The "eastern woodland indians"
The Native Americans of Virginia where part of a larger group of Native Americans called The Eastern Woodland Indians. The Eastern Woodland Indians were Native Americans that lived in the eastern part of the present-day United States. A variety of trees covered most of the area in which they lived, which lead to their name.
Notice in the image above, that the The Eastern Woodland Indian title was given to many Native American Tribes from the Mississippi River east to the Atlantic Ocean and from Canada south to Florida. All of this area was heavily forested during the time in which The Eastern Woodland Native Americans called it home.
The life of an eastern woodland indian in virginia
Virginia's Native Americans had to relate to the climate and environment of the land. The kinds of food they ate, the clothing they wore, and the homes they built were influenced by Virginia's relatively mild climate and four seasons; spring, summer, fall, and winter.
In the winter, they hunted birds and animals and lived on food they had stored during the fall months. In the spring, they hunted, fished, and picked berries. In the summer, they grew crops like beans, corn, and squash. In the fall, they harvested their crops and hunted for foods to store for the winter.
In the winter, they hunted birds and animals and lived on food they had stored during the fall months. In the spring, they hunted, fished, and picked berries. In the summer, they grew crops like beans, corn, and squash. In the fall, they harvested their crops and hunted for foods to store for the winter.
Eastern Woodland Indian Shelters
The Eastern Woodland Native Americans lived in shelters called longhouses. Longhouses got their name because of their size and shape. Some could be almost 200 feet long and only 20 feet wide. They were made primarily of wood and bark. Click here to learn more about longhouses. Wigwams were also made for shelter by Eastern Woodland Indians. Wigwams were dome-shaped huts made by fastening mats, skins, or bark over a framework of poles.
Above are modern models of both the longhouse and wigwam.
Eastern woodland indian clothing
Eastern Woodland Native Americans made their clothing out of animal skins, such as deerskin. Click here to learn more about the clothing of Eastern Woodland Native Americans.
Activity:
On your poster paper, which is divided into four equal sections, label each section a season of the year. Then, draw an illustration that shows what Eastern Woodland Native Americans did during that particular season to survive. Last, write a sentence description above each illustration. Information to complete this project can be found under the title " The Life of an Eastern Woodland Indian in Virginia" on this webpage.