Native Americans have always created architecture. Famous monuments documented in the APS collections include the ancient stone temples of Mexico and Central America and the earthen mounds found throughout the Western hemisphere, especially in the Midwestern and Southern United States.

Both temples and mounds fascinated explorers and archeologists, who often portrayed them in drawings and photographs. Though these structures may have seemed like old ruins or forgotten burial places to non-Natives, many Native communities still consider temples and mounds to be living, sacred sites.

The images in this section demonstrate how Native peoples have used many different kinds of technologies for their shelters and dwellings. Often built from materials at hand—wood, bark, earth, skins, and more—the buildings are well-suited to the climate, whether tundra, desert, plains, or woodlands.

The structures are also adapted to the diverse lifeways of Native Americans, with building methods passed down through the generations. Some, like tipis, are easily portable; some are seasonal and temporary, others more permanent. Some are dwellings for single families; others, like longhouses, are larger buildings meant for community gatherings and ceremonies. Even today, although most Native people live in modern houses, these traditional structures continue to be used for ceremonial occasions.