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{{Short description|Type of Native American tent}}
{{other uses}}
[[File:Oglala girl in front of a tipi2.jpg|thumb|An [[Oglala Lakota]] tipi, 1891]]

A '''tipi''' or '''tepee''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|iː|p|i}} {{respell|TEE|pee}}) is a conical [[lodging|lodge]] [[tent]] that is distinguished from other conical tents by the [[smoke flaps]] at the top of the structure, and historically made of animal [[hide (skin)|hides]] or [[fur|pelts]] or, in more recent generations, of [[canvas]] stretched on a framework of wooden poles. The [[loanword]] came into English usage from the [[Dakota language|Dakota]]<ref name="Dakota-English Dictionary">{{cite web | title=English to Dakota Dictionary: As Spoken by the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate | website=Dakota-English Dictionary | url=https://dictionary.swodli.com/ | access-date=June 28, 2022}}</ref> and [[Lakota language]]s.<ref name="Yellowhand">{{cite web | last=Yellowhand | title=Lakota Pronunciation Glossary | website=WoLakota Project | date=November 29, 2013 | url=https://www.wolakotaproject.org/lakota-pronunciation-glossary/ | access-date=July 5, 2022}}</ref>

Historically, the tipi has been used by certain [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indigenous peoples]] of the [[Plains Indians|Plains]] in the [[Great Plains]] and [[Canadian Prairies]] of [[North America]], notably [[Oceti Sakowin|the seven tribes of the Sioux]], as well as among the [[Iowa people]], the [[Otoe]] and [[Pawnee people|Pawnee]], and among the [[Piegan Blackfeet|Blackfeet]], [[Crow Nation|Crow]], [[Assiniboines]], [[Arapaho]], and [[Plains Cree people|Plains Cree]].<ref name="Morgan">[[Lewis H. Morgan]], "I have seen it in use among seven or eight Dakota sub-tribes, among the Iowas, Otoes, and Pawnees, and among the Black-feet, Crows, Assiniboines, and Crees. In 1878, I saw it in use among the Utes of Colorado. A collection of fifty of these tents, which would accommodate five hundred persons, make a picturesque appearance. Under the name of the "[[Sibley tent]]" it is now in use, with some modifications of plan, in the [[United States Army]], for service on the plains." [A Sibley tent has one pole in the center and no flaps for guiding the smoke from the central fire.] (Contributions to N. A. Ethnology, vol. iv., p. 115.)</ref> They are also used west of the [[Rocky Mountains]] by [[Indigenous peoples of the Plateau]] such as the [[Yakama]] and the [[Cayuse people|Cayuse]]. They are still in use in many of these communities, though now primarily for ceremonial purposes rather than daily living. Modern tipis usually have a canvas covering.<ref name="Laubin">{{cite book | last1 = Laubin | first1 = Reginald | last2 = Laubin | first2 = Gladys | title = The Indian Tipi: Its History, Construction, and Use | edition = 2 | publisher = University of Oklahoma Press | year = 2012 | isbn = 978-0806188522}}</ref> 

Non-Native people have often [[Stereotypes of Indigenous peoples of Canada and the United States|stereotypically and incorrectly]] assumed that all [[Native Americans in the United States]] and [[Indigenous peoples in Canada]] have at one point lived in tipis,<ref name="NMAI">{{cite book |author=National Museum of the American Indian |title=Do All Indians Live in Tipis? |location=New York |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |date=2007 |isbn=978-0-06-115301-3 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780061153013 }}</ref> which is inaccurate, as many Native American cultures and civilizations and [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] from other regions have used other types of [[dwelling]]s ([[pueblo]]s, [[wigwam]]s, [[hogan]]s, [[chickee]]s, and [[Longhouses of the Indigenous peoples of North America|longhouses]]).<ref name="Laubin" />

== Terminology and etymology ==
[[File:Bird's Eye View of Sioux Camp at Pine Ridge, South Dakota - NARA - 530802.jpg|thumb|right|Example of typical tipi camp circle on the [[Pine Ridge Reservation]], circa 1890]]
[[File:Tipi Inside.png|thumb|[[Crow Nation|Crow]] lodge interior, 1907, showing the poles and outer skin at the top, the inner lining and bedding. The lashing rope is tied off to a wooden stake at the bottom of the photograph. Clothing is suspended on a line tied between two of the tipi poles.]]

