How To Build A Tipi

For the Plains tribes of North America—such as the Lakota, Cheyenne, Blackfoot, and Comanche—the tipi (or teepee) was far more than a shelter. It was a mobile, sacred home designed to meet the demands of a nomadic lifestyle centered around the buffalo. Ingeniously constructed, easily transportable, and suited to the harsh climates of the Great Plains, the tipi reflected both the ingenuity and spiritual worldview of its people.

Construction began with the frame, made from long, slender lodgepole pine trees. Typically, 12 to 20 poles were used, each about 15 to 20 feet in length. These poles were stripped of bark and smoothed. To assemble the frame, three or four poles were first tied together near the top and then raised upright to form a tripod. The remaining poles were laid in a circular pattern around this structure, all leaning inward and meeting at the apex. This conical shape provided excellent wind resistance—critical in the often stormy plains—and allowed smoke to rise efficiently through the top.

Once the frame was erected, it was covered in buffalo hides sewn together, often 12 to 20 hides in total. These hides were tanned and stitched using sinew or rawhide strips. The cover was shaped into a half-circle and wrapped around the frame, with an opening left at the top for ventilation and a smoke flap. Wooden pegs anchored the hide to the ground at the base, and a central seam at the entrance was tied shut or left open as needed.

Interior details were carefully arranged. A central fire pit provided heat and was used for cooking, with the smoke rising through the top opening. Beds of buffalo robes and furs were placed along the walls, often layered on willow frames. The firelight would cast shadows on the hide walls, where symbolic paintings or personal stories were sometimes drawn. Each family’s tipi reflected its owner’s identity—decoration was both artistic and spiritual, often incorporating animals, visions, and dreams.

Disassembly was fast and efficient, a vital trait for a mobile people following buffalo herds. The outer hide was rolled up and packed, often onto a travois—a sled-like frame attached to a horse. The poles were similarly gathered and lashed together. A single family could disassemble a tipi in less than an hour, and the entire village might be packed and ready to move within a few hours. The use of horses after their introduction by the Spanish made transport much easier than in earlier dog-pulled travois systems.

When the tribe relocated, the poles were lashed in a fan-like bundle across the backs of horses, dragging the travois along. Women were primarily responsible for the assembly, disassembly, and upkeep of tipis, and their skill in doing so was a source of pride and importance in tribal life.

Elegant, efficient, and deeply tied to both survival and spirit, the tipi was a masterpiece of Indigenous engineering—shaped by centuries of adaptation to the unforgiving and beautiful expanse of the North American plains.

To learn more about the history of the Plains Tribes, check out the HOKC episode linked below. Brought to you only by History At The OK Corral: Home Of History’s Greatest Shootouts & Showdowns!