Wetu

A wetu is a domed hut, used by some north-eastern Native American tribes such as the Wampanoag.[1] They provided shelter, sometimes seasonal or temporary, for families near the wooded coast for hunting and fishing. They were made out of sticks of a red cedar frame covered with either tree bark or mats made from grass or reeds.

Wetu recreation at Fruitlands Museum

References

1. "Wigwams, also called wetus, were houses used by the Algonquian Indians who lived in the woodland regions. Wigwam means "house" in the Abenaki tribe and wetu means "house" in the Wampanoag tribe." A Historical Look at American Indians. [books.google.com/books?id=iavZMkdjp0MC]

Further reading

• Gonsalves, Sean (June 16, 2002). "Tribe strives to pass on Wampanoag culture". Tribal Recognition. Cape Cod Times. Archived from the original on September 30, 2012. Retrieved May 8, 2011.

• Jason Kolnos (February 3, 2011). "Seashore reframes tribal history". Cape Cod Times. Retrieved May 8, 2011. Wander by the outside of the Salt Pond Visitor Center at Cape Cod National Seashore and you'll notice the framework of a large domed hut called a wetu. ...Annawon Weeden, a member of the Wampanoag tribe of Mashpee...who built the structure, said wetus were historically used in the region by Native Americans during the warmer seasons while they fished and hunted around the wooded coast.

• Maldonado, Karen. "The Wetus" (PDF). Retrieved March 12, 2006.

External links

• A discussion of the wetu with Tim Turner, manager of the Wampanoag Indigenous Program at Plimouth Plantation.
• An almost four-minute video interview about a wetu