Koo Hoot Kiwat-Caddo Grass House

UPDATE: Unfortunately, the subject of this video—the traditional grass house at Caddo Mounds State Historic Site—was wiped out by an EF3 tornado that directly hit the site on April 13, 2019. Learn more about what the grass house meant to the Caddo people and the community around Caddo Mounds in this video, and learn more about the disaster recovery efforts at www.visitcaddomounds.com.

Late last fall, PBS aired a documentary about Caddo tribal elder Phil Cross and  apprentice Chad Earles, who return to their ancestral homeland to direct a group of enthusiastic local volunteers in the design and construction of a traditional Caddo grass house. 

Cross, the Caddo elder and project architect, is perhaps the last among the Caddo with the knowledge of this nearly forgotten practice. By building the house on the land of his ancestors, he is passing his knowledge on for the next generations and beyond. 

Check out the Emmy Award winning “Koo-Hoot Kiwat: The Caddo Grass House” to learn more about Caddo Mounds State Historic Site and see the process that combines both traditional and modern techniques, using raw materials collected from the nearby Davy Crockett National Forest and USDA, East Texas Plant Materials Center.