About the Crow Indians
The Crow Tribe is a Native American Indian Tribe whose reservation is located in Montana. The Crows were originally called Apsáalooke, which means "children of the large-beaked bird." The white men misinterpreted the word, hence the name "Crow."
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History of
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At one time, the Crow, or Apsáalooke, people were part of the Hidatsa, a plains tribe located along the Missouri River in what is now North Dakota. In the early 1700s, they began moving westward, following the buffalo. They lived in tepees, hunted buffalo and became wealthy horse traders. They settled in the Montana area, where they have been for about 300 years. The Flathead and some Shoshone people viewed the Crows as intruders. The Crow frequently warred with their neighbors, the Sioux and Blackfeet. They befriended the white settlers and soldiers and signed a Friendship Treaty with the United States in 1828. The Crow were allies with the whites against their traditional enemies.
Features
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Prior to the 20th century, the Crow people hunted buffalo and traded horses. They lived in tepees, and there was a clear division of property between a husband and wife. The husband owned the guns, ammunition, bows and any hunting or warring equipment. The wife owned the tepee, animal skins and hides, and all of the cooking utensils. Each spouse owned his or her own horse, and should they divorce, each would keep their own property. If the husband's family gifted the wife with a horse, she would keep it at the time of a divorce. Their diet consisted of buffalo, elk, deer, rabbit and quail, yet fish was considered taboo. Later, the Crow became farmers.
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Geography
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Originally, the Crow were from an area along Missouri River at what is now North Dakota. Today, their reservation is located in southern Montana. The reservation includes three mountain ranges, rolling hills, plains, grasslands, an alpine range, badlands, water and wetlands. The Bighorn River and the Reno Creek run through the reservation. Along the eastern section of the reservation lies one of the nation's richest deposits of stripable low-sulfur coal. They have one active coal mine and several oil and gas fields.
Size
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Today, the Crow tribal membership numbers approximately 11,000, with about 71 percent of its members living on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana. It is estimated by the Crow Tribe that 85 percent of its membership speaks Crow as their native language. The Crow Reservation consists of approximately 2.3 million acres, including the northern portion of the Bighorn Mountains, Wolf Mountains and Pryor Mountains.
Identification
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For about a century, the Crow leaders have organized an annual gathering of six Crow Reservation Districts for a cultural fair showcasing arts and native culture at the Annual Crow Fair. The Crow heritage and tradition also includes the sun dance and the tobacco planting ceremony, featuring the harvesting of special sacred tobacco.
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