The Hupa tribe traditionally lived in long lodges supported by wooden frames and covered with planks and earth sod roofing. They were semi-subterranean, built into the earth, which offered a degree of environmental shelter. These structures could accommodate extended families of multiple generations, with individual sections within that extended from either sides of a central hallway.
Features of Hupa Lodge Houses:
- Rectangular floor plans
- Plank wall posts that ran from the ground 5 feet into the roof.
- Interior post supports.
- Split cedar roofs overlaid with layers of bark, brush, tule reed mats as thatching insulation.
- Doorway entrances from the ends.
- Central open smoke holes that served as windows, along with the doorway areas that permitted light.
- Fire pits near the center.
- Sleeping, living, and storage accommodations.