Native American Unit Home - Regalia
I chose to recreate an Erie Native American regalia. The French called the Erie
tribe "Nation du Chat" or Cat Nation because of the large number of
wild cats found in the Erie territory. These cats were most likely the Eastern
Puma or
Panther. They were also known. as the "Erielhonan" which means "long
tail" and refers to the cougar or mountain lion. The Erie tribe would kill
the cats and use the skins to make their robes, and use the tails to decorate
their robes.
The
first step we took in making my Native American regalia was buying the material
and all our supplies. Then we carefully cut the fabric using the pattern as
a guide. My mom sewed on the cat-like border and I helped cut the fringe. My
mom used a sewing machine to sew my regalia together. Reportedly, the Erie Native
Americans used needles made from animal bone to hand sew their clothing. Next,
my mom made fake cat tails to decorate my regalia.
My regalia is made of suede which looks almost the same as deer and cat skin the Erie used to make their clothing. My regalia has fake fur tails, and the Erie used real fur tails. I decorated my regalia with fake cat fur, but the Erie used real cat fur.
The Erie Indians grew and ate corn, beans and squash. They also ate many wild berries which were gathered by the women. In addition, they fished and hunted, and ate many meats such as wildcats, beaver and deer (just to name a few.) The deer, beaver and wildcats were not only killed for food but the skins were used for clothing and moccasins. They used the bones for tools, the hooves for glue and rattles, and the antlers from the deer were used for arrow points.
The Erie tribes lived in Native American long houses where several families could live together. The Erie nation could be found on the South Shore of Lake Erie from western New York to Sandusky, Ohio. In fact, the Erie lived in what is now Lakewood, Ohio. It is believed that they gave Lake Erie and Erie, Pennsylvania their names.
There is not much written about the Erie Native Americans because they were slaughtered by the Iroquois in 1655. After the war, any remaining people of the Erie Nation were adopted by the Iroquois and Seneca tribes.
Bibliography
"Erie Tale Revela Demise of Local Indians." Lakewood
Lore Online. Lakewood Public Library. 19 July 1990. 4 September 2006.
http://www.lkwdpl.org/lore/lore96.htm
Lupold, Harry Forrest. The Forgotten People: The Woodland Erie. Hicksville: Exposition Press, 1975.
"Old Woman Creek, Ohio." National
Estuarine Research Reserve System. Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
4 September 2006.
http://nerrs.noaa.gov/OldWomanCreek/History.html
"The Erie Indians, Avon, Ohio" Avon,
Ohio; Theories of History and Science. Boardhost. 4 September 2006.
http://centuryinter.net/tjs11/hist/erind.htm