November 12, 2021

The Hard Reality
Bozeman, Montana
2021

Whenever I see tipis in the summer it always seems like it would be fun to live in one for a while. We had a friend who did just that for a summer outside of Bozeman, and except for a few things like the skunk that kept coming inside at night for a visit, she seemed to really enjoy it. Such things make one romanticize about the life of Native American tribes who lived in them full time. But I think actually spending a winter in a tipi in Montana would quickly disabuse me of any such romantic thoughts. The tipis in this photo were set up for a week just down the street from our house in celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Day. While book-ended by lovely fall weather, that week happened to coincide with a cold snap accompanied by almost a foot of snow. The tent flaps were frozen stiff, as I would have been–even with a fire I think– if I’d camped in one.