Learn the unique design of the Indian tepee.

Step 1

Step 4

Step 5, 6

Materials:
*18 dowel rods (l/2" diameter x 4' or 1.2 m)
*light canvas, cotton sheet or similar fabric (6' x 6' or 1.8 m x 1.8 m)
*cotton cloth (2' x 9' or 60 cm x 2.7 m)
*18 to 24 dried peas or similar sized gravel
*nylon cord (l/8" or 3 mm)
*12 toothpicks
*sewing kit and/or sewing machine
*pocketknife or rasp

Note: You may need to special order the 4-foot dowel rods from a hardware store.

Procedure:
1. Use a pocketknife or rasp to taper the dowel rods toward one end. Try to make the dowels look somewhat irregular like real tepee poles.
2. Cut out the tepee cover and liner using the patterns provided on page 62. Hem all cut edges. Attach ties and reinforcements at the points shown on the pattern. Insert the triangular gussets and sew.
3. Select 3 poles (dowels). Spread the tepee cover as shown and lay out the tri-pod poles. The two poles lying side by side should be labeled N and S. These are the north and south poles and in actual practice would be located at those positions. Label the other pole D because it is the door pole.
4. Arrange the poles so they intersect at the upper tie located between the smoke flaps. Lash the poles together at this point using a clove hitch followed by several turns and half hitches. Use a length of cord about 9 feet (3 meters) long and tie so there is a length of at least 6 feet (2 meters) remaining.

Step 9

Step 10

Step 11

5. Stand the tripod by lifting from the top. You may wish to move the tepee cover aside to avoid walking on it. Face the poles from their tops, lift and pull the N pole (the right pole of the pair) toward you. This should lock the N pole securely into the crotch formed by S and D. The locking feature is what gives the tepee its stability.
6. Position the tripod poles so they are around a circle about 3 feet (1 meter) in diameter. The N and S poles should be the same distance from the center of the tripod. The D pole should be slightly farther. Thus the tripod actually forms an oval on the ground and is tilted slightly toward the door pole. This is another unique feature of the tepee and is important in maintaining the stability of the shelter in strong winds and permitting the tepee to draw properly when a fire is built inside. When first raising the tepee, it is difficult to position the poles accurately. Be prepared for several trials.

Step 7

7. Once the tripod is up, it is time to place the support poles. Position each pole according to the diagram in the order given. Poles 1 through 4 go to the right of the door pole with their tops stacked in order in the front crotch. Poles 5 through 8 go on top of the first four in the same crotch. This placement puts the poles where they will create the least bulk under the tepee cover. Lay poles 9 through 11 in the rear crotch. Skip a space between poles 10 and 11. This is for the lifting pole, which carries the tepee cover.
8. With all the poles (except the lifting pole) in place, wrap the cord, which secures the tripod, clockwise around the assembly. Make four revolutions (one for each cardinal direction on the compass). After the fourth revolution, loop the cord over the N pole and let the free end fall into the center of the frame-work. In actual practice, this rope was often staked near the center of the tepee for added stability.
9. Next install the tepee liner. On an actual tepee the liner would not be installed until the cover was in place. In the model, however, the liner must be positioned first. Begin by tying a 12-foot (4-meter) length of cord to the door pole 18 inches (50 cm) above the ground. Take the cord around the framework, wrapping it once around each pole at the same height. Wrap so the cord reaches and leaves each pole on the inside of the framework. Finally, tie off the cord near its starting point. Tie the longer edge of the liner to base of each pole.
10. Spread the tepee cover as you did in Step 3. Bring both straight edges of the cover together in the middle. Again fold the outer edges in toward the cen-ter. Continue in this way until the cover forms a long, triangular bundle. Fold the cover one last time so that its midline forms one edge of the bundle. Lay a pole along the midline with the butt of the pole slightly below the bottom edge of the cover. Where the upper tie intersects the pole, tie the cover securely.

Step 11

11. Lift the cover and pole together and turn them so the cover is outside the pole as it is laid in position (between poles 10 and 11). Bring the cover around the framework from both sides until the flat edges overlap. Lap the south edge over the north (left over right). Match the lacing holes and secure by intersecting a toothpick (lacing pin) in one set of lacing holes and out the adjacent pair. Tie the cover sides together at the base of the smoke flaps.
12. Insert two remaining poles in the cups at the top of the smoke flaps. Arrange these poles so they cross over the rear of the tepee. The poles should be adjusted until the smoke flaps are fully extended and taut. Tie a 3-foot (1 meter) cord to the lower corner of each smoke flap. These cords can be brought out to an 18-inch (50 cm) pole anchored in the ground about 1 foot (30 cm) in front of the door.

Step 13

13. Hang the door from the lacing pin immediately above the door opening. This completes the tepee.

side view showing tilt

14. The design and pitching procedure for this scale model follow those required for pitching a full-sized tepee. As with a full-sized tepee, the smoke flaps can be opened or closed by adjusting the smoke flap poles. If you want to stake the tepee cover, make stakes from l/4-inch dowel rods. Make stake loops by twisting a dried pea into the fabric along the lower edge of the tepee and secure with a piece of cord.

Tepee in summer