''Tipi'' is a loanword from the [[Dakota language|Dakota]] and [[Lakota language]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Keoke|first1=Emory Dean|last2=Porterfield|first2=Kay Marie|author-link1=Emory Dean Keoke|author-link2=Kay Marie Porterfield|title=Encyclopedia of American Indian Contributions to the World: 15,000 Years of Inventions and Innovations|date= 2009|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-4381-0990-9|page=264}}</ref> [[Stephen Return Riggs]]' 1852 Dakota-English dictionary, which was sponsored by the [[Minnesota Historical Society]] spells it as ''tipi''.<ref name="Riggs 1992 p.470 ">{{cite book | last=Riggs | first=Stephen Return | title=A Dakota-English Dictionary | publisher=Borealis Book S. | publication-place=St. Paul | date=1992 | isbn=978-0-87351-282-4 | page=470}}</ref> [[Eugene Buechel]] spells it as ''tipi'' in his Lakota-English dictionary.<ref name="Buechel Manhart 1970 p. ">{{cite book | last1=Buechel | first1=E. | last2=Manhart | first2=P. | title=A Dictionary of the Teton Dakota Sioux Language; Lakota-English, English-Lakota: With Considerations Given to Yankton and Santee. Oie Wowapi Wan̳ Lakota-Ieska, Ieska-Lakota | publisher=Red Cloud Indian School, Holy Rosary Mission | year=1970 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zHRkAAAAMAAJ | access-date=November 6, 2023 | page=}}</ref> Dakota ethnographer [[Ella Deloria]] used the spelling ''tipi'' throughout her writings, including in her essential book ''The Dakota Way of Life''.<ref name="Deloria 2022 p.76">{{cite book | last=Deloria | first=Ella Cara | title=The Dakota Way of Life | publisher=U of Nebraska Press | publication-place=Lincoln | date=2022-12-22 | isbn=978-1-4962-3359-2 | page=76}}</ref> Lakota linguist [[Albert White Hat]] developed his own Lakota orthography and used ''tipi'' as the spelling.<ref name="White Hat">{{cite book | last=White Hat Sr | first=Albert | title=Reading and Writing the Lakota Language | publisher=University of Utah Press | publication-place=Salt Lake City | date=1999 | isbn=978-0-87480-572-7 | page=35}}</ref> The tipi image is used on almost all Dakota/Lakota tribal flags or seals,<ref name="AAA Native Arts o514">{{cite web | title=Sioux Indians | website=AAA Native Arts | url=https://www.aaanativearts.com/sioux/ | access-date=November 6, 2023}}</ref> and ''tipi'' is the spelling used by Dakota and Lakota tribes today.<ref name="Dakota-English Dictionary p518">{{cite web | title=Dakota-English Dictionary | website=Dakota-English Dictionary | url=https://dictionary.swodli.com/ | access-date=November 6, 2023}}</ref><ref name="Ullrich 2008 p. ">{{cite book | last=Ullrich | first=Jan F. | title=New Lakota Dictionary | publisher=Lakota Language Consortium | publication-place=Bloomington | date=2008 | isbn=978-0-9761082-9-0 | page=}}</ref><ref name="WoLakota Project 2013 c845">{{cite web | title=Lakota Pronunciation Glossary | website=WoLakota Project | date=November 29, 2013 | url=https://www.wolakotaproject.org/lakota-pronunciation-glossary/ | access-date=November 6, 2023}}</ref><ref name="Aktá Lakota Museum &amp; Cultural Center 2022 r287">{{cite web | title=Lakota Tipi : Aktá Lakota Museum & Cultural Center | website=Aktá Lakota Museum & Cultural Center | date=April 20, 2022 | url=https://aktalakota.stjo.org/lakota-tipi/ | access-date=November 6, 2023}}</ref>

The spelling ''tipi'' is the one most common in Canadian English<ref>[https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/tipi Tipi] in the Canadian Encyclopedia</ref> whereas the spelling ''tepee'' is the most common one according to American English dictionaries and the Encyclopedia Britannica and the Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia.<ref>[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tepee Tepee] in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary</ref><ref>[https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=tepee Tepee] in the American Heritage Dictionary</ref><ref>[https://www.britannica.com/technology/tepee Tepee] in the Encyclopedia Britannica</ref><ref>[https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/tipi Tepee] in the Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia</ref>

