Why did Plenty Coups give up his teepee to live in a log home?

Plenty Coups lived in a teepee for much of his life. He liked his teepee best and continued to live in it even after the United States government had built him a log house. It was not until he became very old that he lived in the log house. Plenty Coups grew up in the traditional Crow Indian way as a nomadic buffalo hunter. He lived in a teepee, just as the Absaaloga people had for thousands of years. After the United States government moved the Native American people to reservations, they decided that the chiefs needed to have a permanent log dwelling. They built these dwellings so that the chiefs would set an example for the rest of the people by living in a modern home.

The government built Plenty Coups a home, but he still lived in his teepee for many years. Some say it was not until his later life, as his health became poor, that he finally adjusted to living in the house full time. He might do most of the cooking in the house but actually stay overnight in the teepee. He kept some of the rooms in the house well furnished because he had important people visiting him in those days. Visitors did not just travel to Pryor and go home that night. The roads were so bad that visitors might stay overnight, or they might stay for two or three days. He kept a room upstairs for the Catholic priests who traveled through the area. Some think that government officials and probably some very important people stayed overnight in his home also. Although no documentation is available at this time to verify these visits, the Crow Indian people believe that someday they will be. From: Chief Plenty Coups State Park Museum Tour Content