Iroquois Dwelling
By Caitie C. and Heidi W.
The Iroquois lived in New York along the St. Lawrence River. They lived in houses called
longhouses. Longhouses were made of tree bark, branches, grasses, poles, animal skins, bark, and
leather. Longhouses were 30-200 meters long and 15-25 meters tall. They lived near streams and hills
and moved every 20 years for better farming soil or better protection from enemies. When they moved
they had to re build the whole house from scratch.
Iroquois villages had 12-200 long houses. Most of the time there was around 1,000 people who
lived in one village. The village was a lot of long houses in middle with tall sharpened logs around the
outside of the village for protection from other tribes and animals. They had holes in the top of the long
house so the smoke could get out. The Iroquois did not have any other type of house that we know of.
Sources:
A True Book – The Iroquois By: Stefanie Takacs
Native American Homes - Long Houses By: Cynthia Breslin Beres
Native American Chart - http://www.mce.k12tn.net/indians/navigation/native_american_chart.htm