Life in the 19th Century

By Lori Friesen

There are over 630 different First Nations communities in Canada. As you can imagine, their homes and shelters were also distinct to their cultures and their geography.

For example, the Mi’kmaq lived in wigwams , the Haudenosaunee lived in longhouses, the Cree lived in tipis and the Salish nations lived in either pit houses and plank houses depending on their location.

Each community had its own way of building their homes that housed either single families (like wigwams) or multiple families (like longhouses and plank houses). In the 1800’s British settlers during this time lived in one-roomed structures made primarily of logs.

Wigwams and tipis, for example, were different because they could be taken down and moved, unlike the log houses of British settlers that stayed in one spot. Both were homes that were a place where families gathered to eat and talk.

Canoes were used widely by First Nations communities for travelling on rivers and lakes. They also travelled by land with horses, which were introduced by the French in the 1600s, and by foot.

The Haudenosaunee were exceptional runners, covering long distances in a short period of time by running. In contrast, the British settlers travelled by walking or by riding a horse and wagon.

Clothing was made by the First Nations people themselves of tanned animal skin whereas British settlers made their clothes from cotton and wool. Life in the 1800’s was very different from today!