Crow Nation

 

The '''Crow''', called the '''Apsáalooke''' in their own [[Siouan language]], or variants including '''Absaroka,''' are [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]], who in historical times lived in the [[Yellowstone River]] valley, which extends from present-day [[Wyoming]], through Montana and into [[North Dakota]], where it joins the Missouri River. Today, they are enrolled in the federally recognized '''Crow Tribe of Montana'''.

Pressured by the [[Ojibwe]] and [[Cree]] peoples, who had earlier and better access to guns through the [[fur trade]], they had migrated there from the Ohio Eastern Woodland area via a southwest move to settle south of Lake Winnipeg, Canada. From there, they were pushed to the west by the [[Cheyennes]]. Both the Crow and the Cheyennes were then pushed further west by the [[Lakota people|Lakota]] (Sioux), who took over the territory from the [[Black Hills]] of South Dakota to the [[Big Horn Mountains]] of Montana; the Cheyennes finally became close allies of the Sioux, but the Crows remained bitter enemies of both Sioux and Cheyennes. The Crow were generally friendly with the whites and managed to retain a large [[Crow Indian Reservation|reservation]] of over 9,300 km² despite territorial losses.

The name of the tribe, Apsáalooke {{IPA-sio|əˈpsaːloːke|}}, meaning "children of the large-beaked bird", was a name given by the [[Hidatsa]], a neighboring Siouan tribe.  The Apsaalooke are also referred to as the Crow, which the white people introduced because of their lack of perfect communication. The bird that the Crow tribe is actually paired with is the raven, which is not widely known.  French interpreters translated the name as ''gens du corbeaux'' (people of [the] crows), and they became known in English as the Crow.  In 1743 the Absaroka encountered their first people of European descent, the two [[Louis-Joseph Gaultier de La Vérendrye|La Vérendrye]] brothers from [[New France]].  The explorers called the Apsáalooke ''beaux hommes'' (handsome men).  The Crow called the French explorers''baashchíile'' (persons with yellow eyes).

The early home of the Crow-Hidatsa ancestral tribe was in the Ohio country, near Lake Erie. Driven from there by better armed, aggressive neighbours, they settled for a while south of [[Lake Winnipeg]] in [[Manitoba]]. Later the people moved to the [[Devil's Lake (North Dakota)|Devil's Lake]] region of [[North Dakota]] before the Crow split from the [[Hidatsa people|Hidatsa]] and moved westward. The Crow were largely pushed westward due to intrusion and influx of the Cheyenne subsequently the [[Sioux]].

To acquire control of their new home, they warred against [[Shoshone]] bands (called ''Bikkaashe''—"People of the Grass Lodges"), and drove them westward.  They allied with local [[Kiowa]] and [[Kiowa Apache]] bands. The Kiowa and Kiowa Apache bands later migrated southward, and the Crow remained dominant in their established area through the 18th and 19th centuries, the era of the North American fur trade.

Their tribal territory stretched from what is now [[Yellowstone National Park]] and the headwaters of the Yellowstone River (''E-chee-dick-karsh-ah-shay''—"Elk River") in the west, north to the [[Musselshell River]], then northeast to the Yellowstone's mouth at the [[Missouri River]], then southeast to the confluence of the Yellowstone and [[Powder River (Montana)|Powder River]]s (''Bilap chashee''—"Powder River" or "Ash River"), south along the South Fork of the Powder River, confined in the SE by the Rattlesnake Mountains and westwards in the SW by the [[Wind River Range]]. Their tribal area included the river valleys of the [[Judith River]] (''Buluhpa'ashe''—"Plum River"), Powder River, [[Tongue River (Montana)|Tongue River]], [[Big Horn River]] and [[Wind River (Wyoming)|Wind River]] as well as the [[Bighorn Mountains]] (''Iisiaxpúatachee Isawaxaawúua''), [[Pryor Mountains]] (''Baahpuuo Isawaxaawúua''), [[Wolf Mountains]] (''Cheetiish''—"Wolf Teeth Mountains") and [[Absaroka Range]] (also called ''Absalaga Mountains'').