The [[wigwam]] or "wickiup", a dome-shaped shelter typically made of bark layered on a pole structure, was also used by various tribes, especially for hunting camps.<ref>''[[The Mythology of All Races]]''. 1916. [https://books.google.com/books?id=HjSXKyZ2HOgC&pg=PA76 |p. 76].</ref><ref>The Archeological History of New York, Issues 231-238. By [[Arthur Caswell Parker]]. University of the State of New York, 1922. [https://books.google.com/books?id=T0qESR8QbowC&pg=PA387 p387]</ref> The term ''wigwam'' has often been incorrectly used to refer to a conical skin tipi.<ref>The North-Americans of yesterday. By [[Frederick Samuel Dellenbaugh]]. G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1900. [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_L1KUlwDIhX4C/page/n227 p200]</ref><ref group="note">Usually wigwams are a domed structure; conical wooden wigwams exist, though, and presumably gave rise to the confusing of the different structures. For more, see: Notes on the Eastern Cree and Northern Saulteaux, Volumes 9-10. By [[Alanson Skinner (Anthropologist)|Alanson Skinner]]. The Trustee, 1911. [https://books.google.com/books?id=5Q8TAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA12 p12]+13.</ref>

The conventional translation in French and English for all Indigenous dwellings at one time was "lodge," resulting in many compounds and place names such as [[sweatlodge]], [[lodgepole pine]], [[Red Lodge, Montana|Red Lodge]], and so on.

== Types and utility ==
=== Structure ===
A tipi is distinguished from other conical tents by the smoke flaps at the top of the structure.<ref name="ReferenceA">Holley, Linda A. ''Tipis, Tepees, Teepees: History and Design of the Cloth Tipi.''</ref><ref>The American Antiquarian and Oriental Journal, Volume 24. Edited by [[Stephen Denison Peet]]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=XEPzAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA253 p253]</ref><ref>History of Dakota Territory, Volume 1. By [[George Washington Kingsbury]]. S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1915. [https://books.google.com/books?id=sXBEAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA147 p147]</ref> The tipi is durable,<ref>Annual Reports, Volume 17, Part 1. 1898. [https://books.google.com/books?id=f9sRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA405 p405]</ref> provides warmth and comfort in winter,<ref>"[https://books.google.com/books?id=titLAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA99 Shelter]". Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History, Volumes 5-6. Published by order of the trustees, 1910. [https://books.google.com/books?id=titLAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA115 p115]</ref> is cool in the heat of summer,<ref group="note">With the sides raised; As seen in: Anthropological papers. 1917. [https://books.google.com/books?id=RE5SAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA211 p211]</ref> and is dry during heavy rains.<ref>The Tipi: a Center of Native American Life. By [[David Yue]], [[Charlotte Yue]]. 1984. p. 15.</ref><ref>''Camping and Camp Outfits: A Manual of Instruction for Young and Old Sportsmen''. By [[George O. Shields]]. Rand, McNally, 1890. [https://archive.org/details/campingandcampo00shiegoog/page/n52 p 43]</ref> Tipis can be disassembled and packed away quickly when people need to relocate and can be reconstructed quickly upon settling in a new area.<ref>The North-Americans of yesterday. By [[Frederick Samuel Dellenbaugh]]. G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1900. [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_L1KUlwDIhX4C/page/n231 p 204]</ref><ref name="LHM-HaHLotAA">[[Lewis H. Morgan]], "[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8112 Houses and House Life of the American Aborigines]," Contributions to N. A. Ethnology, vol. iv., p. 114.</ref><ref group="note">[[Lewis H. Morgan]] notes the Dakota call their skin tents, "wii-ka-yo". The following is an extract of his text:<br />"When first discovered the Dakotas lived in houses constructed with a frame of poles and covered with bark, each of which was large enough for several families. They dwelt principally in villages in their original area on the head-waters of the Mississippi, the present State of Minnesota. Forced upon the plains by an advancing white population, but after they had become possessed of horses, they invented a skin tent eminently adapted to their present nomadic condition. It is superior to any other in use among the American aborigines from its roominess, its portable character, and the facility with which it can be erected and struck. "[...]" When the tent is struck, the poles are attached to a horse, half on each side, like thills, secured to the horse's neck at one end, and the other dragging on the ground. The skin-covering and other camp-equipage are packed upon other horses and even upon their dogs, and are thus transported from place to place on the plains. This tent is so well adapted to their mode of life that it has spread far and wide among the Indian tribes of the prairie region." (Contributions to N. A. Ethnology, vol. iv., p. 114.)</ref> Historically, this portability was important to [[Plains Indians]] with their at-times [[nomad]]ic lifestyle.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=h9clAAAAMAAJ North American Indians of the Plains]. By [[Clark Wissler]]. American Museum of Natural History, 1920.</ref> Tribes would have well-organized camp circles of family units living in multiple tipis arranged in order depending on rank or roles in the family unit, community, or ceremony.<ref name="Laubin Laubin 2012 p.293-269">{{cite book | last1=Laubin | first1=G. | last2=Laubin | first2=R. | title=The Indian Tipi: Its History, Construction, and Use | publisher=University of Oklahoma Press | year=2012 | isbn=978-0-8061-7406-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_wq7rggTOIYC | access-date=June 29, 2022 | page=293-269
}}</ref> Generally, the door and camp openings face east in the direction of the sunrise.<ref name="Laubin Laubin 2012 p.293-269"/>

