Woodland Indian Architecture
Woodland Indian Architecture
Over the last twelve years we have built over twenty traditional houses of various styles for museums, Native community organizations and interpretive sites across the Great Lakes and Midwest, in addition to a few we have built for ourselves to stay in. Our passion for traditional materials and methods, perfection and attention to detail is apparent in all of our work. We have built both Northern and Southern Neshnabe waginogenen (domed houses), using elm bark, cedar bark and birch apekwe’ roofing rolls, as well as pekye’genen (winter mat houses) covered with double layer sewn cattail leaf mats. We have also reconstructed a variety of houses from archaeological features including a Mississipian period wattle and daub thatched house.

We can build a traditional house at your site outdoors or inside of a museum exhibit. Construction can also be incorporated with a series of workshops on the various stages and techniques of wigwam building.

We offer a day long workshop on the manufacture of double layer cattail leaf mats used for covering old time winter houses. These are sewn with a long needle made from a rib bone of a buffalo, moose or elk.
watch a slideshow of building a cattail mat covered wigwam...

We also have a fully sized 16’ diameter Nswe’ogen (cone shaped house), that we can bring to your site for workshops and special events. It can be outfitted for display with floor mats and other interior furnishings.
Ancient Pathways Cultural Resource Group 3494 28th St. Hopkins MI 49328 Tel: 269-793-8730 pathways@altelco.net