middle of winter!
The colonists did not plan to arrive in Plymouth so late in the year. There were many delays, including
a leaky ship Mayflower was supposed to travel with and a disagreement with the people who helped
pay for the voyage. It took almost 2 months until they finally set sail for the last time. That was
September 5, 1620. Mayflower didn't arrive in Plymouth until December.
Once the colonists arrived in Plymouth, they started to build their town right away. They had brought
tools with them, and nails and iron hardware. The rest of what they needed the land had to provide.
The men went to the woods and cut down trees. They used other axes to chop and trim the trees from
round to square. Then they fit these pieces together so that they became a frame. This gave shape and
strength to the house.
The colonists had thatched roofs on their houses to keep the sun, wind and rain out. To make them,
they cut grasses and reeds from the marshes, and bundled and carried them back to their house. Then
they fastened them in layers to the roof. To make the walls of the house, they built a framework of
sticks called wattle within the house frame. They took clay, earth, and grasses and mixed them
together with water to make a mortar called daub. They pushed the daub into the wattle until it filled
the wall and made a smooth surface on the inside.
For the outside of the house, the colonists cut down trees and split the wood to make thin boards
called clapboard. The clapboards were then nailed together over the frame of the house. It usually took
between two and three months to make a house, from framing it, to covering it with clapboards, to
making the wattle and daub, and then to thatching it. Work on the finishing touches sometimes went
on for a few more months even after the family had started living inside of it.
When the houses were finished, they were not very large. Many only had one room. The colonists did
their cooking, eating, and sleeping, as well as other work, in this room. The women cooked around a
hearth, where small fires were lit. The fire from the hearth provided heat during the winter months.
The fire also provided light at night. Candles and oil lamps were sometimes lit too. If there was a
chimney, it was built of timber and clay and clapboards just like the rest of the house.
Most of the houses had only a few small windows that closed with a wooden shutter. The floors were
hard-packed earth. Some houses had a storage space above the first floor, called a loft. These spaces
were used to store food and other goods, like dried herbs from the garden, bundles of corn from the
field, or even beds. They used ladders to climb up to the loft.
The English colonists had a very difficult time that first winter, as they were building their town.
About half of the men, women and children who sailed on Mayflower died from sickness brought on
by the cold and wet weather, not having a warm house to live in. However, they had built 11 new
houses by the next winter. The town began to grow, and the colonists finally had a good roof over
their heads.
Recipes
Wampanoag : English Colonists
A 17th Century Wampanoag Recipe: Succotash
Made from corn and beans, this is a nourishing dish that has been made by generations of Native
People. In the old way, a woman soaked the corn and beans overnight in a kettle of water. The next
day, she cooked green onions (scallions) in a small amount of bear fat. The corn and beans were
added, enough to feed a family (there were no measuring cups in those days). Then a good amount of
water was added and the pot was left to simmer over the open fire until it made a rich broth.
Sometimes corn flour or crushed nuts were added to help thicken the broth. Chunks of meat could be
added to give the dish more flavor.
Corn and beans are Native foods. Now you know that this dish began with Native People on this
continent. Today it is popular all over America.
Modern Recipe for Succotash
Ingredients:
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1 can yellow corn
1 can red kidney beans or lima beans, drained
1 medium white onion, or one cup scallions, chopped
3 Tablespoons oil
1 lb. Lean ground beef
Salt and pepper to taste
Cook onion in oil until lightly browned.
Add beef, stirring constantly until browned
Add corn, beans, salt and pepper to meat mixture.
Add enough water to cover and simmer on a low flame. If it starts to get dry, add a little more water.
You can simmer the succotash for up to 30 minutes.
*Based on a recipe from In My Wetu, a Plimoth Plantation publication, 1983.
A 17th Century Colonial Recipe: Stewed Pompion
This is a delicious recipe for pumpkin. It is one of the earliest written recipes from New England. The
recipe is in a book written by John Josselyn who traveled to New England in the 1600's. (John
Josselyn, Two Voyages to New England.)
John Josselyn called this recipe a “standing dish.” That means that this sort of pumpkin dish was eaten
everyday or even at every meal. He also called it “ancient” because English housewives had cooked
this recipe in New England for a long time.
This is his recipe the way it appeared in his book:
The Ancient New England standing dish.
But the Housewives manner is to slice them when ripe, and cut them into dice, and so fill a pot with
them of two or three Gallons, and stew them upon a gentle fire a whole day, and as they sink, they fill
again with fresh Pompions, not putting any liquor to them; and when it is stew'd enough, it will look
like bak'd Apples; this they Dish, putting Butter to it, and a little Vinegar, (with some Spice, as Ginger,
&c.) which makes it tart like an Apple, and so serve it up to be eaten with Fish or Flesh: It provokes
Urine extreamly and is very windy.
Notes about the recipe:
The English people in the 1600's called all pumpkins and squash “pompions.”
Back in John Josselyn's time there was no such thing as a spelling test! People who could write spelled
words any way they liked.
Just like today, in the 1600's English people knew that that some foods had an effect on the human
body. John Josselyn says at the end of this recipe that this food provokes urine and causes gas
(windy)!
This is the same recipe written in a modern style to try at home. Adults will need to help with this
recipe.
A Dish of Stewed Pompion
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4 cups of cooked squash, roughly mashed
3 tablespoons butter
2 to 3 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 or 2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
In a saucepan over medium heat, stir and heat all the ingredients together. Adjust seasonings to taste,
and serve hot.
http://www.native-languages.org/wampanoag_words.htm
http://www.native-languages.org/kids.htm
kid page for several tribes—clothing, ….
http://www.nativetech.org/wampum/wamphist.htm make virtual wampum belt, history of
in NE US area—Naraganset Indians, etc. King Phillip Wampanoag references