Tipis provided a comfortable and portable home year-round. In the summer, people camped on the open plains to hunt bison and collect plants. At designated times, as many as 200 families would gather together for ceremonies or large communal bison hunts. In the winter, people moved into valleys or wooded areas where they were sheltered from the wind and had lots of firewood.

Much of the day was devoted to teaching and story-telling. Today, Grandfather is telling one of the best-loved stories about the time Wi-sa-ke-cahk tried to trick the ducks and geese. Wi-sa-ke-cahk is his usual self in this story--hungry and lazy--so he relies on trickery rather than hard work to get a meal. At first, he gets his way, but in the end he loses because one small duck had the courage to warn the others. It is a very funny story, but it also teaches the value of hard and honest work.

The tipi is the quintessential symbol of First Nations who live on the plains. But did you know that each part of the tipi symbolizes a moral principle? These principles, such as respect, humility, faith, and sharing, that must be followed if the family and society are to live together in harmony.

How old is the tipi? We don't know for certain, but some stone circles that once held down the edges of tipis are as old as 6000 years.