Woodland Indians

In order to study about the Indians that may have been at Prophetstown we invited a local speaker, Joyce Jones. The following paragraphs and photos are from her visit.

I went to see Mrs. Jones's old Indian models. She had some really neat stuff. For instance she had tons of models. On the first model the Indians couldn't use fire for the pan so they put hot rocks in the pan to heat the food. The longhouses were used like apartments. They hung up the babies in trees. Plus the canoes were made of birch. That's what happened when Mrs.Jones
came.
Johnathon 1998

Cooking Secrets

The Indian did not cook with their pots over their fire. It's a lot different. What they did was put hot rocks in the pot of whatever they wanted and it would cook. Whenever the rocks got cold they would put a new one in. The fire was beside the pot and it would cook like that too. That is how they cooked.
Breanne 1998

The Indians boiled water with hot rocks. What they did is put water in an animal skin shaped like a pot. Then they put water in the skin pot a couple feet away from a fire. Then they take hot rocks from the fire and put them in the skin pot and keep doing that over and over until the water boils!!
Cristin 1998

The skin pots are made of animal skin. That's why they call them skin pots. They last from anywhere from 3 to 4 days. The Native Americans took a skin pot and put it on two sticks. Then, they put rocks in a fire and waited until they're hot. When they're hot you take them out and stick them in the pot to make the water warm. But, when they took them out you didn't use your hands, you used a stick that looked like a fork. The sticks had two finger like twigs at the end to hold the pot up. Since the rocks were really hot after 6 hours it made the water finally boil. Then they took out the rocks and set them aside. Next, they added the food to the boiling water to be cooked. Then they would eat some of it and save the rest for later. They would also dry strips of pumpkins. Then when they would want to eat they just take off the pumpkin rings in the pot to cook (after they boiled the water) and eat them.
Kristina 1998

The Indians made pots out of animal skins. Instead of putting the pot over fire they would heat rocks and put them in the water. That is how they would make boiling water. They would have to do that because if they put the pot over fire the animal skin pot would burn. But if they put really hot rocks in the water the pot would not burn. I think that was a neat way to make boiling
water. They boiled water way different than we do.
Kayla 1998

Some woodland Indians used skin pots.They couldn't put a fire under it or it would burn a hole in the skin pot. So they would burn rocks and make them hot then put them in the water in the skin pot. They would put a bunch in then when one rock got cold they took it out and put a new one in. The skin pot would only last a few days. Then they would get a new pot. Just think if you had to get a new pot every few days!
Kira Sherlock 1998

Moon Calander

The Indians had their own kind of calender. Each month had a different meaning. The moon would tell them when the month changes. My favorite month is the Hunting Moon. It is in November. That is when they go hunting for meat. They draw pictures for each. That's what their calenders are like.
T.J. 1998

Miami Indians told time by the moon. January was called the Snow moon. February was called the Hunger Moon. They called March the Bird Return Moon. For April they called it the Green Grass Moon. Since in May they plant their crops they called it the Planting Moon. Flowers bloomed in June so they called it Flower Blooming Moon. July was so hot! That's why they called July the Heat Moon. August was when the corn was green so they called it the Green Corn Moon. IN September they harvest their crops so they called it the Gathering Moon. In October the leaves fall so they called it the Leaf Falling Moon. November was called the Hunting Moon because they would hunt for the winter. Finally December was called Long Night Moon because the nights seemed loner. That is the Moon Calendar.
Kristin 1998

Indian Flutes

I was interested in the flute. The boys had flutes that had spirits in them. They were used to attract girls. Every flute had a different sound. That's my favorite thing.
Leigh 1998
Each man in the village had a love flute. A love flute is a flute that when a man likes a woman he plays the flute. It's
a way of saying will you marry me. The women aren't allowed to touch it. If they do the spirit will die instantly. After
that there will be no spirit in the flute The love flute is very cool.
Danielle 1998

Spirits of the Indian Flute

Indian cultures of long ago had many beliefs. Many are like the ghost stories of today. One of the many beliefs was from the culture of a mountain tribe. One of their strangest beleifs of their tribe was that they beleived that spirits are everywhere in our world. They thought that there were spirits inhabiting a speical flute. Only the men could touch these flutes. For if a women touched it the flute's spirit would die. That was because a women's magic was stronger then a man's. But of course we all know that's not true or is it?
Cody 1998