A typical family tipi is a conical, portable structure with two adjustable smoke flaps, multiple poles (historically from {{cvt|12|to|25|ft|m|disp=or}} long) called lodge poles.

[[Lewis H. Morgan]] noted that tipi frames were 13 to 15 poles that were {{convert|15|to(-)|18|ft|order=flip}} tall. These poles, "after being tied together at the small ends, are raised upright with a twist so as to cross the poles above the fastening."<ref name=Morgan114>Morgan, Lewis H., ''Contributions to Native American Ethnology'', vol. iv., p. 114.</ref> The builders pull the lower ends out to form a circle about {{convert|10|ft|order=flip}} in diameter on the ground. They stretch a covering of tanned and untanned buffalo hides, sewn together, over the frame, which they then secure with stakes at the base. "At the top there is an extra skin adjusted as a collar, so as to be open on the windward side to facilitate the exit of the smoke. A low opening is left for a doorway, which is covered with an extra skin used as a drop. The fire-pit and arrangements for beds are the same as in the Ojibwa lodge, grass being used in the place of spruce or hemlock twigs."<ref name=Morgan114/>

[[Lodgepole pine]] is the preferred wood in the Northern and Central Plains and [[Juniperus virginiana|red cedar]] in the Southern Plains.<ref name="Wishart">[[David J. Wishart|Wishart, David J.]] ''Encyclopedia of the Great Plains Indians''. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2007. 89.</ref>  Tipis have a detachable cover over the structure. The cover has historically been made of [[American Bison|buffalo]] hide, an optional skin or cloth lining, and a canvas or bison calf skin door. Modern lodges are more often made of canvas.<ref name="Laubin"/>{{rp|p3, p58}}

Ropes (historically rawhide thongs or [[babiche]]) and wooden pegs are required to bind the poles, close the cover, attach the lining and door, and anchor the resulting structure to the ground. Tipis are distinguished from other tents by two crucial elements: the opening at the top and the smoke flaps, which allow the dwellers to heat themselves and cook with an open fire; and the lining that is primarily used in the winter, which insulates. Tipis were designed to be easily set up or taken down to allow camps to be moved to follow game migrations, especially the bison. When dismantled the tipi poles were used to construct a dog- or later horse-pulled [[travois]] on which additional poles and tipi cover were placed.<ref name="Laubin" />

Tipi covers are made by sewing together strips of canvas or tanned hide and cutting out a semicircular shape from the resulting surface. Trimming this shape yields a door and the smoke flaps that allow the dwellers to control the chimney effect to expel smoke from their fires. Old-style traditional linings were hides, blankets, and rectangular pieces of cloth hanging about {{convert|4|to(-)|5|ft|order=flip}} above the ground tied to the poles or a rope.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

=== Decoration ===
[[File:Kiowa tipis with designs.jpg|left|thumb|Four [[Kiowa]] tipis (1904) with designs. From top left to right: design featuring bison herd and pipe-smoking deer, porcupine design, design featuring arms and legs with pipes and lizard, and design featuring water monsters]]

Historically, most tipis in a village were not painted. Painted tipis often depicted noteworthy historical battles and often featured geometric portrayals of [[celestial bodies]] and animal designs. Sometimes tipis have been painted to depict personal experiences such as war, hunting, a dream, or vision. When depicting visions, "ceremonies and prayers were first offered, and then the dreamer recounted his dream to the priests and wise men of the community. Those known to be skilled painters were consulted, and the new design was made to fit anonymously within the traditional framework of the tribe's painted tipis."<ref>{{cite book | last=Goble | first=Paul | author-link=Paul Goble (writer and illustrator)| title = Tepee: Home of the Nomadic Buffalo Hunters | publisher = World Wisdom Books | year=2007 | location=USA | page=42 | isbn=978-1-933316-39-0 }}</ref>

