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THE MUSEUM BUILDING
In a modern
building designed to evoke the Great Longhouses
of the Iroquois, visitors are introduced to another world view.
Photo by John Leverett |
A museum shaped as a longhouse to recall the traditional Iroquois longhouse of elm bark found in this area 400 years ago. A long and lofty longhouse with ingenious smoke holes in its roof, is featured by architect, C. Treat Arnold as a modern skylight over the main gallery. Grey shakes on the exterior suggest slabs of elm bark. |
| The outdoor amphitheater located under a summer tent has a special floor constructed for Iroquois social dancing. The amphitheater is also used for story telling, talks, and various performing arts. The Museum's open porches suggest that additions are possible. Iroquois longhouses grew to be over 300 feet long at times. The open mezzanine recalls the upper level of bunks and storage. |
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The open central stairwell is the architect's reminder that visitors can retrace the key event in the Iroquois account of Creation: Sky Woman's descent from the Sky World to Turtle Island, which we call North America. |
| In the Nature Park are two 19th century log homes moved from Six Nations Reserve, Ontario, and rebuilt by a Mohawk construction company. The homes were used as residences well into this century. |
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