You state the family lives in teepees. I believe that is plural. The article states the family, all 12, sleep together on one bench. There is a BIG difference between parents and toddlers in one teepee or tent and older kids in other teepees or tents versus all in the same tent. THAT is just plain wrong!
In Western Canada, yes, many lived in sod huts until they established themselves and were able to raise crops. As pioneering families grew wealthier, they added rooms to their houses, adding bedrooms as they had kids.
The characters in this article are nothing but hippies and I think intervention was required. Was it done properly? Definitely not!
That is, Gramma and Grampa and last daughter in one teepee, each of their other three kids with their respective spouses and respective kids in each of their respective family teepees. That is four family structures, each family to a structure, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. It is not 'plain wrong', and it is more like normal in the history of the world than what you do now.