Architects and Builders

Native people of the Northeast, including the Pennacook, designed and built wigwams (also called weetus) for shelter. The Pennacook lived in different places of the Merrimack Valley throughout the year, depending on the season. In the winter, families constructed wigwams like this, which kept the warmth of a fire in and brutal cold and storms out. The door faced to the east to catch the rising sun, which provided light and warmth for the inhabitants.

This time-lapse video (4:50) shows how a wigwam is constructed. This particular style of wigwam is from the Esopus Munsee people of upstate New York (New Paltz), and is similar to the ones the Pennacook people built and lived in.