12,000 YEARS OF EVOLUTION

From Scandinavia through Russia to North America and Greenland, the tipi, tepee, teepee, tioti or wigwam has been the home to many peoples for more than 12,000 years. It has evolved from bark and skin covered dwellings to canvas and modern poly materials. Canvas was introduced in the 1800's.

The tepee constitutes efficient housing for people who must move camp to hunt. Tepees are easily portable and quickly erected or taken down. An inner liner hung from midway up the tepee allows ventilation without drafts, so that the enclosed space is comfortable even in winter.

The tepee is an ideal portable shelter. It is warm in winter and cool in summer. Lake Huron Tepees are waterproof, can withstand the roughest weather and are quick to set up and take down. In windy areas, the tepee is exceptionally stable.

When the French explorers arrived, they saw the tepees of the Ottawa people, known as Île de Michilimackinac

Nez Perce Lodge
A Comanche camp in 1834 by George Catlin

Wet’suwet’en Salmon Fishing, Moricetown, B.C.
Known as ‘Kyah wiget at Moricetown Canyon on the Bulkley River. Here, the river plunges through a narrow gorge, tumbling down a series of rushing waterfalls, and salmon are plentiful. The village straddles the Trans-Canada Yellowhead 16 Highway.

Historic photos of tipis

Native American Housing

Aboriginal Canadians
A brief history

Back, back in time... If you fly beyond Old Crow Flats in northern Yukon you can see the remains of ancient logs that form massive, man-made structures once used to catch caribou. Aboriginal Canadians call them "the caribou corrals." Martin O'Malley, CBC News Online | June 21, 2005