Tempest in a Tipi at Occupy Lincoln
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Bill Hawkins figured the day before Thanksgiving would be the perfect day to erect a tipi at Occupy Lincoln, where 27 tents were standing on day 45 of the local occupation to protest the distribution of wealth in America. 
He thought it was a good day to erect a tipi because “Native Americans were the first oppressed people,” Bill “Farmer Bill” Hawkins said. “They are the original occupiers.”
So he stretched the canvas and pounded wooden stakes into the ground and his large Plains tipi quickly overshadowed the sea of multicolored tents pitched on Centennial Mall, an outgrowth of the Occupy Wall Street movement. It didn’t take long before his tipi attracted the attention of police.
Hawkins says the day after he put up the tipi, on Thanksgiving, a police officer stopped by and questioned whether the tipi would be stable in the wind. Police asked for a meeting with the Occupants on Saturday, according to Susan Watson, who’s been sleeping in one of the Occupy Lincoln tents pretty much every night since day one. The police didn’t want to meet on the mall though, she said, so they met at the police station.
The police indicated the tipi might be in violation of something, she said, and asked the Occupants to take it down.
“We politely said, ‘No thank you,’ ” Watson said.
The police said the city’s legal eagles would take a look at the issue Monday, but in the meantime, Brian Shafer (“Jack Straw” to the protesters), a Lakota Indian, has been occupying the tipi with his passive pitbull. Until Hawkins gave him the tipi, Shafer had been sleeping in a tent since Oct. 18. Shafer found it ironic that the police tried to kick him out of the tipi on Thanksgiving Day.
“The timing, I thought, was a little bit bad,” he said.
On Monday, Hawkins set up up a wood-burning stove in the tipi – which should help him get through the winter, if the police don’t evict him. It wasn’t long before the fire marshal showed up, Hawkins said. It’s not clear whether the stove will stay or not.
Police Chief Jim Peschong addressed the tipi tempest in a Facebook post, saying police were concerned about public safety because strong wind was forecast and the tipi was next to public sidewalks and other tents.
“The construction of this large teepee has some lengthy poles that could cause serious injury to someone should they fall on someone,” Peschong wrote. “The last thing we want to happen is for someone to get seriously hurt.”
He said during his occasional walk-throughs of the makeshift tent city, he’s seen other tents that have been knocked over by the wind so “our staff had reason to be concerned over the erection of something this large. Due diligence needs to play a part in this.”
Hawkins says his tipis have been erected at the State Fair, on the capitol grounds, for school field trips and in numerous other venues over the years, and never has he been confronted about the possibility it might fall down. 
“It’s been time tested,” he said. Tipis seemed to hold up well for Native Americans on the Plains anyway.
While Occupiers in other cities have clashed with police and some have been kicked out of public places, the Lincoln Occupiers have had a good relationship with police. Even the tipi issue doesn’t appear to be a dealbreaker for the Occupiers. Whether the tipi stays or goes, the Occupy Lincolnites say they’re in it for the long haul.
In fact, thanks to the legal loophole that allows the Occupants to camp out on the Centennial Mall green space – it used to be a street and still remains a right-of-way – Watson figures Lincoln’s occupation could last longer than most.
“We could be one of the last ones standing,” she said. But in order to keep that loophole from closing, the Occupiers cannot leave their stations, she said, because then the city will likely pass a law making the mall a park, with curfews. Until then, city officials don’t want to infringe upon their First Amendment rights. That has angered Nebraska Right to Life and Grassroots in Nebraska (a proponent of limited government), which allege the city is giving the Occupiers preferential treatment compared to other groups. The two groups warned Monday that the city’s disparate treatment is risking “potential exposure to costly legal action.”
Despite plunging temperatures, she says the Occupiers’ numbers have remained pretty stable. Although the camp is pretty empty during weekdays, because many of the people have one or two or three jobs, she thinks their numbers are actually increasing. She said the Saturday marches usually draw several hundred people.
They plan to stay put through the winter “at a minimum,” Watson says.
“Just think of the numbers that might come out in the spring time,” she says.
Reported by Deena Winter, deena@nebraskawatchdog.org
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Posted under News.
Tags: Bill Hawkins, Brian Shafer, Deena Winter, Jim Peschong, Nebraska Watchdog, Occupy Lincoln tipi, Susan Watson
10:29 am on November 29th, 2011
I thought we took care of this at Plymouth Rock?
11:02 am on November 29th, 2011
Apparently there are those who somehow identify with the OWS movement, and have given in to their need to “commune with nature” by living in a tent! I wonder how many in Lincoln actually sneak off after dark to return to their warm apartment/house for the night like they have done at other locations. It will be interesting to see how many “brave the storm” when the wind chill is below zero and snow is 2′ deep! And by the way, WHERE are they recharging their cell phones, computers, etc?????
