Ishmael's Tipi
I built a tipi in the Spring of 1973 to serve as my dwelling-place
while building a
New Cabin ( Beware - large images! )
in North Groton, New Hampshire
for the
MIT Outing Club that summer.
It has also been used while camping, and for lodging when attending
Morris Ales.
JPEG image, 20k
Here it is set up in a field in Maine in the Fall of 1979.
Floor Plan
The door faces East, which puts the prevailing wind from the back
for best draft for the fire, easy positioning of the smoke flaps,
and least trouble from rain. Surprising as it may seem, even with
the poles sticking up and the chimney open, the tipi can stay cozy and
dry even through a drowning thunderstorm. (or a hurricane, but that is
another story)
My tipi is spacious for one, comfortable for two as a vacation house.
I have not lived in it as a primary household.
Acknowledgements
William Taylor introduced me to the concept of tipi living
and provided anecdotal experience from his year-round tipi
outside Missoula, Montana.
I used the industrial sewing machine at the MIT Outing Club for
assembly of the lining and cover.
No speed control, just a one horsepower motor and a clutch!
It could really make the thread smoke!
One of my sisters,
Annie,
has been goading me into putting up new pages so she can show them to
members of her Tokyo
running club.
Cindy Wood sewed colorful streamers to hang from the upper ends of
the tipi poles.
References
-
A wonderfully concise yet comprehensive book,
The Indian Tipi, by Reginald and Gladys Laubin.
-
There is a chapter on building and living in a tipi in the
Woodstock Crafts Manual, Volume II.
Other Sites
Corrections, additions or comments?
Send email
(if supported by your browser) to the author, ijs@mit.edu.
Original Mar 24, 1996
Last Modified: Aug 26 06:36 EDT 1997 /
Ishmael the Fiddler
JPEG image, 20k
Here it is set up in a field in Maine in the Fall of 1979.