Tipi Village

Our village consists of six tipis on raised platforms in the traditional semi-circle with each tipi facing east. The Standley Lake tipis are based on the Cheyenne Peoples' preferred type and were custom made by the Colorado Yurt and Tipi Company (Earthworks) in Montrose Colorado. Each one is hand decorated and the designs were selected based on animals that are currently in the park or were historically present in this area. The outer cover is made from heavyweight marine grade canvas. The 15 main poles are 24 feet in length and are hand peeled, lodgepole pine. The tipi itself is a very efficient shelter. You will notice several aspects that contribute to this. The shape is not a circle, but is, in fact, elliptical. The dimension from the door to the back is longer than it is side to side. The tipi door is facing east, with the back of the tipi toward the prevailing wind. As the wind blows against the back the sharper angle tends to deflect the wind and is pushing against the longer, stronger angle of the front. Each bottom of the tipi cover is raised off the ground (platform) and there is a liner inside that folds under to create an inner wall. This allows for air flow creating a chimney effect inside. Traditionally, tipis of this size would use 5-6 buffalo hides that were easy to put up and take down. The tipi belonged to the women and they would take care of repairing and dismantling it. It could take as little as three minutes to take one down! The hides were all scraped by hand by the women using sharpened stones. Each of these dwellings housed families of 6 to 8 people. Can you imagine that happening today with all the things we accumulate? You can go online to reserve a tipi or stop by the nature center to inquire more information!