Crow Nation

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Crow indians (Karl Bodmer)

Men's Warbonnet at the Annual Crow Fair Celebration

The Crow, also called the Absaroka or Apsáalooke, are a tribe of Native Americans who historically lived in the Yellowstone river valley and now live on a reservation south of Billings, Montana, USA. The tribal headquarters are located at Crow Agency, Montana.

[edit] History

The name of the tribe, Apsáalooke (the "e" is not silent and is pronounced like a short "a"), had been mistranslated by early interpreters as "people of [the] crows." It actually meant "people [or children] of the large-beaked bird," a name given to them by their sister tribe, the Hidatsa. The bird, perhaps now extinct, was defined as a fork-tailed bird resembling the blue jay or magpie. They first encountered whites in 1743, two Frenchmen (the La Verendryes brothers from Canada), near the present-day town of Hardin, Montana. These explorers called the Apsáalooke beaux hommes, "handsome men." The Crow termed whites as baashchíile, "person with yellow eyes."

Some have placed the ancestral home of the Crow-Hidatsa ancestral tribe as being around the head waters of the Upper Mississippi River in either northern Minnesota or Wisconsin, others place them in southeastern Winnipeg area of Manitoba. Later they moved to the Devil's Lake region of North Dakota before the Crow split from the Hidatsa and moved westward. Once established in south-central to some of southeastern Montana and north-central, central, and most of northwestern Wyoming, the tribe was eventually divided in two divisions, the Mountain Crow and River Crow.

[edit] Geography

The Crow Indian Reservation in south-central Montana is a large reservation covering 9,307.269 km² (3,593.557 sq mi) of land area, the fifth-largest Indian reservation in the United States. The reservation is primarily in Big Horn and Yellowstone counties with Ceded Lands in Rosebud, Carbon, and Treasure Counties. The Crow Indian Reservation's eastern border is the 107th meridian line of Greenwich, except along the border line of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation. The outdated and inaccurate line is the border line connecting the two Indian reservations. The Southern border is from the 107th meridian line west to the east bank of the Big Horn River. The line travels downstream to Big Horn National Recreation Area and west to the Pryor Mountains and north-easterly to Billings, Montana. The northern border travels east and near Hardin, Montana to the 107th meridian line. The 2000 census reported a total population of 6,894 on reservation lands. Its largest community is Crow Agency.

[edit] Communities

• Crow Agency
• Fort Smith
• Hardin (part of city, only about 7.4 acres and unpopulated, extends onto reservation land)
• Lodge Grass
• Pryor
• Saint Xavier
• Wyola

[edit] Language

(see main article)

[edit] Lifestyle

Group of Crow men seated in front of a tipi.

The traditional shelters of the Crow are tipis made with bison skins and wooden poles. They are known to construct some of the largest tipis. Inside the tipi are mattresses arranged around the border of the tipi, and a fireplace in the center. The smoke from the fire escapes through a hole in the top of the tipi. Many Crow families still own and use the tipi, especially when traveling. Crow Fair has been described as the largest gathering of tipis in the world.

Traditional clothing the Crow wore depended on gender. Women tended to wear simple clothes. They wore dresses made of mountain sheep or deer skins, decorated with elk teeth. They covered their legs with leggings and their feet with moccasins. Crow women had short hair, unlike the men. Male clothing usually consisted of a shirt, trimmed leggings with a belt, a robe, and moccasins. Their hair was long, in some cases reaching or dragging the ground, and was sometimes decorated.

The Crow had more horses than any other plains tribe, in 1914 they numbered approximately thirty to forty thousand but by 1921 had dwindled to just one thousand. They also had more dogs, one source counted five to six hundred. Unlike some other tribes, they did not consume dog. The Crow were a nomadic people.

[edit] Lineage

The Crow were a matrilineal (descent through the maternal line), matrilocal (husband moves to the wife's mothers house upon marriage), and matriarchal tribe (females obtaining high status, even chief). Women held a very significant role within the tribe.

Crow kinship is a kinship system used to define family. Identified by Louis Henry Morgan in his 1871 work Systems of Consanguinity and Affinity of the Human Family, the Crow system is one of the six major kinship systems (Eskimo, Hawaiian, Iroquois, Crow, Omaha, and Sudanese).

[edit] Government

Pauline Small on horseback. She carries the flag of the Crow Tribe of Indians. As the first woman official, she is entitled to carry the flag during the Crow Fair Parade.

The Seat of Government and Capital is Crow Agency, Montana.

