Wigwam (architecture)
A wigwam is a traditional house type used by various Native American tribes, particularly those of the Northeastern United States, and derives its name from the Algonquian language. Characteristically, wigwams are oval or round structures formed from light poles, which are anchored in the ground and bent at the top to create a hoop-like shape. This framework is then reinforced with horizontal poles and covered with large sheets of bark or woven mats, providing insulation and protection from the elements. Wigwams can vary in size, accommodating one or two families in smaller versions, while larger versions could house multiple families and feature several fire pits inside for warmth and cooking. Historical accounts, such as those from the seventeenth century, describe these homes as well-constructed, warm, and efficient. The design typically includes a door and a smoke hole at the top, emphasizing functionality in both living and communal aspects. Overall, the wigwam reflects the ingenuity of Indigenous architectural practices adapted to the local environment.
Subject Terms
Wigwam (architecture)
Tribes affected: Northeast tribes
Significance: The wigwam was a type of dwelling used by tribes in the Northeast
Wigwam is an Algonquian word for a house type that was used in the Native American architecture of the Northeast. The wigwam was an oval or round structure of light poles whose lower ends were stuck in the ground and whose upper ends were bent over and lashed together in the shape of a hoop. Lighter horizontal poles were lashed to the uprights to give the framework strength. Over this frame large sheets of bark (or, sometimes, mats woven of reeds) were lashed, overlapping like shingles. In one end was a door; a small hole in the roof let out smoke. Daniel Gookin described seventeenth century New England wigwams:
The best sort of their houses are covered very neatly, tight and warm, with bark of trees. . . . These houses they make . . . some twenty, some forty feet long, and broad. Some I have seen sixty or a hundred feet long, and thirty feet broad. . . . In the greater houses they make two, three, or four fires, at a distance from one another.
Gookin said he “found them as warm as the best English houses.” One or two nuclear families lived in the small wigwams; several shared the larger ones.