| Crow Nation |
|---|
 |
| Total population |
|
10,000 enrolled members |
| Regions with significant populations |
| Billings, Hardin, Bozeman, Missoula, Albuquerque, Denver, Lawrence, Bismarck, Spokane, Seattle, Chicago |
| Languages |
| Crow, English |
| Religions |
| Crow Way, Sundance, Tobacco Society, Christian: Catholic, Pentecostal, Baptist |
| Related ethnic groups |
| Hidatsa |
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. Crow ( native name: Apsáalooke; əpsaːloːke is a Missouri Valley Siouan language spoken primarily by the Crow Nation in present-day southeastern English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The Hidatsa (called Minnetaree by their allies the Mandan) are a Siouan people a part of the Three Affiliated Tribes. Karl Bodmer (6 February 1809–30 October 1893 was a Swiss painter of the American West Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States The Yellowstone River is a Tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 671 miles (1080 km long in the western United States. Billings is the largest city in the US state of Montana, located in the south-central portion of the state The tribal headquarters are located at Crow Agency, Montana. Crow Agency is a Census-designated place (CDP in Big Horn County, Montana, United States and is near the actual location for the Little
Contents |
History
The name of the tribe, Apsáalooke (IPA: [əpsaːloːke]), 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 Hidatsa (called Minnetaree by their allies the Mandan) are a Siouan people a part of the Three Affiliated Tribes. The bird, perhaps now extinct, was defined as a fork-tailed bird resembling the blue jay or magpie. The Blue Jay ( Cyanocitta cristata) is a Passerine bird and a member of the family Corvidae native to North America. The Black-billed Magpie is a bird in the crow family that inhabits the western half of North America, from Central Western British Columbia to Southern They first encountered Europeans in 1743, two Frenchmen (the La Verendryes brothers from Canada), near the present-day town of Hardin, Montana. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Hardin is a city in and the County seat of Big Horn County, Montana, United States. These explorers called the Apsáalooke beaux hommes, "handsome men. " The Crow termed Europeans as baashchíile, "person with yellow eyes. "
Some have placed the privatorial home of the Crow-Hidatsa ancestral tribe as being around the head waters of the Mississippi River in either northern Minnesota or Wisconsin; others place them in Winnipeg area of Manitoba. The Mississippi River is the second longest River in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to Minnesota ( Native Americans demonstrated the name to early settlers Wisconsin ( or wɪˈskɑnsɨn (French Ouisconsin) is one of the fifty United States of America, located in the north central part of the United States Winnipeg (ˈwɪnɨpɛg is the capital and largest city in the Canadian province of Manitoba, and 7th largest municipality in Canada with a population Manitoba (English ˌmænɨˈtoʊbə French /manitoba/ is a province of Canada, spanning 647797 square kilometres (250116 sq mi of North America Later they moved to the Devil's Lake region of North Dakota before the Crow split from the Hidatsa and moved westward. Devil's Lake (often written as Devils Lake) is a freshwater Lake in the U North Dakota ( is a state located in the Midwestern and Western regions of the United States of America. Once established in Montana and Wyoming, the tribe was eventually divided in two divisions, the Mountain Crow and River Crow. The State of Wyoming ( is a sparsely populated state in the western region of the United States.
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. An Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American Tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau The reservation is primarily in Big Horn and Yellowstone counties with ceded lands in Rosebud, Carbon, and Treasure Counties. Big Horn County is a County located in the US state of Montana. Yellowstone County is a County located in the US state of Montana. Treasure County is a County located in the US state of Montana. The Crow Indian Reservation's eastern border is the 107th meridian line, except along the border line of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation. The Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation that is home to the Northern Cheyenne tribe of Native Americans It is located around The southern border is from the 107th meridian line west to the east bank of the Big Horn River. The Bighorn River is a Tributary of the Yellowstone, approximately 461 mi (742 km long in the western United States in the states of Wyoming 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. Hardin is a city in and the County seat of Big Horn County, Montana, United States. The 2000 census reported a total population of 6,894 on reservation lands. Its largest community is Crow Agency.
Culture
The traditional shelters of the Crow are tipis made with bison skins and wooden poles. A tipi' (also teepee, tepee) is a conical Tent originally made of animal skins or birch bark and popularized by the Native Americans The American bison ( Bison bison) is a Bovine Mammal, also commonly known as the American buffalo. They are known to construct some of the largest tipis. Inside the tipi mattresses were arranged around the border of the tipi, with a fireplace in the center. The smoke from the fire escaped 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 and buffalo skins, decorated with elk teeth. A deer is a Ruminant Mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. The elk, or wapiti ( Cervus canadensis) is one of the largest Species of Deer in the world and one of the largest Mammals in 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. The Plains Indians are the Indigenous peoples who live on the plains and rolling hills of the Great Plains of North America. They also had many dogs; one source counted five to six hundred. Unlike some other tribes, they did not consume dog. The Crow were a nomadic people. Nomadic people, (from the νομάδες nomádes, "those who let pasture herds" also known as nomads, are communities of people that
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). Matrilineality is a system in which lineage is traced through the mother and maternal ancestors In Social anthropology, matrilocal residence or matrilocality (also uxorilocal residence or uxorilocality) is a term referring to the societal Matriarchy is a term which is applied to gynocentric form of Society, in which the leading role is by the Female and especially by the Mothers Women held a very significant role within the tribe.
