Crow Tribe of Montana -Native American Indian Tribes - Over 2,000 articles on native american indians, their culture & traditions.

TNB->Crow Tribe: Crow Tribe of Montana

Posted on Friday, July 20 @ 20:24:16 CDT

Crow tribe of Monatana... KEYWORDS: crow tribe montana indians montana indian tribe Chief Plenty Coups Apsaalook children of the large beaked bird

The Crow Reservation was established by the Treaty of 1851. The Tribal government maintain jurisdiction within the boundaries of the reservation including all rights-of-way, waterways, watercourses and streams running through any part of the reservation and to such others lands as may hereafter be added to the reservation under the laws of the United States. The Tribal government operates under a constitution approved on June 24, 1948 by the Tribal membership. Under this constitution the tribve has a general council form of government in which every adult enrolled member is allowed to vote if he is present during the meeting of the General Council. One hundred or more adults constitutes a quorum of the general council. This Council has the authority to represent, act and speak for the Tribe and its members.

Stumble It!

THE PEOPLE

About 75 percent of the Crow tribe's approximately 10,000 or more enrolled members live on or near the reservation. Eighty-five percent speak Crow as their first language.

This tribe was called "Apsaalook," which means "children of the large-beaked bird." White men later misinterpreted the word as "crow." Chief Plenty Coups was the last chief to gain that status in the traditional Crow manner. He lived until 1932, leaving his land and home as a park for all people.

LOCATION OF THE CROW RESERVATION

The Crow Reservation is in southcentral Montana, bordered by Wyoming on the south, with its northwestern boundary about 10 miles from Billings.

CROW TRIBAL ECONOMY

For many years the vast coal deposits under the eastern portion of the reservation remained untapped. One mine is now in operation and providing royalty income and employment to tribal members. The Crow operate only a small portion of their irrigated or dry farm acreage and about 30 percent of their grazing land. The Crow maintain a buffalo herd of 300 head.

POINTS OF INTEREST

Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument/Reno-Benteen Battlefield
Crow Agency, 406-638-2621
These monuments commemorate the Sioux/Cheyenne victory over the Seventh Cavalry. The Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument features museum exhibits, an interpretive center and ranger-led programs.

Chief Plenty Coups State Park
Pryor, 406-252-1289
This is the home and grave site of the well-known Crow chief, Plenty Coups. There is a display of Crow artifacts and history, and a scenic picnic area.

Little Big Horn College
Crow Agency, 406-638-3104
The college is home to the Apsaalooke Tours program, which provides area tours and group presentations. The college offers associate's degrees in eight areas.

Crow Fair & Rodeo
Always the third weekend in August
Claims to be the tee pee "capital of the world" because during Crow Fair which lasts for five days, there are more than 1,000 traditional tipis on the grounds. If you only get one chance to attend a traditional pow wow, this is the one to visit. There is a traditional parade through camp each morning and an all indian rodeo each afternoon, then dancing and ceremonies until dawn. Hundreds of dancers in traditional regalia will be in attendance.

History

The Crows are of Siouan origin, speaking a language classified as Siouan. The tribe is directly descended from the Hidatsa tribe of present-day North Dakota, sometimes called the North Dakota Gros Ventres. The separation of the Crows from the Hidatsas is placed at 1400-1500 by anthropologists, and at a.d. 900-1000 by linguists, whose estimates are based on the age of glottal development and the variance of the Crow language from that of the parent tribe.

There were originally three bands of the tribe: the River Crows, who inhabited the territory along the Musselshell and Yellowstone Rivers south of the Missouri River; the Kicked-in-the-Bellies, the band that frequented the area now known as the Bighorn Basin in northern Wyoming; and the Mountain Crows, also known as the Main Camps, who frequented the area of the Upper Yellowstone River and the Bighorn Mountains. Among the stories told concerning the separation of the Crows from the Hidatsas is that of No Vitals and his search for the sacred tobacco.

No Vitals and his brother were on a vision-quest fast, during which they experienced very similar visitations of the supernatural. The brothers' shared vision was said to be of corn, which was already grown by the Hidatsas. But in No Vitals's vision he also saw wild mountain tobacco growing in the foothills of mountains. Thus began the separation on the Missouri River of No Vitals and his followers from the rest of the Hidatsas. No Vitals and his small band of followers embarked on the first of two odysseys, which saw them journey to the eastern slopes of the Canadian Rockies, in present-day Alberta, to the upper reaches of the Arkansas River. To this day the Crows still sing lullabies of the mountains of Glacier Park and the fowl of the Arkansas.

Not finding any tobacco on the first odyssey, the No Vitals band returned to the Missouri to pursue the vision again. When they finally did find wild tobacco (Nicotiana multivalvis and N. quadrivalvis), it was growing among the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains, and the small band relocated to the valleys of the Bighorn and Yellowstone Rivers.

