Soon, a Tipi at the Brooklyn Museum

 In preparation for the Tipi: Heritage of the Great Plains exhibition, the Brooklyn Museum has assembled a large-scale Blackfeet Welcome Tipi. The tipi cover was painted by Lyle Heavy Runner and visitors will be invited to enter when the exhibit opens February 18–May 15.

The tipi cover weighs over 300 pounds and each pole (made of pine wood) weighs about 50 pounds. The tipi is 27 feet tall.

The exhibition includes objects from a large number of tribes from the Northern, Central, and Southern Plains. It explores the role of women, who were the owners and makers of the tipi itself as well the furnishings, clothing, and accessories kept within it; the traditional role of men as warriors, whose military exploits are depicted on tipi covers and liners; and the tipi as the center of childhood and family life.

Photo: Brooklyn Museum

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