Native Peoples of The Northeast

Native Peoples of The Northeast — page 1 — NORTHEAST The Native peoples lived in the northeastern part of North America for over 12,000 years before European settlers arrived Their lands stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to around the Mississippi River They reached from the Great Lakes region all the way to the present-day state of Maine to the north Archaeologists think there were about 2 million native peoples living in the Northeast during the 1500s It’s believed they came to the Northeast from southwestern North America but no one is totally sure 4

Native Peoples of The Northeast — page 2 — This map shows that the native peoples of the Northeast lived in the present-day states of New York Massachusetts Ohio Pennsylvania and more Greenland Canada United States Mexico where native peoples of the Northeast lived TELL ME MORE Before European settlement much of the Northeast was covered with thick forests So the native peoples are often called the Woodland Indians 5

Native Peoples of The Northeast — page 3 — NORTHEAST At Home in the Some of the native peoples of the Northeast lived in large groups with thousands of members and many villages Other groups were smaller and didn’t have permanent settlements One kind of home found in the Northeast was the dome-shaped wigwam also called a wickiup Wigwams were made of wooden poles grass tree bark and sometimes animal skins Usually just one family lived in a wigwam The rectangle-shaped longhouse was also made of wood It had a door at each end A longhouse could hold as many as 10 families 6

Native Peoples of The Northeast — page 4 — The homes of the native peoples of the Northeast were easy to build and take down This allowed groups to move with the seasons to hunt and gather what they needed TELL ME MORE In many native languages the word wig meant to live in The word wigwam means their home 7

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