The Crows quickly became nomadic hunters, their activities ranging from stalking large game to trapping small animals to staging elaborate buffalo jumps.

The Crows are matrilineal; clan lineage is traced through the mother. The present-day clan system is derived from the thirteen original clans of the tribe. Today there are ten clans, two in each of five kinship groups. Discussions of the origin of the clans go back to Old Man Coyote, the trickster character in ancient stories of the tribe.

It is said that Old Man Coyote characterized clans as similar to driftwood in that they belonged to whichever group happened upon them. To this day, Crows are identified by clan, in keeping with the characteristics and personalities generally associated with that clan through the ages and generations.

The Crows' yearly cultural round was similar to that of other Indian tribes of the northern Great Plains. Spring, considered the beginning of the cycle, was perhaps the most significant of the seasons. First thunder was a signal to discontinue the winter's activities such as storytelling and to take up tools and revive the tribal ceremonies. This activity coincided with the birth of new birds and animals. Adoption and initiation ceremonies were begun, and a new perspective on life blended with new plant growth and the coming abundance of the warm seasons.

Summer was a time of gathering the fruits of Crow country. Fresh berries, roots, and other items of subsistence were plentiful. It was time to enjoy the pure waters and cool winds of the mountains. Autumn was a time to harvest necessities and prepare for the winter. Traditional war parties were forgone to intensify the hunt for prime animals and the gathering of other necessities. Meat, berries, and other supplies were accumulated and prepared for the winter ahead. Winter was a time to retreat to the sheltered valleys and to strengthen family and tribal ties. After the first snow, storytelling began, and continued until the first thunder of spring.

The worship system of the Crows' parent tribe, the Hidatsas, was carried on by the Crows; some forms have persisted to the present day. The tribe also copied, adopted, and adapted worship practices and ceremonies from other tribes.

Fasting for divine guidance as practiced by the Hidatsas was retained by the Crows, as were wound healing and other ceremonies for health maintenance, and the sweat lodge. The Crow Sun Dance, a communal worship of the sun, was banned by federal authorities in the late 1800s, but the Shoshone Sun Dance came to the Crows in 1941 and became a popular feature of tribal life. The peyote ceremony also came from the tribes of Oklahoma in the early twentieth century.

Dancing 'til Dawn
Millar, Marianne
29 in. x 25 in.
Buy this Art Print at AllPosters.com
Framed Mounted
The original ceremony of the tribe is known as the Tobacco Ceremony (sometimes mistakenly called the Beaver Dance). This ceremony surrounds the harvesting, cultivation, and keeping of the sacred tobacco seeds first identified in No Vitals's vision. No Vitals believed that by practicing the Tobacco Ceremony, the Crows would multiply and grow stronger.

The Crows' leadership roles generally resembled those of the Hidatsas. Warlike endeavors were key to becoming a chief and leader. Four acts of bravery and display were considered prerequisites for leadership; their achievement reflected divine guidance and grace. First, one had to be the first to strike or touch the enemy in battle. There could be only one first striker in a battle, and the race to attain that honor created the fury of the attack on the enemy.

Second, one had to take a weapon from the enemy in battle. With the coming of gunpowder, the taking of a rifle was a prime honor.

Third, one had to take a horse in battle, either from the enemy horse herd or, better, from the doorway of the owner's lodge. Fourth, one had to lead a successful war party and demonstrate leadership prowess in a demanding situation. The achievement of all these honors qualified one to be a chief, but it remained for the camp, the clan, the band, or other group to select its leader from the pool of eligible candidates. The head or principal chief was selected by a council of chiefs.

Women played a significant role in practically every phase of Crow culture. They fashioned objects of worship and well-being. They were the eyes and ears for their husband, whether or not he was a chief. They related the feelings and talk of the camp, band, and tribe. As such, women reflected the mood of the tribe and discussed tribal direction and options with the men.

The Crow Reservation was first defined by the treaties of 1851 and 1868, negotiated with representatives of the United States at Fort Laramie, Wyoming. Reduced by subsequent land sales, the reservation is today significantly "checkerboarded," with Indian and non-Indian lands interspersed. Almost half of the reservation is technically owned by Indians and held in trust by the federal government, but land use by tribal members is minimal. Indian lands have been sold and/or leased to nonmembers to such an extent that the overwhelming majority of Crow Indian land is under the control of white farmers and ranchers. The populations of Indian and non-Indian residents on the reservation are about equal.

The Crows began as an agricultural and quasi-sedentary tribe. They became a nomadic, hunting tribe, and today they constitute a rural community occupying a federal Indian reservation, but with members both on and off the reservation. Until the 1930s the majority of tribal members spoke only the Crow language, but today the majority speak English as a second language. Contemporary life-styles and mores are intermeshed with ancient Crow culture, tradition, and systems of worship.

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THE PEOPLE

LOCATION OF THE CROW RESERVATION

CROW TRIBAL ECONOMY

POINTS OF INTEREST

History