Hidatsa Women and Earthlodges
Who built and owned Hidatsa earthlodges, and who lived in them. This reading uses the first two paragraphs of the page. It leaves out the paragraphs about the park today and Hidatsa women today, and the video and visit information.
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In traditional Hidatsa society, women built, owned, and took care of the earthlodge. The Hidatsa word for it is “awadi.” Women gathered building materials during the year. They gathered them when snow covered the Northern Plains, because snow made it easier to move heavy loads. The women of a clan built the earthlodge together. An older woman led the work. She had sacred and practical knowledge about building earthlodges.
They began by placing four cottonwood posts. They strengthened the posts with a circular frame of logs, willow branches, dried grass, and sod. This large structure could be built in just 6 to 10 days. It was home to ten to twenty people. These were often sisters and their families, with several generations. There were over 100 earthlodges in Big Hidatsa Village. The village was started around 1600 and left in 1845.