Tipi Calendar, February 2026 – Ventura Ranch KOA’s family tipi combo. Santa Paula, CA

To purchase the calendar ($29), or if you have a stunning picture of your Nomadics tipi for this year’s calendar photo contest, please contact us at [email protected]

Tipis – Tepees – or Teepees?

Anyone writing about or dealing with Tipis – or Tepees? – or Teepees? – comes across the same issue: Deciding on which spelling to use. So what is the correct spelling? And why does our website www.tipi.com uses different spellings throughout the pages?

The Webster’s Dictionary uses TEPEE as the main spelling, then also allows TEEPEE, and sometimes, as it states, TIPI is used. The Native American culture named their main dwelling a” ti-pi”, and therefore they spelled it T-I-P-I. This is the predominant spelling by Native Americans and therefore the most authentic.

When Jeb founded Nomadics in 1970, he was self taught and learned his craft from the book ”The Indian Tipi” by Reginald and Gladys Laubin. This book was like the bible for tipi enthusiasts in the days, and so we adopted the spelling used in that book for our company name Nomadics Tipi Makers and our website, tipi.com.

While the spelling TIPI is most known within the Native culture, kids at public schools learn the spelling TEPEE or TEEPEE and subsequently use these spellings as search terms in the internet. Search engines and AI compare search terms with website content. If we do not incorporate the different spellings into our website, the search algorithms will not recognize our website as a relevant search result. So for people to find us when they search for TEEPEES or TEPEES, we needed to include those exact words into our website, preferably on each page.

The ‘Bear Tipi’

Bears are very popular animals when it comes to tipi art. We offer our standard “Picto Bear” among 12 other pictograph style animals, and at $75/animal, you are getting a lot of artwork at an affordable price (https://tipi.com/styles-palettes-designs/). In addition to our pictograph bear, many customers request very specific bears, both in realistic and abstract styles. These are custom animal paintings that we draw out by hand according to the photo or graphic that we receive. Our artists are very creative in translating those images with as much detail as desired, or simplify according to a given budget. The requests for bears are quite diverse, as you can see below. We are happy to give you a cost estimate if you have a very specific bear – or any other animal- in mind for your tipi art. Just send us your image and we will get back to you with a quote.

Tipi Gallery 

Black Bear Lodge, Whittier, NC

Here is a hidden gem to go teepee-glamping in the Smokies: Black Bear Lodge is a mountain retreat where cozy comfort meets wild beauty with stunning views, starry skies and pure serenity. All tipis are bear themed and you can choose to be in Papa Bear, Mama Love or the Den Tipi – or rent them all together for a true bear-family outing. Book now for a summer get-away in the Smoky Mountains:

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Replacing our Poles

In our commitment to honor Nature and the values of the Native People, we strive to be as sustainable as possible. One way we can do this, is to have a little seedling planted for each tree that is cut down for tipi poles, even if those trees might have already been dead or dying. We have the fortune to work with a wonderful pole company in Montana, who love their work and love the trees and harvest them with reverence and sustainability in mind. Once the poles are shipped to the customer, we follow up with a brochure that explains the significance of each pole within the tipi structure, according to Native American tradition. On our end, we support organizations such as “One Tree Planted”, among others, who work on restoring forests on Native Land throughout the world.