or tipi
Tall tent dwelling used by the Plains Indian s.
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