Housing
The majority of the Secwepemc people lived a nomadic lifestyle, moving from place to place as food became available in different areas. To live comfortably in their environment, the Secwepemc lived in winter and summer lodges. They lived in permanent pithouses (c7es7iskten) in the winter and portable lodges that resembled teepees in the summer months.
Winter Houses
A
large number of Secwepemc pithouses had more than a one family occupancy
and required separate entrances for both men and women. The women's entrance
was low, facing the water; this entrance purified the pit house and made
water packing easier. The men's entrance was a hole on top of the pit house
and a log with steps and hand-holds carved into it provided a ladder for
the men to climb in and out. To signify the cycle of life, the log ladder
would point east because of the eastern sunrise.
People
slept on tree boughs and mats that were laid out on the floor for their
comfort while furs and hides provided a warm covering. Most of the cooking
was done inside so food caches were placed in the pit house for convenience.
The men's entrance would always be kept open until they experienced bad
weather, then cedar bark was used to cover the hole. An excellent source
of heat were lava rocks because they would retain heat for a long period
of time. They would be heated by outside fires and brought in the pithouse
with a "Y" shaped stick.
A large amount of logs that were used in pit house construction were found lying on the ground. These logs were hauled or floated down river to the site. Log collecting would could take up to five years but it would take the whole village only one day to erect a pit house if the site was ready and the resources were at hand.
Sinew and rawhide would bind the logs together for the framework. Four main beams provided the uprights with horizontal poles tied to them. The roof of the pithouse was made of a combination of cedar bark and sod that provided both insulation and camouflage. The sod also had plants growing to it that soaked up water when it rained outside.
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