What did the pawnee Indians make their houses from?

Answer 1

The Kiowa were true Plains people living in tipi-style lodges called tou in Kiowa.

Most of these tipis had no painting applied to the cover, but a small percentage were painted in traditional religious designs that were passed on from one important man to another. A very useful study and record of these designs was made at the end of the 19th century by John Canfield Ewers and James Mooney and published under the title "Murals in the round: painted tipis of the Kiowa and Kiowa-Apache Indians".

Answer 2

Both the Kiowa and the very closely-connected Kiowa Apache tribes were pure Plains nomads who lived only in tipi-style lodges (called tou in Kiowa).

These used narrow, straight poles arranged in a cone shape, covered with a semicircular cover made from many buffalo hides sewn together. The entire structure could house a large family group and could be erected or dismantled in a short time. The poles were then tied to a horse's shoulders to create a "drag" or "travois", on which the folded cover and other household items could be transported to the next camp site.

The poles used and the overall tipi size were usually smaller among the Kiowa than among more northerly Plains tribes.

See link below for an image:

Answer 3

Although called "earth lodges" the dwellings of the Pawnee were really made mainly out of other materials.

Building a Pawnee house involved first digging a circular pit about 3 feet deep and up to 70 feet across. This made a sunken floor. Upright wooden posts about 7 feet tall were placed all around the circumference, then 8 very sturdy posts about 15 feet tall were placed in a circle in the centre of the lodge, their tops joined by horizontal poles. Next, many radiating rafters were laid from the centre reaching the outer posts, forming the rafters of the roof - with a central smoke hole.

Over the rafters was laid layers of willow saplings, dried grass and turves. The final element was a layer of waterproof clay which would not permit rain to get inside.

So most of the house was really made of wood, but from the outside the general appearance was like an igloo of clay.