A couple of minor additions to Dusty's comments that I hope will also be useful... The main distinction between the Choctaw (and other indigenous southeastern tribes') dwellings and the colonial style "log cabins" most people know, is that the Choctaw didn't stack the logs on top of each other horizontally. Instead they stood them up vertically, with the bottom ends sunk into the ground. Also, it was not uncommon for them to have separate dwellings for different seasons. Summer cabins were larger, rectangular, with open-ended gables for ventilation, while winter cabins were smaller and circular to retain more heat. Finally, in swampy areas the palmetto hut was widely used as well. The frame was built from sturdy poles, and the palmetto fronds were tied to the frame in overlapping "shingle" fashion. An interesting sidenote is that when the people who had been used to building with palmetto started using cut lumber in the late 1800's and early 1900's, the would apparently fasten several shingles together into a palmetto-like arrangement before attaching it to the house frame. Most of the above info can be found in Swanton's books: "Indians of the Southeastern U.S." and "Source Material for the Social and Ceremonial Life of the Choctaw". There's a great picture of the palmetto hut, and I know a Houma guy who still knows how to build them the old way. --Sean -----Original Message----- From: Dusty [SMTP:dustyc@microgear.net] Sent: Monday, April 09, 2001 7:20 PM To: CHAHTA-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [CHAHTA] Mississippi Choctaw Dwellings Dennis: The type of dwelling used down here on the Gulf Coast was called "wattle and daub", and was a combination of poles used to support the structure with interwoven sticks, twigs or branches used for the walls. Native clay used as mortar to hold the sticks together. Dwellings of this nature were still in use on occasion at the turn of the century, later evolving into the "log cabin" type structure seen more recently. In the extreme southern, swampy parts of La. and Miss., there is still in use today a structure similar to a small log cabin which is built on a raft made of cypress or pine logs lashed together. When the rains come in the spring and the Mississippi river rises causing flooding throughout the Atchafalaya Basin swamplands, these dwellings float up with the high water. They are still referred to by the Cajun people as "Choctaws", and are sometimes used as temporary hunting lodges. dusty ----- Original Message ----- From: Dennis Boswell <dennisb@primenet.com> To: <CHAHTA-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, April 09, 2001 3:47 PM Subject: [CHAHTA] Mississippi Choctaw Dwellings > Halito, CHAHTA-L subscribers, > > This message concerns pre-removal Choctaw, not those living in IT following > removal. I make this distinction because my question (below) concerns only > those Choctaw living in Mississippi prior to and during removal. > > I understand they lived in log cabins resembling a Hogan (similar to those > used by Navajos with a hole in the roof to allow smoke to escape). An > example of a Hogan may be seen at, > > http://www.m-w.com/mw/art/hogan.htm > > In established villages, I have no doubt their dwellings resembled the > Hogan. However, there is a possibility that when they traveled to the > flood plains of the Yazoo and Mississippi Delta on hunting trips (as was > the custom in the fall after the harvest season), they may have used a more > transportable dwelling structure such as a tepee, a picture of which may be > seen at, > > http://www.m-w.com/mw/art/tepee.htm > > ... or a wigwam (similar to those used by ANs in the Great Lakes region).a > picture of which may be seen at, > > http://www.m-w.com/mw/art/wigwam.htm > > I have seen nothing that claims they ever used tepee- or wigwam-like > dwellings, even while traveling overland. In fact, it seems likely that > during overland travel and after arriving at their remote destination, they > may not have used any form of dwelling - portable or otherwise unless it > was built on the spot out of materials on hand at the location. One reason > they may not have taken their dwellings with them is the fact that Choctaws > hunted west of the Mississippi before removal. Crossing the Mississippi > while transporting any form of portable dwelling would make the crossing > task that much more difficult. > > Does anyone on the list have an opinion or know of a reference concerning > the use of dwellings, portable or otherwise, during extended periods of > travel away from the village? > > NOTE: (to myself) Might Choctaw use of Hogan-like structures indicate an > original west to east migration path that took Choctaw's ancestors through > Navajo lands en-route to Mississippi? > > Yakoke, > > Dennis K. Boswell > 301 Crow Canyon Drive > Folsom, CA 95630 > > Tel: (916) 987-3599 > Fax: (916) 987-3555 > > > > > > > ==== CHAHTA Mailing List ==== > To subscribe to CHOCTAW-SOUTHEAST-L Genealogy mail list: > Send msg. to CHOCTAW-SOUTHEAST-L-request@rootsweb.com > Put "one" word in "body" of message:... 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