Once established in the [[Yellowstone River|Valley of the Yellowstone River]] and its tributaries on the Northern Plains in [[Montana]] and [[Wyoming]], the Crow divided into four groups: the Mountain Crow, River Crow, Kicked in the Bellies and Beaver Dries its Fur. Formerly semi-nomad hunters and farmers in the northeastern woodland, they picked up the [[nomadic]] lifestyle of the [[Plains Indians]] as hunters and gatherers and hunted [[bison]]. Before 1700, they were using [[Travois|dog travois]] for carrying goods. They obtained horses from the Spanish.

From about 1740, the Plains tribes rapidly adopted the horse, which allowed them to move out on to the Plains and hunt buffalo more actively. However, the severe winters in the North kept their herds smaller than those of Plains tribes in the South. The Crow, Hidatsa, [[Shoshone people|Eastern Shoshone]] and [[Northern Shoshone]] soon became noted as horse breeders and dealers, and developed relatively large horse herds.  At the time, other eastern and northern tribes were also moving on to the Plains, in search of game for the fur trade, bison, and more horses. The Crow were subject to raids and horse thefts by horse-poor tribes including the powerful [[Blackfoot Confederacy]], [[Gros Ventre people|Gros Ventre]], [[Assiniboine people|Assiniboine]], [[Pawnee people|Pawnee]], and [[Ute people|Ute]]. Later they had to face the [[Lakota people|Lakota]] and their allies, the [[Arapaho people|Arapaho]] and [[Cheyenne people|Cheyenne]], who also stole horses from their enemies. Their greatest enemies became the tribes of the Blackfoot Confederacy and the Lakota-Cheyenne-Arapaho alliance.

The ''Apsaalooke'' by the early 19th century were divided into three independent groupings, who came together only for common defense:

* '''Ashalaho''' (‘Many Lodges’, today called Mountain Crow), '''Awaxaawaxammilaxpáake''' (‘Mountain People’) or '''Ashkúale''' (‘The Center Camp’). The ''Ashalaho'' or Mountain Crow, the largest Crow group, split from the Awatixa Hidatsa and were the first to travel west. Their leader No Intestines had received a vision and led his band on a long migratory search for sacred tobacco, finally settling in southeastern Montana. They lived in the Rocky Mountains and foothills on the present-day Wyoming-Montana border along the Upper Yellowstone River, in the Big Horn and Absaroka Range (also Absalaga Mountains) with the [[Black Hills]] comprising the eastern edge of their territory.

* '''Binnéessiippeele''' (‘Those Who Live Amongst the River Banks’), today called River Crow or '''Ashshipíte''' (‘The Black Lodges’) The ''Binnéessiippeele,'' or River Crow, split from the Hidatsa proper, according to tradition because of a dispute over a bison stomach.  As a result, the Hidatsa called the Crow ''Gixáa-iccá''—"Those Who Pout Over Tripe". They lived along the Yellowstone and Musselshell rivers south of the Missouri River and in the river valleys of the Big Horn, Powder and Wind rivers, (historically known as the [[Powder River Country]]), sometimes traveling north up to the [[Milk River (Alberta–Montana)|Milk River]].

* '''Eelalapito''' (''Kicked In The Bellies'') or '''Ammitaalasshé''' (‘Home Away From The Center’, that is, away from the ''Ashkúale'' - Mountain Crow). They claimed the area known as the [[Bighorn Basin]], from the Bighorn Mountains in the east to the Absaroka Range to the west, and south to the Wind River Range in northern Wyoming. Sometimes they settled in the [[Owl Creek Mountains]], [[Bridger Mountains (Montana)|Bridger Mountains]] and along the [[Sweetwater River (Wyoming)|Sweetwater River]] in the south.

