What did the tipis look like that Lakota Indians live in?

Answer 1

Crow tipis (actually called ashi in Crow) were very distinctive because they used very long poles which extended far above the lodge cover. This gave them almost an hourglass shape which was different from almost all other tribes. Scalps of enemy warriors or buffalo tails were sometimes hung from the tops of these poles.

Paintings on the tipi cover were generally more figurative than among the Blackfoot, Cheyenne and Sioux, with very few blocks of colour and more scenes of hunting or warfare.

Crow tipis were often very large and capable of housing eight or more members of a family, usually representing three generations. George Catlin gave a description of these dwellings which he saw in the 1830s: "The Crows, of all the tribes in this region . . . make the most beautiful lodge . . . they oftentimes dress the skins of which they are composed almost as white as linen, and beautifully garnish them with porcupine quills, and paint and ornament them in such a variety of ways, as renders them exceedingly picturesque and agreeable to the eye. I have procured a very beautiful one of this description, highly-ornamented, and fringed with scalp-locks, and sufficiently large for forty men to dine under. The poles which support it are about thirty in number, of pine, and all cut in the Rocky Mountains, having been some hundred years, perhaps, in use. This tent, when erected, is about twenty-five feet high, and has a very pleasing effect." (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 1, no. 7, 1841)

Inside was a "tipi-liner" which prevented drafts and condensation, usually about four or five feet high and decorated.

The links below give image of Crow tipis, one of them painted with warriors on horseback.The figures between the two tipis give an idea of the large scale and height of these lodges.

Answer 2

A tall tent. Supported by poles meeting at the top, wrapped in hides and open at the top, with a flap.

Not to be confused with a Wig wam, which looks more like a mud hut.