The typical dwelling of the American Indian was the tepee. This was a cone-shaped tent usually made a animal skins stretched over a strong wooden framework based on a three- or four-pole foundation supporting other poles. A hole was left at the top of the tepee to let the smoke out. During the summer hunt tepees were pitched in a large circle, each family in its allotted place.

Another type of Indian house was the wigwam, a kind of domed hut with a frame of flexible poles covered in skins, mats or bark, which was not as comfortable as a tepee and was usually erected in the hunting grounds. The shape of the wigwam varied according to the region.

The tents and implements of the Indians were made in such a way that they could be carried from place to place easily as the tribe went on its wanderings.