The portability of the tepee was key to living on the prairie. In the summer, the Lakota camped on the open prairie, near the buffalo herds. But the open prairie was too cold in the winter with the freezing wind sweeping over the prairie. So in the winter the Lakota camped in more sheltered places, like in the Black Hills. Then, when the weather warmed up in the Spring, they moved their tepees back to the open prairie, nearer to the buffalo herds.