Tipis, tepees, teepees---however you choose to spell it, these esthetically beautiful dwellings of the Plains Indian are the rage of the new millennium. From backyards and schoolyards to campgrounds, guest ranches, and private rural property, teepees are appearing everywhere, as more and more people, from yuppies to outdoor adventurers, discover the joy and the magic of teepee living. The allure of the teepee---the Sioux word for “living in”---is almost magical. It first draws the eye, then seems to beckon you within. Once you’re inside, the feeling borders on the etheric, that same sense of awe experienced in a quiet cathedral or a majestic forest.

Warm in winter, cool in summer, bright and airy, Native American teepees are the most practical form of housing ever invented. The graceful, conical shape is not only pleasing to the eye, it can also withstand high winds when properly anchored to the ground, a valuable asset considering the volatile weather on the Great Plains where they originated. It’s no wonder the early explorers, as well as the military who pursued the Indians, envied the natives their snug teepees.

Although the Plains Indians used buffalo hides for the covering, teepees today are usually constructed of 13 or 15-ounce Army Duck, a special canvas which is preshrunk and has been treated to make it water repellent and mildew resistant as well as UV protected. Your own personal touch can be added by painting designs on the outside, using ordinary latex house paint. With proper care, a teepee will give you many years of enjoyment.

Poles are Lodgepole Pine, which the Native Americans discovered long ago to be most suitable. Tribes on the treeless plains used to make long excursions into the mountains to obtain their poles, which were highly prized. For an 18-foot teepee (the most popular size sold today) 17 poles are required, each being 24 feet long with a 3-inch base and tapering almost to a point at the top. This slender tapering is not only functional but contributes to the teepee’s artistic beauty. Poles extend four to five feet above the teepee itself, giving the teepee its distinctive hourglass shape.

Although it may look complicated, setting up and taking down a teepee is easy once you get the hang of it, and they are completely portable. (It is said that Comanche women in the old days could take one down and be packed and gone in 30 minutes!) The inner lining, which reaches a little over half-way up on the inside, creates a double wall which acts as a draft to draw smoke from the fire in the center up and out the smoke hole. It also helps to insulate and to prevent rain from wicking through from the outside canvas. The flaps or “ears,” which extend outward above the center front, are adjusted according to wind direction, helping direct the smoke out the smoke hole.

Sitting around a flickering campfire in the center of a Native American teepee at night, with the moon and stars peeking through the smoke hole, imparts an unmatched aura of enchantment that must be experienced to be understood. It gives one the sensation of being inside a giant lantern, basking in its warm glow, and at the same time, there is a sense of bonding with another culture, as well as with the haunting echoes of our own primitive past.

So, whether you are looking for a unique outdoor experience, an educational playhouse for the kids, or a peaceful backyard retreat, a Native American teepee could be just the right answer.