When Council Fires were held or when a band or group made camp, the open space at the center of the circled tipis was called hocoka. It was a place of great importance, where the four directions, North, South, East, and West meet.
This same sacred center is found in the Inipi (sweat lodge), where the altar is made of stones. By extension, hocoka is considered to be the center of one's self and of the Universe.