Flutes and Blowguns

Indians had flutes that only boys should play and touch. Boys and girls can have one. But the boys and girls had their own. The Indians let three year old kids shoot a blowgun. Blowguns are very dangerous. The reason why the Indians let their 3 year old kids shoot a blow gun is because so that when they get older they can shoot food for them to eat.
Dusty 1998

Masks

The masks that the indians wore were neat. The masks that the Indians wore were made of straw, grass, wood and
other materials. Most mask were made out of wood. There were some made of all different colors, like flowers, or dandelions. They used all the main colors like red, purple, green, blue and orange. They had lots of shapes and sizes for masks. They were all very, very neat.
Joey 1998

Smoky Mountain Indians and the Cherokee

The Cherokee Native Americans lived in the Smoky Mountains. One way they are extraordinary are their houses. They first drilled poles into the ground, and then they wove small river cane sticks around the poles. Finally, they covered it with clay. The Cherokee had more people with blue eyes than with brown eyes. They have interesting fitting ways of communication where they live. One of them is the water drum. The sound of this drum filled with water can travel ten miles in the mist-filled air. Also because of the mist, the conch shell's horn-like sound carries a long way, too. A custom they had was when a mother bear was found dead and a bear cub was alive the Cherokee adopted the cub and took care of it. That is all I know about the Cherokee.
Kate 1998

The Smoky mountain Indians were people that lived on the mountains. They had these flute that they could hear from 10 miles away. Instead of smoke signals they used a water drum or a flute. If the mom bear dies its cub usually goes to the top of the mountains and if the kids find the bear they keep it for a pet. When the bear gets big enough they shoot the bear with a bow and arrow and it dies. Then they eat the meat and they keep the the fur.
Logan 1998

Smokey Mountain Indians use instruments to communicate. They use a flute, water drums,and seashells. When they are in the mountains, they use the waterdrums. You can hear them 10 miles away only on a misty day. They use flutes for closer distances. You can only hear them 2 miles away. When you blow into the conchshell it makes a different noise more like the bass of the drum. And that's how they use communication with the flute,waterdrums, and conchshells.
Derek 1998

Mothers and Babies

How the mothers take care of their babies in very interesting! The babies' diapers are made of soft grass.The babies sit up in a little basket that hooks on the mother's back.
Allie 1998

Indian mothers had many good ideas about taking care of their families. They made diapers out of soft grass instead of cotton. They wove headbands for the men but instead of having someone hold it she tied it to a bar stuck in the ground. Mothers used cradle boards to carry their babies on their backs.
Alyssa 1998

Indian Picture Writing

This is language for Indians.This says, "Deer tracks, tracks, hit deer with bow and arrow, then plenty of food".Some times it will tell a story. Like we did with Indian language. Kira and I did it. Here's is a little story.
Diana 1998

Sails for Ships

The Indians that lived near the Atlantic Ocean used sail.English had canvas sails for boats. When the wind beat against the sails sometimes they got ratty and old. When the English came to trade . They traded with the Indians. For skins and
other items . Then the Indians put them over their wigwams.
Cari 1998

Jobs

The men and women had different jobs. The men would do all the hunting. They got deer, rabbit, and bear. The women would pick the crops and cook the meat. They used a bucket and put hot rocks in them. The men taught the boys how to hunt and the women would teach the girls how to cook.
Bradley 1998

The men and women had different jobs. The men hunted, fished, trapped, and sometimes fought battles. The women skinned animals, cooked, planted seeds, and tended the garden. The women had many jobs because the men were usually gone hunting. If they didn't do their jobs, they wouldn't have lived!
Brent 1998

Battle of Tippecanoe HOME

Ginger Smith

Fourth grade teacher at Battle Ground Elementary School
303 Main Street,Battle Ground, IN 47920
Voice: 317-567-2200 Fax:317-567-2030
Last revised March 1998
ginger@tippe.mdn.com