If you go outside at night in December you may see the ground covered with a blanket of newly fallen snow. The snow takes on a glow of its own as the light of the Winter Moon reflects off of it making it seem as if it is daylight outside. You shiver from the bite of the cold as you turn to go inside where it is warm and your family waits inside to watch a movie since they are visiting you for the holidays. You snuggle on the couch warm with your family surrounding you as the movie begins and you prepare to be taken on an adventure on the TV screen or perhaps like our ancestors you sit together and talk about family stories and memories of times long gone.

Our ancestors would also have those times during the winter when they spent most of their days and nights inside their yehakin where it was nice and warm. Yehakin is the Algonquin word for 'house.' They were either smaller circular houses or longer oval ones. Their houses all had a fire pit in the center of it and a hole in the roof where the smoke was able to escape. The women of the household would make sure the fire in the pit didn’t go out. Women would work on sewing animal skins, from animals trapped or killed during the fall, together to make clothes by the firelight. The men would be working repairing weapons, hunting gear, or finishing gear like fishing nets. The elders of the family would entertain the youngsters and the rest of the family as well with stories of various ancestors. Some families listened to stories from storytellers of the tribe. They would hear tales of amazing stories with morals and wisdom that would help the youngsters learn the ways and traditions of their tribe. These stories both from storytellers and elders would be passed down from one generation to the next. They may be stories about a member of their tribe killing a bear or how their world was created. These were the moments that strengthened the bonds of their families and their tribe as they shared in the hardships of the cold winters and shared stories and moments of being together.

This Christmas holiday, when your great uncle tells you stories of his life, or you hear for the third time about how the Christmas meal burned to a crisp in the oven and everyone had to eat pizza for Christmas, I hope you treasure them as much as our ancestors did the stories told around the fire pits in their yehakin each winter. May the Winter Moon shine upon your December nights and give you and your family shared treasured moments that bond your family together as our ancestors did.  

Pictured to the left above is similar to what a 'yehakin' would have looked like, but on a much smaller scale. The smaller circular houses

(also referred to as wigwams) would have been about 20 feet in diameter. For the oval houses (similar to the longhouses) would be about 20 by 10 feet. It would have been made out of natural materials. Saplings such as red cedar and red maple would have been used for the base structure and it would have been covered with bark or marsh reed mats. 

An example of the bark covering is to the left. The bark covering was part of the longhouse that was donated to the Tribe by Kathleen Schenemann. The longhouse was built by Mickey Schenemann and D.P. Newton.

Before the wood can be used for the structure, the bark is stripped off the cedar saplings with hand tools. The saplings are connected by wire and bent between metal poles for several weeks. This method will ensure the saplings remain strong and rounded.

Yes, We are Open!

The Patawomeck Tribal Store will be open during the following holiday hours:

• Tuesday from 10:00am to 1:00pm
• Thursday from 10:00am to 1:00pm
• Saturday from 10:00am to 1:00pm

Be sure to read the Special Edition Newsletters featuring the Patawomeck Stories Lecture Series the first of every month that a Lecture is being given.

1800's Artifacts (1701 - 1799)

Tribal Members have a rare opportunity to help us add to our current collection of artifacts. We are requesting any Tribal Members that have any item that dates back to the 1800's (1701 - 1799), please consider loaning them to the Patawomeck Museum & Cultural Center, so that we can include it in our exhibits.

So, how does that work? Simplest answer, is however you want. You can donate the item outright or you can loan the item. In either case, the Tribal Member lending the artifact will be credited in the exhibit.

Our qualifications for this item are as follows:

• Owned by a Tribal Member or formerly owned by an ancestor.
• Dates between 1701 and 1799 (1800's)
• The item can be a tool used in a trade, original artwork created by an ancestor, pottery, jewelry or clothing, etc.
• Loan or Donate to the Museum for the exhibit

If you know of any items that fit those qualifications, please email us your name, a description of the item, and a brief history of the item, specifically how you know it was an item from the 1800's and we will happily consider it for the exhibit.

Be sure to read the Special Edition Newsletters featuring the Results from our most recent events: Craft Show, Bluegrass Show & Patawomeck Homecoming.