The Woodland Indian Village at George Rogers Clark Park is something of an open-air museum, representing dwellings and structures that the great Shawnee Indian Chief Tecumseh likely encountered while trying to band together numerous separate Native American tribes from across the Northeast and Southeast United States. His goal of a Native American confederacy, was an attempt to respond to the growing presence of white settlers heading west from the 13 colonies in search of new land, particularly the territory of the Shawnee in what is now Ohio. He ultimately aligned his efforts with Great Britain, which culminated in the Battle of 1812, which Britain lost. It was during that battle that Tecumseh died.
The Woodland Indian Village itself was built near the original location of the Shawnee villages of (Peckuwe and Kispoko) that were attacked by George Rogers Clark, during the battle of Peckuwe in 1780. George Rogers Clark is the older brother of William Clark, of the famous William and Clark expedition that ventured toward what would eventually become the state of Washington, in search of a fabled short cut to the Pacific Ocean that has become known as the Northwest Passage.
Native Dwellings
The first dwelling pictured above is of an Iroquois Longhouse. Each longhouse typically accommodated multiple families. The Iroquois inhabited at that time what we know as upstate New York, and parts of Ontario near Toronto.
The second dwelling known as a Birch bark conical Wigwam, was typical of the northeastern woodlands of Ontario, Canada, and parts of Maine. The homeland of the Miꞌkmaq people. The Birch Bark wigwam is very similar in design to the commonly known tepee of the Plains states, except that in that case buffalo hides were used in place of the birch bark, since bison were quite plentiful in areas of vast praire land, while not as common either in Ohio, or where the Mi’kmaq were located in eastern Canada.
The third dwelling known as a mound house, is more typical of the southeastern United States, and is called a mound house, because it normally would have been built on top of the enormous earthen mounds European settlers found exploring the region.
Fourth is the domed wigwam, a structure that is found in many different forms across a wide variety of the native cultures of the United States. This is impart to strength a domed shaped design provides in built structures.
Finally the fifth structure pictured here, what we will call an Indian log cabin began to appear as Native Americans in the northeast started gaining access to horses, and other tools brought to America by the colonists. The combination provided a way to transport and construct buildings with more substantial timbers. This particular home is something one might have seen in the 1790’s.
Youtube – Tour Through The Indian Village – Part 1