Why a Tipi.......................?

'Have you noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle? That is because the power of the world always works in circles. The sky is round and so is the earth. The wind, in its greatest power whirls. Birds make their nests in circles; the sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle, the moon does the same and both are round. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of man is a circle from childhood to childhood. Our tipis are round like nests of birds and these were always set in a circle, a nest of many nests where the great spirit meant for us to hatch our children.'

Black Elk, 1930 Black Elk belonged to the Oglala division of the Teton Dakota, one of the most powerful branches of the Siouan family.