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Introduction | History | Daily Life | Culture | References
Daily Life
Shelter
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Cree wigwams in summer, 1851 |
Like other Aboriginal societies living on the prairies, the Plains Cree lived in tipis (wigwams). The construction of these shelters began with three poles. The men stood the poles up after lashing them together at the top to make a tripod. Then they leaned other poles between the three original ones, to make a circle. The women made large covers for the tipis from deer hides, moose skins and buffalo robes. An opening for ventilation at the bottom of the tipi allowed breezes to carry the smoke from a central fire to an opening at the top. Several people lived in each tipi. The Plains Cree also created a rectangular longhouse structure for ceremonial purposes.
Household Goods
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| Interior of a Cree tent on the Prairies, 1820 |
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Inside their tipis, Plains Cree people slept on beds made of dried grass covered with buffalo robes. The women made utensils for eating and drinking out of buffalo horns or wood. They stored clothing and some food in bags made of tanned deer or moose hides. They also stored berries and roots in birchbark containers. When they needed a snow scoop, they carved one out of wood. Women had several stone hammers for various jobs (such as splitting bones and pounding meat). They also used metal tools and cooking pots obtained from the English or French fur traders. Pemmican was stored in leather bags.
 
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