How limited these examples should be used as corollaries of tribes in Minnesota is unknown, since there are no similar works done for this area. The assumption must be made that some of these practices would be similar between the tribes of the different areas, and that some would be quite different, especially in relation to similarities and dissimilarities in environment. One of the more important uses of wood would have to be for making fire. Among the Native American tribes of New York, several different methods of making fire were used. Rubbing two sticks together and stick-twirling are examples.
Fire is, of course, important for heat production and for cooking of food.
Any houses that New York tribes built tended to make use of long poles for a frame, and bark was an optional covering. In times of war, villages were often protected by wood fortifications, built by close picketing of posts driven into the ground. Weapons Many stone points that have been discovered have features that would allow them to be attached to long pieces of wood to make a spear or arrows. Archeological and ethnographical evidence supports the making and use of these weapons. Defensive items such as armor and shields were observed among the Mohawks and Mossawomeks.