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Pit-house (Kekuli)

A pit-house is a house built in the ground and used for shelter. Besides providing shelter from the most extreme of weather conditions, this type of earth shelt

A pit-house is a house built in the ground and used for shelter. Besides providing shelter from the most extreme of weather conditions, this type of earth shelter may also be used to store food and for cultural activities like the telling of stories, dancing, singing and celebrations.

General dictionaries also describe a pit-house as a dugout, and it has similarities to a half-dugout. Among the Secwépemc and other Interior Salish peoples, the pit-house, known as a kekuli, was the traditional winter dwelling.

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
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CC BY-SA 4.0
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A community memberJuly 2, 2026
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July 2, 2026Reviewer not recorded

Sourced for demonstration, pending community review. This openly licensed material stands in for community content until an Elder or community authority reviews it. It is not presented as authoritative culture and can be removed or revised on request.