During the later reservation era, retired warriors would paint on canvas tipis depicting different events in tribal history, including battles with Americans. He Nupa Wanica (Joseph No Two Horns), a Hunkpapa Lakota warrior who fought in 40 battles, including the [[Battle of the Little Bighorn]],<ref name="Art Is The Movement 2019">{{cite web | title=Shield by He Nupa Wanica/Joseph No Two Horns | website=Art Is The Movement | date=March 14, 2019 | url=https://www.artisthemovement.com/blog-tumblr/2019/3/12/shield-by-he-nupa-wanicajoseph-no-two-horns | access-date=June 29, 2022}}</ref> is one such artist known for his many tipi paintings, shields and horse effigies now in museums.<ref name="Mia">{{cite web | title=Tipi Cover | website=Minneapolis Institute of Art | url=https://collections.artsmia.org/art/4711/tipi-cover-no-two-horns | access-date=June 29, 2022}}</ref>

===Teachings===
[[File:Blackfoot tipis.jpg|thumb|right|Examples of [[Siksika Nation|Siksika (Blackfoot)]] painted tipis, circa 1910]]
Tribes today use the tipi as a means to convey traditional, scientific, and psychological teachings.  The [[Siksika Nation|Siksika (Blackfoot)]] nation's worldview is based on the shape of a tipi, which inspired [[Maslow's hierarchy of needs]] teachings.<ref name="Ph.D. 2019">{{cite web | last=Ph.D. | first=Steve Taylor | title=Original Influences | website=Psychology Today | date=March 22, 2019 | url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/out-the-darkness/201903/original-influences | access-date=June 29, 2022}}</ref><ref name="Resilience 2021">{{cite web | title=The Blackfoot Wisdom that Inspired Maslow's Hierarchy | website=Resilience | date=June 18, 2021 | url=https://www.resilience.org/stories/2021-06-18/the-blackfoot-wisdom-that-inspired-maslows-hierarchy/ | access-date=June 29, 2022}}</ref> In [[Cree]] communities, the tipi can represent the power of women and their role as the foundation of the family unit.<ref name="SaskToday.ca 2019">{{cite web | title=Tipi Teachings - Ceremonial construction celebrates value of women's teachings | website=SaskToday.ca | date=October 3, 2019 | url=https://www.sasktoday.ca/north/local-news/tipi-teachings-ceremonial-construction-celebrates-value-of-womens-teachings-4139119 | access-date=June 29, 2022}}</ref> In [[Lakota people|Lakota]] communities, youth are taught how to assemble tipis, with each pole representing different traditional virtues, and are simultaneously taught geometry and  teamwork.<ref name="Bourcher Lerdal 2012">{{cite web | last1=Bourcher | first1=Randilynn | last2=Lerdal | first2=Darla Drew | title=SD GEARUP Summer Students Complete Tipi Building Session | website=Lakota Times - | date=June 13, 2012 | url=https://www.lakotatimes.com/articles/sd-gearup-summer-students-complete-tipi-building-session/ | access-date=June 29, 2022}}</ref>

== See also ==
* {{annotated link|Chum (tent)}}
* {{annotated link|Goahti}}
* {{annotated link|Lavvu}}
* {{annotated link|Plains hide painting}}
* {{annotated link|Yurt}}

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|2|group=note}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Holley, Linda A. ''Tipis, Tepees, Teepees: History and Design of the Cloth Tipi.'' Gibbs-Smith, 2007.
* [[Reginald Laubin]], Gladys Laubin, [[Stanley Vestal]], ''The Indian Tipi: its History, Construction, and Use.'' Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1989, {{ISBN|978-0-8061-2236-6}}.
* American Anthropologist. [https://books.google.com/books?id=GoR0AAAAIAAJ Vol. 16; No. 1]. American Anthropological Association of Washington, 1914.

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Tipis}}
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6og_89w6bbU Tour of a Lakota tipi] via [[Sinte Gleska University]]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALqN5BrpczI Blackfoot Tipi lessons] via [[Blackfoot Crossing]]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixJ0PAZsgQw Cree Tipi Virtues] via [[Lac La Ronge Indian Band]]

{{Tents}}
{{Huts}}
{{Native american styles}}
{{Architecture in the United States}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Tipis| ]]
[[Category:Indigenous culture of the Great Plains]]
[[Category:Indigenous architecture]]
[[Category:House types]]
[[Category:Portable buildings and shelters]]
[[Category:Traditional Native American dwellings]]
[[Category:Tents]]
[[Category:Lakota words and phrases]]