Life in a Wigwam @ Institute of American Indian Studies August 25

The Institute Of American Indian Studies, 38 Curtis Road, Washington Connecticut is starting the rebuilding process of their 16th century replicated Algonkian village using traditional stone tools and techniques used throughout the Eastern Woodlands for thousands of years. On August 25, from 12 noon to 3 p.m. the public is invited to join Griffin Kalin, a primitive technologist, and educator at the Institute in the 16^th century replicated village on the grounds of the museum. Kalin will be on hand to discuss the science and technology behind this remarkable reconstruction process using only natural materials and stone tools.

Participants will take a short path through the woods to the current replicated Algonkian Village that is located on a gentle rise in the forest.  The village has several wigwams and a longhouse along with tree stump benches that surround a campfire.  

Visitors are welcome to go into these structures that are about ten years old.  It is amazing that they survived the harsh New England climate for such a long period of time.  Inside the wigwam, it is easy to imagine how family life must have been lived in these peaceful woodlands in the 1700s.

One of the more fascinating things visitors will learn is how the large pile of tulip tree bark will be used in the reconstruction process that will be completed using only handmade stone tools.

Native American oral tradition tells us that Eastern Woodland Indians always lived in wigwams.  The curved, domed surfaces of a wigwam's outside defined the interior hearth centered space. In general, wigwams were the domain of women where food was cooked, the family fed, and stories were told.  Wigwams were also the place where medicinal plants were stored, mats were woven, clothes were stored and pots were shaped.  

Archeological evidence of wigwams is rarely discovered, however, post mold patterns found indicate that wigwams thousand of years old resemble those built in the 1700s, much like the village found at the Institute of American Indian Studies.

In addition to wigwams, Algonkian peoples also built longhouses.  These dwellings could accommodate several families and were the homes of clan leaders.  Longhouses served as meeting places where clan members participated in council meetings and ceremonies.  Typically Native American artists decorated the longhouse with paintings and carvings of animals that represented clans or scenes from oral traditions.  Visitors to this event should make sure to go into the longhouse in the village, and before leaving, head to the museum to visit the large indoor longhouse set up, as Native Americans would have lived in the 1700s prior to contact with European settlers.

The Algonkian Village re-construction represents the continuing heritage of pre-contact life of the Eastern Woodland Native Americans that reflect heritage, family, and traditions.  The Building a Community event is on August 25 from 12 noon to 3 pm, adults $10, $8 seniors, $6 children and free for members of the Institute and those that donated materials.

The Institute for American Indian Studies

Located on 15 woodland acres the IAIS has an outdoor Three Sisters and Healing Plants Gardens as well as a replicated 16th c. Algonkian Village.  Inside the museum, authentic artifacts are displayed in permanent, semi-permanent and temporary exhibits from prehistory to the present that allows visitors a walk through time. The Institute for American Indian Studies is located on 38 Curtis Road in Washington Connecticut and can be reached online or by calling 860-868-0518.

The Institute for American Indian Studies preserves and educates through discovery and creativity the diverse traditions, vitality, and knowledge of Native American cultures. Through archaeology, the IAIS is able to build new understandings of the world and history of Native Americans, the focus is on stewardship and preservation.  This is achieved through workshops, special events, and education for students of all ages.