How did PLAINS Indians make teepees in the plains without trees?

Answer 1

A very intelligent question and you are absolutely correct to say that the Great Plains were almost barren of trees - almost, because there were always quantities of cottonwood and willow trees along most streams and rivers, neither of which will produce tall, straight poles for tipis.

All of the Plains tribes had to send small parties of men either to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains or to the Black Hills area to find trees which are now known as "lodgepole pines". These grow very tall and straight and are perfect for the job - but they first had to be dragged all the way back to the tribal lands, then in most cases thinned with knives or axes and trimmed to the correct length. Such journeys were always fraught with danger from enemy war-parties or hunting bands who would attack those seeking lodgepoles - and steal the timber for their own use.

It has been claimed that some of these poles could last for a hundred years or more, but there would always have been a need for new lodges as tribes expanded or split into smaller hunting bands, plus the need to replace worn-out poles.

The link below takes you to an image of lodgepole pines growing in the Black Hills, South Dakota: