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No dwelling in all the world stirs the imagination like the tipi of the Plains Indian. It is without doubt one of the most picturesque of all shelters and one of the most practical movable dwellings ever invented (Laubin and Laubin 1977:15).
Tipi at the Sioux Falls Courthouse Museum's temporary exhibit "Prairie Castles". |
Tipis provided year-round shelter for some groups; others may have used them only seasonally. Portability of tipis is an advantage. Dog and horse drawn travois are known historically. Some stone circles were presumably used to hold down the edges of tipis or other skin shell structures.The tipi was designed to be taken apart quickly and easily and erected in less than an hour by two to three people. The tipi is shorter and steeper in the rear to give it greater strength in the direction of the prevailing winds. This tilt also allowed the smoke hole to be directly above the fire pit.
The small doorway would face towards the rising sun. The floor represented the earth, the walls the sky, and the poles were pathways linking the earthbound people with the Great Spirit. Traditionally the tipi was made with 12 or more buffalo skins, hide ropes, wood, sinews and wooden pegs. Prior to wooden pegs, stones may have been used to hold the skins down. Archeologists often find remains of circles of stones across the Plains, some of which are interpreted as tipi rings.
After the buffalo herds were decimated by white settlers, the tipi covers were made of canvas. When a new tipi cover was made, the owner would light a smoky fire and close the tipi tight until the skin was thoroughly smoked. This helped make the tipi waterproof and kept it from getting hard and stiff following a wetting.
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