Ronan Chamber of Commerce teepee stolen
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RONAN — Ky Bartels purchased a teepee for around $300 more than three years ago. She bought it with money from her own pocket and then donated the teepee to Ronan’s chamber of commerce. For the past several years, it has adorned the outside the Ronan Visitors’ Center.
“The visitors’ center is a replica of the frontier, and we felt that the Native Americans need to be represented,” Bartels said.
The structure was still standing Wednesday night, Sept 12. By the time the chamber began setting up for Saturday’s annual Harvest Fest in Ronan, it was gone. Bartels has no idea who might have taken the teepee.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think somebody would steal that. I always worried about kids maybe vandalizing it, but I never thought of somebody stealing it,” she said.
Bartels described it as a 14-foot all-white canvas teepee. The poles are still standing but the canvas shell is gone. She contacted the Tribal Police Department and the Ronan Police Department, gave a report, and called several local secondhand stores and pawn shops to warn them that someone might try to sell it.
When offered the chance to say something directly to the thieves, Bartels paused for several seconds before she said, “The camber would like their teepee back so our visitor’s center can be complete. Please return it to where you found it, no questions asked.”
Anyone with information on the missing teepee is asked to call the Ronan Police Department, Tribal Law and Order, or Ky Bartels.
