Clothing

 In the summertime, the Quinnipiac men wore breechcloths, while the women wore skirts made of deerskin or woven out of hemp or dried grass. In the winter both men and women wore leather leggings, aprons, and cloaks, made of deerskin, as well as the summer clothes for extra warmth. Native Americans preferred white man clothes because they were cheaper, dried more easily, and were more comfortable. The two trade items most desired by the natives were wampum and trading cloth. In 1639, Shaumishuh, the bravest trader of the Quinnipiac sachems, finalized her agreement with the English who wanted to purchase land in Guilford by accepting a large payment of wampum, a variety of tools, twelve coats, two English coats, twelve pairs of shoes, twelve pairs of stockings and twelve hats.

Food

 The Quinnipiacs often went along the banks of Long Island Sound collecting shellfish. Along the banks of the Quinnipiac River. The men of the tribe would hunt and fish, stopping to camp on places like Pemmican or Grannis Island. The clay deposits on the side of the river provided material for the women to make pottery. The Quinnipiacs also canoed to islands to fish.

Housing

 The most common house of a Quinnipiac Native American is the Wigwam. A small round house made of wood, mud, bark and woven grasses. There was usually bark covering the wigwams to make them waterproof. Most of the personal possessions are stored in birch-bark baskets under their bench.

Beliefs

 In Native American cosmology, it is essential that you show respect to all things and animals. The Algonquins believed that all things had powers. There were many rituals; some were preformed by powwows, others by individuals. Hunters said prayers to the animals that they killed to ensure that they caught animals in the future. The people of this tribe had many rituals of thanks giving in which they offered everything from food to weapons to the spirits. To purify themselves, the Quinnipiacs steamed themselves while chanting prayers. Smoking was a very religious act. Men smoked their clay pipes to produce good feelings and open lines of communication with the great spirits.