When white Americans arrived in numbers, the Crows were resisting heavy pressure from enemies who greatly outnumbered them. In the 1850s, a vision by [[Plenty Coups]], a Crow boy who later became their greatest chief, was interpreted by tribal elders as meaning that the whites would become dominant over the entire country, and that the Crows, if they were to retain any of their land, would need to remain on good terms with the whites.

By 1851 the more numerous Lakota and Cheyenne were established just to the south and east of Crow territory in Montana. These enemy tribes coveted the hunting lands of the Crow and warred against them.  By right of conquest, they took over the eastern hunting lands of the Crow, including the Powder and Tongue River valleys, and pushed the less numerous Crow to the west and northwest upriver on the [[Yellowstone River|Yellowstone]]. After about 1860, the Lakota Sioux claimed all the former Crow lands from the [[Black Hills]] of South Dakota to the [[Big Horn Mountains]] of Montana.  They demanded that the Americans deal with them regarding any intrusion into these areas.

The [[Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851]] with the United States confirmed as Crow lands a large area centered on the Big Horn Mountains: the area ran from the [[Big Horn Basin]] on the west, to the [[Musselshell River]] on the north, and east to the [[Powder River (Montana)|Powder River]]; it included the Tongue River [[Drainage basin|basin]]. But for two centuries the [[Cheyenne people|Cheyenne]] and many bands of [[Lakota people|Lakota Sioux]] had been steadily migrating westward across the plains, and were still pressing hard on the Crows.

[[Red Cloud's War]] (1866–1868) was a challenge by the Lakota Sioux to the United States military presence on the [[Bozeman Trail]], a route along the eastern edge of the Big Horn Mountains to the Montana gold fields. Red Cloud's War ended with victory for the Lakota Sioux.  The [[Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868]] with the United States confirmed the Lakota control over all the high plains from the Black Hills of the Dakotas westward across the [[Powder River Basin]] to the crest of the Big Horn Mountains. Thereafter bands of Lakota Sioux led by [[Sitting Bull]], [[Crazy Horse]] and others, along with their [[Northern Cheyenne]] allies, hunted and raided throughout the length and breadth of [[eastern Montana]] and northeastern [[Wyoming]], which had been for a time ancestral Crow territory.

In 1918, the Crow organized a gathering to display their culture, and they invited members of other tribes. The Crow Fair is now celebrated yearly on the third weekend of August, with wide participation from other tribes.

The main food source for the Crow was the [[American bison]] which was hunted in a variety of ways. Before the use of horses the bison were hunted on foot and required hunters to stalk close to the bison, often with a wolf-pelt disguise, then pursue the animals quickly on foot before killing them with arrows or lances. The horse allowed the Crow to hunt bison easier as well as hunt more at one time. Riders would panic the herd into a stampede and shoot the targeted animals with arrows or bullets from horseback or lance them through the heart. In addition to bison the Crow also hunted [[bighorn sheep]], [[mountain goats]], deer, [[elk]], bear, and other game. Buffalo meat was often roasted or boiled in a stew with prairie [[turnips]]. The rump, tongue, liver, heart, and kidneys all were considered delicacies. Dried bison meat was ground with fat and berries to make ''[[pemmican]]''. In addition to meat, wild edibles were gathered and eaten such as [[Sambucus|elderberries]], wild turnip, and [[Amelanchier alnifolia|Saskatoon berries]].

The Crow often hunted bison by utilizing [[buffalo jump]]s. "Where Buffaloes are Driven Over Cliffs at Long Ridge" was a favorite spot for meat procurement by the Crow Indians for over a century, from 1700 to around 1870 when modern weapons were introduced.  The Crow used this place annually in the autumn, a place of multiple cliffs along a ridge that eventually sloped to the creek. Early in the morning the day of the jump a medicine man would stand on the edge of the upper cliff, facing up the ridge. He would take a pair of bison hindquarters and pointing the feet along the lines of stones he would sing his sacred songs and call upon the Great Spirit to make the operation a success. After this invocation the medicine man would give the two head drivers a pouch of incense. As the two head drivers and their helpers headed up the ridge and the long line of stones they would stop and burn incense on the ground repeating this process four times. The ritual was intended to make the animals come to the line where the incense was burned, then bolt back to the ridge area.