Prior to the 2001 Constitution, the Crow Nation was governed by a 1948 Constitution. The former constitution organized the tribe as a General Council (Tribal Council). The General Council in essence held the executive, legislative, and judicial powers of the government. The General Council was comprised of all enrolled members of the Crow Nation, provided that females 18 years or older and males 21 or older. The General Council was a direct democracy, comparable to that of ancient Athens.

The Crow Nation, or Crow Tribe of Indians, established a three branch government at a 2001 Council Meeting. The new government is known as the 2001 Constitution. The General Council remains the governing body of the tribe, however, the powers were distributed to a three branch government. In theory, the General Council is still the governing body of the Crow Nation. However, in reality, the General Council has not convened since the establishment of the 2001 constitution.

The Executive Branch has four officials known as the Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, and Vice-Secretary. The Executive Branch officials are also the officials within the Crow Tribal General Council, which has not met since July 15, 2001 that established the 2001 Constitution.

The Legislative Branch consists of a Legislature. The Legislature has three members from each district on the Crow Indian Reservation. The Crow Indian Reservation is divided into six districts known as The Valley of the Chiefs, Reno, Black Lodge, Mighty Few, Big Horn, and Pryor Districts. The Valley of the Chiefs District is the largest district by population.

A Judicial Branch of the Crow Tribal Government consists of all courts established by the Crow Law and Order Code and in accordance with the 2001 Constitution. The Judicial Branch shall have jurisdiction over all matters defined in the Crow Law and Order Code. The Judicial Branch tries to be separate and distinct branch of government from the Legislative and Executive Branches of Crow Tribal Government. The Judicial Branch consists of an elected Chief Judge and two Associate Judges. The Crow Court of Appeals, similar to State Court of Appeals, receives all appeals from the lower courts. The Chief Judge of the Crow Nation is Angela Russell.

[edit] Constitution controversy

According to the 1948 Constitution, all constitutional amendments must be voted on by secret ballot or referendum vote. The former Chairman Birdinground did not do either action. The quarterly council meeting on July 15, 2001, passed all resolutions, including the measure to repeal the current constitution and approve a new constitution, by voice vote. An opposition has arisen to challenge the new constitution's validity; the challenge is currently in Crow Tribal Courts awaiting a decision.

[edit] Leadership

Main article: Crow Chairman

The Crow Nation has traditionally elected a Chairman of the Crow Tribal Council biannually. However, in 2001, the term of office was extended to four years. The current Chairman is Carl Venne. The Chairman serves as chief executive officer, speaker of the council, and majority leader of the Crow Tribal Counil. The constitutional changes of 2001 created a three branch government. The Chairman serves as the head of the executive branch, which includes the offices of Vice-Chairman, Secretary, and Vice-Secretary and the tribal offices and departments of the Crow Tribal Administration. Notable Chairmen were Clara Nomee, Edison Real Bird, and Robert "Robie" Yellowtail. A list of Crow Tribal Administrations.

[edit] Mythology

Main article: Crow mythology

[edit] Chiefs

• Plenty Coups, Medicine Crow, Sits in the Middle of the Land (aka, Chief Black Foot), Pretty Eagle, No Vitals, Red Scout, Arapooish, Long Hair (aka, Red Plume (Feather) At The Temple), Running Coyote, Young White Buffalo, Bear Whose Heart Is Never Good, Black Hair, Shot in the Hand, Bull Chief, Does Everything, Bear Cut Ear, Iron Bull, Red Bear, Chief Jakeman, Woman Chief, Thomas Yellowtail (Crow Sun Dance Chief), etc.

The Crow had at least three known female chiefs, one of which (Woman Chief, or Bíawacheeitchish) was possibly transgender or two-spirit in today's terms. Chief Running Coyote developed the buffalo jump in the late 1500s to procure meat. Chief Bear Whose Heart Is Never Good is supposedly the one who formed the River Crow band in the mid-1600s. Chief Young White Buffalo was the first to bring horses to the tribe in the late 1600s, perhaps from the Shoshoni, Interior Salish (aka, Flatheads), or Nez Perce. Chief Long Hair was called such because of his extraordinarily long hair, approximately 25 feet long.

List of Crow Chiefs provided by the Little Big Horn College Library.

[edit] Crow Fair

The tribe hosts a large Dance Celebration, rodeo, and parade annually; the 86th Crow Fair will be held in Crow Agency from August 17 - August 21, 2006. Called "Baasaxpilue" which means "to make much noise," it is the largest and most spectacular of Indian celebrations in the Northern Plains. [1]

• Photographer Elsa Spear Byron photographed the Crow Fair from 1911 to the 1950s.