I dare say that although I have a difficult time identifying with their mixed-message, it is interesting to watch a segment of our “local color” revert back to pioneer days when the only thing between the snow and the pioneer was a piece of sheeting on a covered wagon!!!! And even after building sod houses, the pioneers suffered through winters with great hardship: no running water, no toilet facilities, limited heat and therefore freezing temperatures at night. So maybe these brave souls of today aren’t really going as primitive as it seems at first glance!
This whole movement reminds me of the terrible snow storm we had in York back in the 70′s when most of the power poles were broken off . . . thus NO electricity so NO heat! We were fortunate enough to have a gas water heater so we could take a hot bath at night before going to bed, and we had a small 4-burner gas stove in the basement to cook on. And the sun shown in the daytime we put on our winter gear and sat out on the patio on lawn chairs to warm up! Why am I telling this story? Because after about 6 days of living this way, I KNEW for sure that I am glad to live in this century with the conveniences we enjoy!
So you protestors keep a diary so you can tell your grandchildren how brave you were and what you were protesting! It will make a great story to tell over Thanksgiving dinner 20 years from now!
11:53 am on November 29th, 2011
Two questions:
1) Who are these people hurting? No one. Let them protest all they want.
2) Fred Phelps and his Church of Hate can stand on the corner for as long as he wants, without a problem, but these folks should move? I thought the Constitution guaranteed the right to protest.
1:27 pm on November 29th, 2011
Until the early 20th century, everybody in the human race lived close to nature, it won’t kill the occupiers to spend the winter nights in modern sleeping bags and tents, this camping equipment is superior to the “little houses” that the famous and beloved author, Laura Ingalls Wilder lived in most of her life. Believe it or not, many 21st century people of all nationalities face extreme winter weather as a recreational pursuit. Snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, mushing (dog sledding) and other winter camping activities are actually enjoyable.
As for the tipi: Indigenous plains people lived in these efficient and portable housing units for tens of centuries before the European invaders came along to enlighten them. The wood stove mentioned in this report is a bit of a decline from the original firepit in the center of the earthen floor, but probably no more of a fire hazard. My experience in a tipi is that they are commodious and homey, so Brian Shafer undoubtedly has the best “tent” among Lincoln occupiers.
1:45 pm on November 29th, 2011
Question? Why are people that are the 99% complaining about us ending this corruption of our country? We have the right to protest & change our government! We even have the right to raise up an army & overthrow this government but we’re not going that far! I hope that people realize that if this non-aggressive approach doesn’t work, we will be forced to take up arms! Wake up people! We are fighting for YOU!!! Stand up with us because this is for YOU!! WE ARE ALL THE 99%!!!!!!
9:20 pm on November 29th, 2011
We were a part of a summer theatre festival one year and took turns staying in a tipi overnights guarding the stage and props from vandals. I can say for a definite fact that not even near tornado winds will take those suckers down. There were storms that would knock the heavy stages and trees down and that tipi was still standing. It’s an amazing structure.
Touche Turtle, yes, there are those who don’t occupy every night. There are those of us who have never camped before, don’t have the equipment and certainly aren’t going to break in our camping skills in the dead of Nebraska winter. There are those who stay every night. Those of us who don’t stay still like to frequent the camp in our spare time and help out. I’ve taken dishes and laundry from them and I’ve also taken their electronics and charged them. Sometimes I go after work just to enjoy some good conversation with some great people who are standing up for what they believe in. Most of them have jobs, contrary to popular belief, some two or three. Therefore, they get up, go home and shower and get dressed and go to work. There’s a great variety of people at the occupation site. They all have their own stories and their own reasons. The point is, we aren’t looking for a handout, again, most of us have jobs, we aren’t just a bunch of pot smoking hippies trying to be a nuisance. I can’t say there aren’t some of those in the occupy movement but there are those in every movement and it doesn’t define the movement.
9:49 pm on November 29th, 2011
I should have added this to my first comment but if anyone is confused about what we are doing at Occupy or have heard mixed stories or just don’t understand, “How are they doing (insert question)?” Come on down to the site! We have nothing to hide; we’ll give you a tour. We’ll answer your questions and let you know whatever we can. Come down on a Saturday at noon and meet people as they get ready for their weekly march. Don’t talk behind our backs; ask us to our face. I guarantee you won’t get bitten or hurt.
9:46 am on November 30th, 2011
Um..You DON’T represent me. I, and 95% of the 99% you claim to represent, still have no idea what this is about. Some say they are for real capitalism, some are for socialism and some just want to hang out and bang their drum. The occupy Movement has no goals, ideas or even thoughts about what they stand for. It isn’t the corporations who need to be fixed, it is our government. Our federal elected officials receive nice salaries, large pensions, are exempt from Obamacare, and stay for much longer than they should. Pay them less, give them a minimal pension, and force them to enroll in Obamacare and most of them will only serve a few terms anyway. if that doesn’t work, enact term limits. By doing this, you lessen the influence of corporations, unions and other interest groups on our government.