History of the Crow Tribe
The Crow tribe’s origins can be traced back to the ancestral Hidatsa tribe that lived near Lake Eerie in present-day Ohio.
Facing increasing threats from the newly-armed Iron Confederacy, they were pushed west into present-day Manitoba and later into North Dakota, eventually settling in southeastern Montana.
Upon arriving in the west, the Crow abandoned the sedentary ways of their lifestyle on Lake Eerie, adopting the ways of the Plains Indians, living a nomadic life centered around the game they hunted and berries, plants, and roots they gathered.
As horses became increasingly valuable to the Plains’ way of life, for hunting bison and transporting their belongings, the Crow became especially known for relatively large horse herds, which they adorned with elaborate regalia.
By allying with the U.S. Army in the late 19th century, the Crow emerged through the Indian wars with a relatively larger reservation than other tribes of the country. However, whether that constitutes fair compensation remains a question.
Read on for a full, condensed history of the Crow tribe.
Complete history of the Crow Tribe [CONDENSED]
Table of contents:
- Lake Eerie Origins
- A Vision
- Migration to present-day Montana
- Split into four bands
- New, historic territory
- Adopting the Plains lifestyle
- Influx of settlers
- Treaty of Fort Laramie of 1851
- Plenty Coups’ vision
- Increased warfare
- Treaty of Fort Laramie of 1868
- Defeating the Lakota and Cheyenne
- Establishing the Crow Reservation in southeast Montana
Lake Eerie Origins
The earliest records of the Crow tribe date back to the 1600s, when they lived a sedentary, agriculture-based lifestyle near Lake Eerie in present-day Ohio.
In the 1600s, The Iron Confederacy, which consisted of various tribes, including the Salteaux and Cree, had greatly benefited from the fur trade, acquiring modern guns, posing a major threat to nearby tribes.
Facing this new threat, the Crow migrated west to a region south of Lake Winnipeg in present-day Manitoba. Continuing on, they eventually settled near Devil’s Lake in present-day North Dakota.
It was here that the tribe split in two, with one band migrating towards southeast Montana while the other remained.
A vision
The Crow Tribe that had settled at Devil’s Lake consisted of two bands, one led by Chief No Intestines and another by Chief Red Scout.
Seeking spiritual guidance as they migrated west, No Intestines received a vision of sacred tobacco seeds and was instructed to travel west to find them in the region of present-day southeastern Montana.
Red Scout’s vision produced an ear of corn, instructing him to remain at Devil’s Lake and plant the seeds for sustenance.
Migration to present-day Montana
Upon arriving in southeastern Montana, the Crow tribe began establishing their historic lands in this area, warring with various Shoshone bands, pushing them further west, and allying with local Kiowa and Plains Apache tribes.
When the Kiowa and Plains Apache later migrated south, the Crow remained. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, during the fur trade, the Crow continued to establish their territory around present-day southeast Montana.
Split into four bands
Over time, the Crow tribe split into four separate bands:
- Ashalaho (Mountain Crow). This was the original band of No Intestines’, which lived in the foothills of the upper Yellowstone River, among the Absaroka Range and Big Horn Mountains along the Wyoming-Montana border, and reaching to the Black Hills.
- Eelalapito (Kicked in the bellies). This band lived in the Bighorn Basin, from the area around the Bighorn Mountains and the Absaroka Range south to the Wind River Range in northern Wyoming.
- Binneessiippeele (River Crow). The River Crow occupied the territory along the Yellowstone and Mussellshell Rivers, south of the Missouri River in an area that was historically known as the Powder River Country (Big Horn Valley, Powder River Valley, and Wind River Valley). It is said that the River Crow split from the Hidatsa over a bison meat dispute.
- Bilapiluutche (Beaver dries its fur). According to oral history, there was at one time a fourth Crow band that merged with the Kiowa in the 1600s.
New, historic territory
Historic Crow territory spanned across much of southeastern Montana and northern Wyoming, stretching between the following geographical points:
- From the headwaters of the Yellowstone River in the present-day Yellowstone National Park area
- North to the Musselshell River
- Northeast to the mouth of the Yellowstone River at the Missouri River
- Southeast to the confluence of the Yellowstone River and Powder River
- South along the south fork of the Powder River
- Southwest to the Wind River Range
This territory encompassed major regions of southern Montana, including the Powder River Valley, Tongue River Valley, and Bighorn River Valley, as well as the Wolf Mountains, Bighorn Mountains, Pryor Mountains, and the Absaroka Mountains.
To the south, their territory was confined by the Rattlesnake Hills and the Wind River Range of Northern Wyoming.
Adopting the Plains lifestyle
Upon settling in this region, the Crow abandoned the sedentary ways of their life on Lake Eerie, adopting the nomadic lifestyle of the Plains Indians, following the bison herds, and gathering plants, seeds, berries, and roots.
Like many Plains Tribes, their lives centered around the bison, from which they fashioned daily essentials like clothing, shelter, and equipment.
They also practiced many rituals that supported their spiritual beliefs, including the Sun Dance, an annual ceremony of sacrifice and renewal.
The Crow adapted to riding horses, which had quickly become a prized commodity on the plains, for the efficiency they brought to bison hunting and transportation.
