Clothing of the Northeast
Introduction
In this research paper you will find out how the Northeast Native Americans including the Algonquin, Iroquois, Lenape, Huron, Mohawk and Ojibwa made their clothing, what everyone wore and how they made their styles and decoration all about five hundred years ago. The northeast had many animals living there but surviving took a lot of effort. In the winter it could get very cold but their houses always had to have a little hole to get the smoke out. They depended on their clothing to keep them warm in the winter and in the summer to keep them cool.
How they made clothing
The Native Americans of the Northeast had many steps to make clothing. You will find out what steps they used. You also will find out what materials and skins they used. The first step is to find the animal and scrape the fur off it (usually done by the men). When they would bring the animal home the women scrape off all of the fat and flesh. When they scraped the hides they softened them leaving them hair free. After they soaked the skins in oil. Adding extra oil would make the clothing weatherproof. To dry clothing the women would have to wring out the skins of the animal. Some animals they used were deer, black bear, weasel, beaver and raccoon for everyday wear. In cold weather they wore mostly black bear and deer fur over their regular clothing. When hunting in the winter they wore snowshoes because it helped them walk faster so they could catch the animals that would walk slowly. They would use rabbit skin for blankets and sometimes as hoods for coats. Now back to the steps for clothing. Finally they smoked the skins over a smudge fire. Which is a fire that makes a lot of smoke. Then the women sewed up the skins (like a bag) and placed them over a fire made out of either oak, birch green wood or cedar. They used different bark to make different colors like dark brown or tan. Lastly the women cut the soft skins in to different shapes like moccasins, shirts and other clothing. As you can see the Native Americans of the northeast have many steps to make clothing and a lot of animals to use and that is why I chose to study clothing.
Style and Decoration
Clothing is very important to the Native Americans because it helps keep them warm and cool. In this paragraph you will find out how the Native Americans made hairstyles and what they used to make hairstyles, how they decorated things, how they made jewelry and make up and where they wore it. Women wore their hair in two braids until they got married. Then they wore it in one braid with a ribbon or ornament. Men ages 15 and up only had a strip of hair on the top of their head. To get all of their hair out they had to pull/pluck out all of their hair. To decorate clothing they used dyed porcupine quills, eagle feathers and moose hair. To decorate wampum (which is a belt often used to help a story teller remember all of the words) they used beads made out of shells usually black, purple or white. For make up and to protect their skins from the sun they would paint their faces. To make the paint they would smash berries with a little bit of water. To make ornaments or jewelry they used stone, bone, antler, shell, teeth, hair, quills, feathers, claws and sometimes a little wood. The style and decoration of the northeast was very important. I had never known that the Native Americans used so many different natural things and had so many different patterns.
What everyone wore
The Native Americans of the northeast had many pieces of clothing for the men, women, and children wore for everyday wear, for wear on ceremonies and for wear in cold weather. Men wore kilts or skirts, over leggings, they wore vests or blouses, which were made out of deerskins. They wore moccasins as their shoes. They decorated moccasins the same way they decorated clothing. On ceremonies men wore necklaces and bracelets with their regular clothing. When hunting men wore snowshoes and deer or black bear fur over their regular clothing. Women wore long skirts that reached their ankles. Sometimes they wore leggings under those skirts mostly for warmth. They wore vests or blouses made out of deerskin. They also wore moccasins. During ceremonies women sometimes wore as much as 11 pounds in shells. Children under five went around naked. Children over five wore what the regular adults wore. The men, women and children had many fascinating pieces of clothing and I hope you liked this subject as much as I did.
Conclusion
The northeast was an amazing place. It had many people and many animals. The people had many different patterns for clothing and hairstyles. I had no idea there was so many kinds of clothing. The animals were also very cool. Some animals that lived there were black bear, deer, beaver, porcupine and raccoon. If you’ve read my entire paper you will know that the Northeast Native Americans were very interesting and I hope you enjoyed this subject as much as I did.
