The Wanapum people (People of the River) lived for thousands of years along the Columbia River; as part of their daily existence, they had many creative uses for the abundant tule and cattail plants that grow along the water.  Friends of Mid-Columbia Wildlife Refuges proposed erection of a tule-mat-covered teepee for use as an educational site; Refuge staff gave permission and a site was chosen.

Left: The first mats go on.

An eighth grade class began construction of the teepee as a special science project.  Choosing an area where wildlife would be minimally affected, harvesting of tule reeds began. As the Wanapums had done, reeds were cut at ground level to obtain maximum length and thickness, then tied in bundles for ease of handling, and stood upright to dry. When dry, they were moved to the Environmental Education Center, where work surfaces had been prepared for mat making.
 

Left: Three kids and Greg Greger beside the finished tepee.

A resource specialist of the Wanapum people met with the students and volunteers in their initial mat-stitching session, to show them how to use the special long needles and hemp cord. For some students, this was their first contact with a Native American. Sewing over a marked template, three people worked simultaneously on one mat. Several tule stems were pierced crosswise with the needles before the hemp cord was pulled tightly through. This procedure was repeated until the mats were threaded to six-foot lengths. 

Left: Greg Greger assembles the tepee door.

Lodgepole Pine teepee poles were harvested and brought to the site at no cost by an interested associate. When these were erected to form the frame, the mats were fastened to the poles in horizontal rows. A traditional east-facing entrance was left in the lower row between two teepee poles. The cover over the entrance was made of cattail stems, twined together so that it could roll up to the four-foot level.
 

Left: Rex Buck, Spiritual Leader of the Wanapums.

In keeping with the heritage of the Wanapum people and using only what was available from nature, this project was completed with zero budget. The students who participated in this project speak of it as “their” teepee. The spiritual leader of the Wanapums responded to the Friends’ invitation to dedicate the completed teepee as a facility for passing along information about crafts and traditions of Native Americans to the classes that come to learn how early people lived and worked.

Left: Angela Buck works on mat with students.

(This article reprinted with permission from Summer 2004 issue of Out & About, a quarterly outreach newsletter from the Fish & Wildlife Service.)

For more detail on the construction of the teepee, visit http://nwr.mcnary.wa.us/tulelodgerises.html.