Students learn in longhouse

Kids get a taste of the Indian way of life

A Native American longhouse is a boon for a Chapel Hill schoolFifth-graders ducked through the small wood-framed doorway of the Indian longhouse behind their elementary school Monday. Sitting on woven cloths, they absentmindedly kicked at the dirt floor as they learned how Native Americans gathered nuts and berries, grew corn and squash, and turned deer hides into clothing.

Elementary students across the Triangle have been learning about American Indians as Thanksgiving approaches. Not many get to do so sitting inside their school's very own Indian longhouse.

Ten years ago, a Boy Scout working on his Eagle Project and students from the school built the life-size structure in the woods behind Frank Porter Graham Elementary School.