Long before the pale men from across the sea came to the Americas, the land was covered with diverse nations and communities that stretched from Patagonia to the Arctic Circle.

These people knew the land like few others before or since.

The nomadic peoples of what we refer to today as the Midwest, the Canadian Prairies and the American Plains used the teepee, or tipi, as their preferred form of housing. If you trace your lineage back to the Sioux or tribes of the plains, a teepee tattoo makes for the perfect commemoration of your heritage.

Warm in the winter, shady in the summertime, strong in the wind, and dry in the rain, the teepee is the perfect structure for the nomadic peoples of the plains. Typically rising between twelve and twenty-five feet high, the teepee is usually held up by long poles of lodgepole pine (the practice that gave the tree its name) and is covered by buffalo hides sewn together.

The great diminishing of indigenous Americans is one of the greatest tragedies in human history. It was brought about by selfishness, hatred, intolerance, yes, but also biological impossibility. Europeans did not conquer the Americas; disease did. And yet, for all the horrors and tragedies that occurred, the first settlers of this continent have not disappeared. Remember your heritage with a teepee tattoo.