By Trevor Cummings
Third-grade
Wellington School
The Pueblos are my native American tribe. They lived in the southwest. The Pueblos slept in natural caves and on cliffs. They built homes out of sand and adobe next to rivers. Homes were called pueblos and also were built on mesa canyons and on cliffs. The village was around a kiva. The kiva was a round building. It has steps up to the roof entrance. Men met to discuss problems. The kiva was used to worship.
The women owned the houses. Each family lived in a room that was 12 by 24 feet in size. Ovens were built on roofs. Windows and doors were small to keep out the heat. The Pueblos used ladders that went through the roof to enter their homes. The ladders were removed if enemies attacked.
The people sat on blankets. Their beds were rugs or made of sheep skins. There were about 500 people or less living in a Pueblo village.
The Pueblo men dressed in kilts made of cotton. They wore ankle high moccasins and used wool or cotton blankets for warmth. The men wore branded cotton sashes and rabbit fur and turkey feathers. The women wore cotton and wool dresses with one shoulder free.
The Pueblos were mostly vegetarians, When meat was available, they hunted for small game, like gophers, squirrels and rabbits. For small game they threw boomerang shaped sticks at them. They also hunted bigger animals such as deer, mountain lions and antelope.
The tribes planted corn and to water their plants they sometimes would go up to a snowy mountain and make a giant snowball and roll it to the village. They used irrigation systems, too. They grew corn, squash, peppers, onions, chilies and tobacco. The corn was dried and ground to be stored for later.
The Pueblos thought Kachinas were ancestral spirits who returned with clouds and rain to help their people.
Common symbols, such as birds were used in their artwork.
