"Tepee" or "tipi" is an American Indian word meaning "the
place where one lives." It is from the
Dakota Indian
language.
The covering of the tepee was constructed of fifteen to eighteen dressed
buffalo hides, cut and sewn together in a large semi-circular
sheet.
When the tepee had been erected, a fire
pit was dug in the centre. There a
fire would be built to cook food and warm the tepee.