A wigwam is the same as a tepee. a structure with a round or pointed roof used as a home by some Native American tribes in the past (and wikwam). American Indian dwelling, characteristic of the Algonquian-speaking nomadic tribes of what is now the northeastern U.S. It is constructed of saplings driven into the ground in a circle and tied together at the top, then covered with mats of woven rushes or sewn bark. See also igloo; longhouse; tepee