Crow kinship is a kinship system used to define family. Crow kinship is a kinship system used to define Family. Identified by Louis Henry Morgan in his 1871 work Systems of Consanguinity and Affinity 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). Lewis Henry Morgan ( November 21, 1818 &ndash December 17, 1881) was an American Ethnologist, Anthropologist and
Government
The seat of government and capital of the Crow Indian Reservation 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). A Tribal Council is either (1 an association of Native American bands in the United States or First Nations in Canada, or (2 the governing 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. Direct Democracy is a movement within the British Conservative Party dedicated to localism and Constitutional reform as a means of reviving public Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's
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. These officials were known as the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, 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 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 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.
Constitution controversy
According to the 1948 Constitution,Resolution 63-01, all constitutional amendments must be voted on by secret ballot or referendum vote. The former Chairperson 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. Events 1099 - First Crusade: Christian soldiers take the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after the final Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. An opposition has arisen to challenge the new constitution's validity; the challenge is currently in Crow Tribal Courts awaiting a decision.
Leadership
- Further information: Crow Tribal Administration
The Crow Nation has traditionally elected a chairperson of the Crow Tribal Council biannually. However, in 2001, the term of office was extended to four years. The current chairperson is Carl Venne. Carl Venne is the current Chairman of the executive branch of the Crow Nation. The chairperson serves as chief executive officer, speaker of the council, and majority leader of the Crow Tribal Council. The constitutional changes of 2001 created a three branch government. The chairperson serves as the head of the executive branch, which includes the offices of vice-chairperson, secretary, and vice-secretary and the tribal offices and departments of the Crow Tribal Administration. Notable chairs were Clara Nomee, Edison Real Bird, and Robert "Robie" Yellowtail. Edison Real Bird was the Chairman of the Crow Nation Tribal council from 1966 to 1972.
Chiefs
Chief Running Coyote developed the buffalo jump in the late 16th century to procure meat. A buffalo jump is a Cliff formation which North American Indians historically used to kill plains bison by herding the bison and driving them over the cliff Chief Bear Whose Heart Is Never Good is supposedly the one who formed the River Crow band in the mid-17th century. Chief Young White Buffalo was the first to bring horses to the tribe in the late 17th century, perhaps from the Shoshoni, Interior Salish (aka, Flatheads), or Nez Perce. The Nez Perce (ˌnɛzˈpɝs are a Tribe of Native Americans who live in the Pacific Northwest region ( Columbia River Plateau) of the United Chief Long Hair was called such because of his extraordinarily long hair, approximately eleven feet six inches long. 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
Popular culture
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. Transgender (trænzˈdʒɛndɚ from ( Latin) derivatives Two-Spirit (also two spirit or twospirit) people are Native Americans who fulfill one of many mixed Gender roles found traditionally among many Rodeo (ˈroʊdioʊ or /roʊˈdeɪoʊ/ is a sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States A parade (also called march or marchpast) is a procession of people usually organized along a street often in Costume, and often accompanied by Fire The Crow Fair was created in 1904 by an Indian government agent to bring the Crow Tribe of Indians into modern society Events 986 - A Byzantine army was destroyed in the pass of Trajan's Gate by the Bulgarians under the Comitopuli Events 1192 - Minamoto Yoritomo becomes Seii Tai Shōgun and the De facto ruler of Japan. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. 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. Elsa Spear Byron was a renowned photographer born in Big Horn Wyoming in 1896
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. Little Big Horn College is a Native American tribal college based in Crow Agency Montana. The Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) is a Non-profit Public broadcasting Television service with 354 member TV stations in the Frontier House was an educational Reality TV series that originally aired on PBS in April 2002 [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 which is held sacred to the Crow tribe. Thomas Yellowtail was a Medicine Man and Sun Dance chief of the Crow tribe for over thirty years before his death in 1993 Gordon Tootoosis (Legends of the Fall) used Yellowtail's words to look into the preservation of a cultural and spiritual world before the coming of European settlers.
In 2007 Medicine Crow's grandson Joe Medicine Crow appears on Ken Burns PBS series The War (documentary). Joseph Medicine Crow ( October 27, 1913 -) is a Crow historian and author Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29 1953) is an American director and producer of Documentary films known for his style of making use of archival The Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) is a Non-profit Public broadcasting Television service with 354 member TV stations in the The War is a 2007 World War II documentary produced by American filmmakers Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, narrated
See also
Notes
References
- The Crow Indians, Robert H. Crow ( native name: Apsáalooke; əpsaːloːke is a Missouri Valley Siouan language spoken primarily by the Crow Nation in present-day southeastern Crow mythology is the belief system of the Crow tribe, Native Americans of the Great Plains area of the United States. 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
- Stories That Make the World: Oral Literature of the Indian Peoples of the Inland Northwest. As Told by Lawrence Aripa, Tom Yellowtail and Other Elders. Rodney Frey, edited. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma, 1995, paperback, ISBN 0-8061-3131-4
- 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. Thomas H Leforge (1850-1931 was the author of Memoirs of a White Crow Indian, his highly detailed account of living among the Crow Indian nation during the mid- , 1928, hardcover, ASIN B00086PAP6
- Radical Hope. Ethics in the Face of Cultural Devastation, Jonathan Lear, Harvard University Press, 2006, ISBN 0-674-02329-3
External links
- Crow Tribal website
- Crow Tribal Council Website
- Little Big Horn College Library
- 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
- List of Crow Chiefs provided by the Little Big Horn College Library. Little Big Horn College is a Native American tribal college based in Crow Agency Montana.
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