\I VIKKIAI. CULTURE. 35 



the country, but it was certainly more laborious and 

 the marches shorter. 



Shelter. 



The Tipi. One of the most characteristic features 

 of Plains Indian culture was the tipi. All the tribes 

 of the area, almost without exception, used it for a 

 part of the year at least. Primarily, the tipi was a 

 conical tent covered with dressed buffalo skins. A 

 carefully mounted and equipped tipi from the Black- 

 foot Indians stands in the center of the Plains exhibit. 

 Everywhere the tipi was made, cared for, and set up 

 by the women. First, a conical framework of long 

 slender poles was erected and the cover raised into 

 place. Then the edges of the cover were staked down 

 and the poles supporting the "ears" put in place. 

 The "ears" are wings, or flies, to keep the wind out of 

 the smoke hole at the top; they were moved about by 

 the outside poles. The fire was built near the center 

 and the beds spread upon the ground around the sides. 

 The head of the family usually sat near the rear, or 

 facing the door. 



While in essential features the tipis of all Plains 

 tribes were the same, there were nevertheless some 

 important differences. Thus, when setting up a tipi, 

 the Blackfoot, Crow, Sarsi, Hidatsa, Omaha, and 

 Comanche first tie four poles as a support to the others; 

 while the Teton-Dakota, Assiniboine, Cheyenne, Gros 

 Ventre, Arapaho, Kiowa, Plains-Cree, Mandan, and 

 Pawnee use three, or a tripod foundation. For the 



