The tall, conical, tent-like tipi (from a Sioux word meaning dwelling place) was a form of shelter that perfectly suited the nomadic lives of the tribe. There was enough room inside to build a fire and tipis were comfortable in extremes of heat or cold.

The Lakota followed the migration pattern of the buffalo herds and the tipi was not just portable, it was quick and easy to set up and take down. They made the poles of the tipi from long, slender pine trees and the covers from buffalo hides. As the tribes moved their villages across the Plains, horses or dogs would drag the long tipi poles behind with the rest of the belongings.

Women owned and constructed the tipis. The floors were round, a shape that represented the cycles of nature (the Earth, the Sun, and Moon, the seasons and life itself). An experienced elder woman would supervise a group of women as they made tipi covers, trimming the hides and sewing them together using sinew thread. Men often painted pictographs representing war exploits on the outside of the covers, but first they had to get their wife's consent.

As buffalo hides became scarce, some tribes began making tipis from government-issued canvas. By the end of the 19th century, reservation towns began looking like most small western communities in the U.S. - log or frame homes eventually replaced tipis.