The traditional Crow shelter is the [[tipi|tipi or skin lodge]] made with [[American Bison|bison]] hides stretched over wooden poles.  The Crow are historically known to construct some of the largest tipis. Tipi poles were harvested from the [[lodgepole pine]] which acquired its name from its use as support for tipis. Inside the tipi, mattresses and buffalo-hide seats were arranged around the edge, with a fireplace in the center. The smoke from the fire escaped through a hole or smoke-flap in the top of the tipi. At least one entrance hole with collapsible flap allowed entry into the tipi. Often hide paintings adorned the outside and inside of tipis with specific meanings attached to the images. Often specific tipi designs were unique to the individual owner, family, or society that resided in the tipi. Tipis are easily raised and collapsed and are light weight which is ideal for nomadic people like the Crow who move frequently and quickly. Once collapsed the tipi poles are used to create a [[travois]]. Travois are a horse pulled frame structure used by plains Indians to carry and pull belongings as well as small children. Many Crow families still own and use the tipi, especially when traveling.  The annual Crow Fair has been described as the largest gathering of tipis in the world.

The most widely used form of transportation used by the Crow was the horse. Horses were acquired through raiding and trading with other Plains nations. People of the northern plains like the Crow mostly got their horses from people from the southern plains such as the Comanche and Kiowa who originally got their horses from the Spanish and southwestern Indians such as the various Pueblo people. The Crow had large horse herds which were among the largest owned by Plains Indians; in 1914 they had approximately thirty to forty thousand head. By 1921 the number of mounts had dwindled to just one thousand due to increased raiding from Crow enemies such as Cheyenne, Sioux, and Blackfeet. Like other plains people the horse was central to the Crow economy and were a highly valuable trade item and were frequently stolen from other tribes to gain wealth and prestige as a warrior. The horse allowed the Crow to become powerful and skilled mounted warriors, being able to perform daring maneuvers during battle including hanging underneath a galloping horse and shooting arrows by holding onto its mane. They also had many dogs; one source counted five to six hundred. Dogs were used as guards and pack animals to carry belongings and pull travois. The introduction of horses into Crow society allowed them to pull heavier loads faster, greatly reducing the number of dogs used as pack animals.

The Crow wore clothing distinguished by gender. Women wore dresses made of [[deer]] and [[Bison|buffalo]] skins, decorated with [[elk]] teeth or shells. They covered their legs with leggings during winter and their feet with [[moccasin]]s. Crow women wore their hair in two braids. Male clothing usually consisted of a shirt, trimmed leggings with a belt, a long [[breechcloth]], and moccasins. Robes made from the furred hide of a bison were often worn in winter. Leggings were either made of animal hide which the Crow made for themselves or made of wool which were highly valued trade items made specifically for Indians in Europe. Their hair was worn long, in some cases reaching the ground. The Crow are famous for often wearing their hair into a [[pompadour (hairstyle)|pompadour]] which is often coloured white with paint. Crow men were notable for wearing two hair pipes made from beads on both sides of their hair. Men often wore their hair in two braids wrapped in the fur from beavers or otters. Bear grease is used to give shine to hair. Stuffed birds were often worn in the hair of warriors and medicine men. Like other plains Indians the Crow wear feathers from eagles, crows, owls, and other birds in their hair for symbolic reasons. The Crow wear a variety of headdresses including the famous [[war bonnet|eagle feather headdress]], bison scalp headdress with horns and beaded rim, and split horn headdress. The split horn headdress is made from a single bison horn split in half and polished into two nearly identical horns which are attached to a leather cap and decorated with feathers and beadwork. Traditional clothing worn by the Crow is still worn today with varying degrees of regularity.

