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Like many other
Plains Indians, the Crow traditionally lived in teepees, though
theirs were often larger than other
tribes.
Constructed of buffalo skins and wooden poles, flying from the poles
were not scalps, but strips of red cloth. Their main source of food
was bison, but they also hunted mountain sheep, deer, and other game.
The Crow men were extremely proud of their
long hair, which was allowed to grow extremely long, sometimes even
dragging the ground, and was usually decorated with various items.
Unlike the men, Crow women had short hair. While the men were known as skilled
horsemen and hunters, the women were accomplished at decorating both
the men’s and women’s clothing with beads, embroidery, and dyed
porcupine quills, making them particularly handsome.
Explorers described the wandering
tribe of hunters as extremely superstitious, skillful horsemen, and
despising of the whites, though they weren’t known to kill them,
usually preferring to plunder them. The Crow had more horses than any
other plains tribe, numbering some 10,000 in mid 1800’s and more than
40,000 by the beginning of the 20th century. They also had
hundreds of dogs, with one explorer counting more than 500.
Unlike some other
tribes, they did not
consume dog.
The Crow were a matrilineal, with
descent following the maternal line and the husband moving in with the
wife’s family. Females held a significant role in the tribe, often
obtaining high ranking status, even including chief.
Today, the vast majority of the Crow live
on the Crow
Indian Reservation in south-central
Montana.
The reservation, covering more than 3,600 square miles, is the
fifth-largest
Indian reservation in the United States.
It is bordered by
Wyoming
to the south and the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation to the east.
The reservation encompasses approximately 2.3 million acres, which
includes the northern end of the Bighorn Mountains, the Wolf
Mountains, and the Pryor Mountains. The Bighorn River flows north from
Yellowtail Dam and joins the Little Bighorn River just outside Hardin,
Montana.
The city of Billings is approximately 10 miles northwest of the
reservation boundary.
Membership in the
Apsáalooke Nation numbers about 11,000 with almost 8,000
residing on the Crow Indian
Reservation. Eighty-five percent speak Crow as their first language.
The Apsáalooke/Crow People are known for
the strength of their Apsáalooke ammaalaátuua, (Crow writing system)
and clan system. The Crow Indian language is a part of the greater
Siouan language family. The Apsáalooke Ashammalíaxxiia, Clan System
consists of six active clans:
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