Who Are the Crow?
The Crow (Apsáalooke, "Children of the Large-Beaked Bird") are a Plains Indian nation numbering approximately 13,000 enrolled members, primarily on the Crow Reservation in south-central Montana—the fifth-largest reservation in the US. They speak Crow, a Siouan language related to Hidatsa. The Crow separated from the Hidatsa (village dwellers in North Dakota) and migrated west to Montana, developing distinctive Plains buffalo-hunting culture in the Yellowstone and Bighorn country. Known for elaborate ornamentation, exceptional horsemanship, and military alliance with the United States against neighboring tribes, the Crow maintained their Montana homeland.
Plains Culture
Crow culture exemplified Plains Indian life. Buffalo hunting provided subsistence; the horse (acquired 1730s) enabled nomadic lifestyle. Crow warriors were renowned; counting coup (touching enemy without killing) brought highest honor. Elaborate decoration distinguished Crow dress—long hair, fine beadwork, quillwork, and featherwork. The Tobacco Society performed sacred ceremonies ensuring tribal welfare. Vision quests sought spiritual power; medicine bundles held sacred objects. Matrilineal clans structured society; women owned tipis and controlled domestic sphere. The Sun Dance and other ceremonies punctuated annual cycle. This culture persists in modified form today.
American Alliance
The Crow strategically allied with Americans against their enemies—primarily Lakota, Cheyenne, and Blackfoot who had pushed Crow from hunting grounds. Crow scouts served with the US Army, including at Little Bighorn (1876), where they warned Custer of overwhelming Sioux/Cheyenne numbers. This alliance—controversial in Indian Country—reflected Crow calculation that American victory was inevitable and alliance would preserve their homeland. It partially worked: the Crow Reservation, though reduced from original treaty lands, remains in ancestral territory. Other tribes confined to distant reservations view Crow scouting critically.
Reservation Era
The 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty established the Crow Reservation; subsequent land cessions reduced it dramatically. Boarding schools, Christian missionaries, and government policies suppressed Crow culture. The allotment era privatized communal lands, leading to further loss. Coal mining on reservation lands provided revenue but environmental costs. Poverty, unemployment, and health disparities characterize the reservation, among Montana's poorest areas. Yet Crow culture endured: the Crow Fair (since 1904) is "tipi capital of the world"—the largest Native American gathering, with parades, powwow, and rodeo.
Contemporary Crow
Modern Crow Nation balances tradition and development. Crow Fair annually draws thousands; traditional regalia, singing, and dancing flourish. The language, though declining, has revitalization programs; immersion schools operate. Basketball inspires passion—Crow players have achieved success. Coal development debates continue: revenue vs. environment vs. climate. Little Bighorn Battlefield, on Crow land, is major attraction. Crow warrior tradition continues through military service. The tribe has pursued land restoration, cultural programming, and economic development. How Crow balance their strategic history, maintain culture, and develop economically shapes this distinctive Plains nation's future in their Montana homeland.
References
- Hoxie, F. E. (1995). Parading Through History: The Making of the Crow Nation in America, 1805-1935
- Lowie, R. H. (1935). The Crow Indians
- Medicine Crow, J. (1992). From the Heart of the Crow Country