The Crow People are well known for their intercut beadwork. They adorned basically every aspect of their lives with these beads, giving special attention to ceremonial and ornamental items. Their clothing, horses, cradles, ornamental and ceremonial gear, in addition to leather cases of all shapes, sizes and uses were decorated in beadwork. They gave reverence to the animals they ate by using as much of it as they could.  The leather for their clothing, robes and pouches were created from the skin of buffalo, deer and elk. The work was done by the tribeswomen, with some being considered experts and were often sought by the younger, less experienced women for design and symbolic advice. The Crow are an innovative people and are credited with developing their own style of stitch-work for adhering beads.  This stitch, which is contemporarily called the over-lay, is even still also known as the "Crow Stitch". In their beadwork, geometric shapes were primarily used with triangles, diamonds and hour-glass structures being the most prevalent. A wide range of colors were utilized by the Crow, but blues and various shades of pink were the most dominantly used.  To intensify or to draw out a certain color or shape, they would surround that figure or color in a white outline.

The colors chosen were not just merely used to be aesthetically pleasing, but rather had a deeper symbolic meaning. Pinks represented the various shades of the rising sun with yellow being the East the origin of the sun's arrival.  Blues are symbolic of the sky; red represented the setting sun or the West; green symbolizing mother earth, black the slaying of an enemy  and white representing clouds, rain or sleet.  Although most colors had a common symbolism, each piece's symbolic significance was fairly subjective to its creator, especially when in reference to the individual shapes. One person's triangle might symbolize a teepee, a spear head to a different individual or a range of mountains to yet another. Regardless of the individual significance of each piece, the Crow People give reverence to the land and sky with the symbolic references found in the various colors and shapes found on their ornamental gear and even clothing.

Some of the clothing that the Crow People decorated with beads included robes, vests, pants, shirts, moccasins and various forms of celebratory and ceremonial gear. In addition to creating a connection with the land, from which they are a part, the various shapes and colors reflected one's standing and achievements. For example if a warrior were to slay, wound or disarm an enemy, he would return with a blackened face. The black color would then be incorporated in the clothing of that man, most likely in his war attire. A beaded robe, which was often given to a bride to be, could take over a year to produce and was usually created by the bride's mother-in-law or another female relative-in-law. These robes were often characterized by a series of parallel horizontal lines, usually consisting of light blue. The lines represented the young women's new role as a wife and mother; also the new bride was encouraged to wear the robe at the next ceremonial gathering to symbolize her addition and welcoming to a new family. In modern times the Crow still often decorate their clothing with intricate bead designs for powwow and everyday clothing.

[[Crow kinship]] is a system used to describe and define family members. Identified by [[Lewis Henry Morgan]] in his 1871 work ''Systems of Consanguinity and Affinity of the Human Family'', the Crow system is one of the six major types which he described: [[Eskimo kinship|Eskimo]], [[Hawaiian kinship|Hawaiian]], [[Iroquois kinship|Iroquois]], Crow, [[Omaha kinship|Omaha]], and [[Sudanese kinship|Sudanese]].

On May 19, 2008, Hartford and Mary Black Eagle of the Crow Nation adopted U.S. Senator (now President) [[Barack Obama]] into the tribe on the date of the first visit of a U.S. presidential candidate to the nation.  Crow representatives also took part in President Obama's inaugural parade.  In 2009 Dr. [[Joe Medicine Crow|Joseph Medicine Crow]] was one of 16 people awarded the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]].

During the [[United States federal government shutdown of 2013]], the Crow Nation furloughed 316 employees and suspended programs providing health care, bus services and improvements to irrigation.

The tribe hosts a large [[pow wow]], [[rodeo]], and [[parade]] annually; the 86th [[Crow Fair]] was held in Crow Agency from August 17–21, 2006.  Called ''Baasaxpilue'' (to make much noise), it is the largest and most spectacular of Indian celebrations in the northern Plains. The photographer [[Elsa Spear Byron]] photographed the Crow Fair from 1911 to the 1950s.

Angus Young, a Crow elder and historian, and professor at [[Little Big Horn College]], was featured on the 2006 installment of the [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] television series ''[[Frontier House]]''.