NativeTech: Native American Technology and Art. The Native Americans of the Northeast Forests used a variety of plant materials for textiles. Sewn cattail mats were often used as exterior coverings of wigwams. Most full-size sewn cattail mats …

CATTAIL MATS AND BARK SHEETS COVERING A WIGWAM AT PLIMOTH PLANTATION, PLYMOUTH, MA. Aside from many food products and medicines, Native Americans used cattails for a variety of types of weaving. The different uses for cattails (Typha latifolia) have been well chronicled in the early historic documents of New England.

Cattails are some of the most versatile plants around. Click here to learn how to use them as food, medicine, shelter, tools, and more!

Today, I show you how to make a woven cattail mat that I am going to use for sun drying wild cherries. ...more. Steps to weaving a cattail mat 1. Trim the bottom portion of the cattails...

Coast Salish women sewed cattail leaves together to form large mats that were used as room dividers, insulation, kneeling pads in canoes, sleeping mats, and temporary shelters.

Oct 22, 2013 · Cattail mats (that were used for the outer coverings) varied from size according to the structure that they were covering. Some mats were 6' tall and 25' long, while others are 4' tall and 8' long.

Students can see an artifact model of traditionally sewn cattail mat (optional purchase), and historic images of cattail mats in use, made from the common cattail, and learn about the importance of cattail mats in daily life for insulation, mattresses, seating …

Find simple instructional information about how these materials are used by Natives, and detailed background on the history and development of these kinds of Native technologies, showing both the change and continuity from pre-contact times to the present.

Liz's original research, a detailed study of sewn cattail mat construction and i...more. Video featuring and produced by Liz Schultz.