Bearing circle
The camp circle was a set order for the construction of the tipis in the summer camp of the Indian tribes on the great plains in North America. Each local group and family had their place in the circular arrangement of the tipis. The camp circle mostly consisted of a C-shaped ring open to the east. With 1,000 tipis and up to four rows deep, it could easily reach a diameter of two kilometers.
In the Sioux matrilineal culture , women were the heads of families and owners of tipis. These were erected in the order in which they entered the camp district called Wico-ti . On both sides of the eastern entrance were the places of honor reserved for the most deserving warriors. The highest place of honor, however, was in the middle of the camp circle, opposite the entrance in the east, and belonged to the leader, the Wicasa Itancan , of the camp. Tribesmen who were guilty of a crime had to set up their teepee outside the camp area.
Any resident of the camp district could leave or re-enter it. There was one exception, however. A larger group had to enter the camp through the main entrance, otherwise it would be viewed as an attack on the village.