Make and decorate a three-dimensional paper teepee Craft while learning about Native American culture. Printable teepee templates are available for easy crafting.

Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away and while you will certainly be bombarded by Turkey crafts soon, I wanted to share a Native American craft – construction paper Teepee/ Tipi project with you today. As children learn about the first Thanksgiving, they will find that Indians played a big part. Make this fun and easy Thanksgiving craft with the kids to help them get a better understanding of how it all began.

This can be a rather heavy topic for kids, so we suggest making it fun – by including crafts! And today we have a craft that’ll start a conversation about the history of Thanksgiving. The craft is super simple, so you can focus on history without feeling overwhelmed. You’ll be surprised at how easy this is!

Mini Paper Teepee Craft for Thanksgiving

Materials required:

• Craft paper in different colors
• Feathers in bright colors
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Glue

How to make the Mini Paper Teepee Craft:

1. Download the Teepee template and print it out. The template contains a teepee base along with different shapes to decorate it.

2. Cut out the teepee parts and trace them out on colored paper. Cut out the traced templates.

3. Start decorating the teepee template with the colorful shapes. You can do it in any pattern you like.

4. Fold the teepee along the creases shown on the template. 

5. Once you’ve got the teepee shape ready, secure it in place using glue on the tabs.

6. Gather the feathers you’re going to use for the teepee. Make them into a bunch and secure them with glue or transparent cello tape.

7. Insert the feathers into the top of the teepee and you’re done!

Go ahead and make as many as you like, using different colored papers and feathers!

You could also decorate the teepee using colored pencils, crayons, or markers. Draw inspiration from how the Native American people decorated their teepees. Check out these resources for some useful info:

• Plains Indians Structures
• The Sioux Tipis

Now tell me, is there a cuter and easier craft you can make for Thanksgiving? You can also use these for small world play with little action figures or LEGO mini figures – they’ll fit right inside those tents! Don’t forget to check out our roundup of Native American crafts too.