[edit] Films

• Dale Old Horn, a Crow elder and historian, and professor at Little Big Horn College, was featured on the 2006 installment of the PBS television series Frontier House.[2]

• In Native Spirit and the Sun Dance Way, Thomas Yellowtail, a Crow Medicine Man and Sun Dance chief for over thirty years describes and explains the ancient Sun Dance ceremony sacred to the Crow tribe. Gordon Tootoosis (Legends of the Fall) brings Yellowtail's words to life in this unique and moving look into the remarkable preservation of a cultural and spiritual world before the coming of the white man. [3]

[edit] Further reading

• The Crow Indians, Robert H. Lowie, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska, 1983, paperback, ISBN 0-8032-7909-4
• The World of the Crow Indians: As Driftwood Lodges, Rodney Frey, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma, 1987, hardback, ISBN 0-8061-2076-2
• The Crow and the Eagle: A Tribal History from Lewis & Clark to Custer, Keith Algier, Caxton Printers, Caldwell, Idaho, 1993, paperback, ISBN 0-87004-357-9
• From The Heart Of The Crow Country: The Crow Indians' Own Stories, Joseph Medicine Crow, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska, 2000, paperback, ISBN 0-8032-8263-X
• Apsaalooka: The Crow Nation Then and Now, Helene Smith and Lloyd G. Mickey Old Coyote, MacDonald/Swãrd Publishing Company, Greensburg, Pennsylvania, 1992, paperback, ISBN 0-945437-11-0
• Parading through History: The Making of the Crow Nation in America 1805-1935, Frederick E. Hoxie, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 1995, hardcover, ISBN 0-521-48057-4
• The Handsome People: A History of the Crow Indians and the Whites, Charles Bradley, Council for Indian Education, 1991, paperback, ISBN 0-89992-130-2
• Myths and Traditions of the Crow Indians, Robert H. Lowie, AMS Press, 1980, hardcover, ISBN 0-404-11872-0
• Social Life of the Crow Indians, Robert H. Lowie, AMS Press, 1912, hardcover, ISBN 0-404-11875-5
• Material Culture of the Crow Indians, Robert H Lowie, The Trustees, 1922, hardcover, ASIN B00085WH80
• The Tobacco Society of the Crow Indians, Robert H. Lowie, The Trustees, 1919, hardcover, ASIN B00086IFRG
• Religion of the Crow Indians, Robert H. Lowie, The Trustees, 1922, hardcover, ASIN B00086IFQM
• The Crow Sun Dance, Robert Lowie, 1914, hardcover, ASIN B0008CBIOW
• Minor Ceremonies of the Crow Indians, Robert H. Lowie, American Museum Press, 1924, hardcover, ASIN B00086D3NC
• Crow Indian Art, Robert H. Lowie, The Trustees, 1922, ASIN B00086D6RK
• The Crow Language, Robert H. Lowie, University of California press, 1941, hardcover, ASIN B0007EKBDU
• The Way of the Warrior: Stories of the Crow People, Henry Old Coyote and Barney Old Coyote, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska, 2003, ISBN 0-8032-3572-0
• Two Leggings: The Making of a Crow Warrior, Peter Nabokov, Crowell Publishing Co., 1967, hardcover, ASIN B0007EN16O
• Plenty-Coups: Chief of the Crows, Frank B. Linderman, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska, 1962, paperback, ISBN 0-8032-5121-1
• Pretty-shield: Medicine Woman of the Crows, Frank B. Linderman, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska, 1974, paperback, ISBN 0-8032-8025-4
• They Call Me Agnes: A Crow Narrative Based on the Life of Agnes Yellowtail Deernose, Fred W. Voget and Mary K. Mee, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma, 1995, hardcover, ISBN 0-8061-2695-7
• Yellowtail, Crow Medicine Man and Sun Dance Chief: An Autobiography, Michael Oren Fitzgerald, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma, 1991, hardcover, ISBN 0-8061-2602-7
• Grandmother's Grandchild: My Crow Indian Life, Alma Hogan Snell, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska, 2000, hardcover, ISBN 0-8032-4277-8
• Memoirs of a White Crow Indian, Thomas H. Leforge, The Century Co., 1928, hardcover, ASIN B00086PAP6

[edit] External links

• Crow Tribal website
• Crow Tribal Council Website
• 2001 Constitution
• 1948 Constitution
• A few images from photo exhibition on Crow Indians, with short account of 21st century lifestyle
• Collection of Historical Crow Photographs

[edit] References

• Crow Reservation and Off-Reservation Trust Land, Montana United States Census Bureau