See Also: tepee(dictionary)
tepee(encyclopedia)
tepee(dictionary)

tepee (sh)




or tipi

Tall tent dwelling used by the Plains Indians.

It was suited to their nomadic life of buffalo hunting, because it could be easily folded and dragged by a horse. It was made by stretching dressed and fitted buffalo skins over a skeleton of 20-30 wooden poles, all slanted in toward a central point and tied together near the top. A flap at the top allowed smoke to escape, and a flap at the bottom served as a doorway. The tepee became a popular symbol of all American Indians, although the wigwam, wickiup, hogan, igloo, and longhouse were at least as important.


Tepees in Banff, Alta., Can.

Alpha