Architecture--The Past 

A number of people believe that all Native Americans lived in stuctures similar to the above graphics; that is, a tepee.  However, just as our society does today, their shelts varied in a number of types of dwellings.  All you have to do is travel through our area and the upper northeastern part of our state, and you will find Native American residences that date back hundreds and hundreds of year.  A perfect example of this variety can be found at Monument Valley National Monument, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Lake Powell and the Grand Canyon National Park, Painted Desert, Navajo Ntional Monument, Walnut Canyon National Monument and Petrified Forest National Park.  In these areas, as well as others in Utah, Colorado and New Mexico (also known as "Four Corners" area), a visitor will see desert cliff dwellings, dating back at least 750 years, as well as adobe dwellings high atop mesas.

[To learn more about these two locations, and others in the Four Corners area, please visit The American Southwest site.]

Another example of cliff dwellings, located at Mesa Verde National Park, Cortez, Colorado, is world famous and being one of the most photographed historical structures in our country.

Be sure to click on the first link to the park, then check out the book link The Story of Mesa Verde National Park near the bottom of the page.  All 96 pages of this wonderful book are online, and contain information and pictures about the people who once resided in these dwellings within this beautiful park.  Also, if you ever have a chance to visit the area, be sure to plan on at least one full day to explore the numerous dwellings and trails--we speak from the experience of originally thinking we could get a quick overview of the dwellings.  However, our plans quickly changed when we found ourselves immersed in the traditions and experience of this really amazing setting.

As you explore these links and read about the people, their daily lives, and their struggles to survive, try to put yourself in their place and imagine living within one of these structure.  How well do you think you would do?  How would you contribute to the livelihood of the family and community?  What games do you think the children of this society played to entertain themselves?  Do you think they had classes or went to school? What occupations do you think they had to provide for their families? Do you think they lived "hard lives" or was it just a really easy life?  What significance did all the different generations living in this community play? Was any generation more or less important than the others? Exploring The Story of Mesa Verde National Park should help you arrive at some of the answers to these questions.

Of course, the structure we most commonly associate with Native Americans is this one:

Even today, we find festivals and social gatherings having tepees displayed for visitors to view/enter.  It doesn't take one long to recognize that it's an easier structure to set up and demonstrate the past of long ago!  However, my point here is to make sure you understand that the tepee was not the only means of providing shelter for the Native Americans.  We need to get away from the stereotypical thinking of our ancestors and understand that the Native American culture and lifestyle was a dynamic one, and varied just as other socities did.  (Think about the old-time farmers/ranchers as they moved west, preparing the lands for their livestock and crops.  These people were not always very rich, and because of this fact, it was not uncommon to see them building dirt floor sod houses.  So, our current thinking must include this same information about all the different groups of people in our history--each society was unique and used a variety of forms of housing, feeding and clothing for their families.)

  Architecture--The Present 

We then move forward to today and look around our Phoenix metropolitan area to see the influence of these types of structures in our society.  For example, the adobe style of house is very common in our area, especially in the rural fringes of our community.  If you notice in the below picture, you will see that the native plants add to the desert feeling a home such as this conveys.  Additionally, you usually find larger open spaces around homes of this type, which add to the visual senses of feeling as if one is all alone in the desert.

A more elaborate structure below is typical of museums, either actual structures refurbished from the past, or, new ones depicting the past.  Again, most residential structures resemble the above picture rather than the below one, mainly due to space, cost and upkeep of larger buildings in our rather hot summer desert setting.

 

**DISCLAIMER:  In no way do we endorse, promote, or advertise for the businesses referenced on our pages in this Native American section.  They are only offered as links because of a wealth of information contained on them concerning various aspects of the culture and history of the Native Americans, and to give credit for the pictures/passages used herein for educational purposes.  Again, we are not endorsing, promoting, or advertising for any of these companies.  They may be/probably are reputable businesses and this statement in no way should be deemed as either a negative or positive vote for them.