Crow Nation Battles to Keep Language and Culture Alive

The Crow Nation’s culture is at a tipping point. Fluent speakers of the Crow language have dropped from 85% to just 30% over six decades, threatening a cornerstone of their identity.

These 50 powerful facts showcase the tribe’s history, resilience, and enduring traditions—offering a vivid reminder of what’s at stake.

Origins & Identity

1. The Crow’s true name “Apsáalooke” means “children of the large-beaked bird,” which many believe refers to the mythological Thunderbird rather than an actual crow.
2. In their creation story, the Creator asked four ducks to dive for mud, with only the fourth duck succeeding in bringing mud to create the first Crow person.
3. The tribe went through three distinct transitions: from Awaakiiwilaxpaake (People of the Earth) to Biiluke (Our Side) to Awashe (Earthen Lodges).

Territory & History

4. The Crow controlled vast territories in present-day southern Montana and northern Wyoming, particularly along the Yellowstone River.
5. By 1740, the Crow had established themselves as skilled middlemen, trading horses, bows, shirts, and featherwork with Plains Village tribes for guns and metal goods.
6. First contact with European traders occurred through French-Canadian traders who established mutually beneficial trading relationships.

Cultural Practices

7. Crow society followed a matrilineal system, with family lineages traced through the mother’s side.
8. To achieve the rank of chief, men had to perform specific acts of bravery, including leading a successful war party and capturing an enemy’s weapon under fire.
9. Women occasionally participated in raiding parties, particularly when avenging the death of a close relative.

Language & Education

10. Today, approximately 85% of tribal members who live on or near the reservation speak Crow as their first language. (ref)
11. The Crow language belongs to the Missouri Valley Siouan language family.
12. Schools on the reservation integrate Crow language and history into daily curriculum.

Spiritual Practices

13. Vision quests required young men to fast for four days while seeking their spirit guardian on isolated hilltops.
14. The Crow believed in seven senses, with intuition and dreams being the additional two beyond the standard five.
15. Birds entering a house were considered a bad omen, often interpreted as a sign of impending death in the family.

Traditional Life

16. The tribe constructed some of the largest tipis on the Plains, using lodgepole pine for support and buffalo hides for covering.
17. The interior of tipis featured buffalo-hide seats arranged around a central fireplace with a smoke flap at the top.
18. Women wore dresses made from mountain sheep or deer skins, decorated with elk teeth.

Cultural Practices

19. During mourning, women would cut their hair while men would make cuts on their bodies to create permanent scars.
20. To become a chief, men had to accomplish specific acts including capturing an enemy’s weapon under fire.
21. The Crow Tobacco Society celebrated the tribe’s only cultivated crop through special rituals and ceremonies.

Social Structure

22. After marriage, husbands moved to live with their wife’s mother’s family following matrilineal traditions.
23. Fathers hosted feasts to make speeches about their children’s future success.
24. Military societies had specific insignias, costumes, songs, and codes of behavior.

Traditional Skills

25. The tribe developed unique beading techniques, with pink representing early morning, blue for sky, and green for Mother Earth.
26. Buffalo jumps required coordination between hunters and medicine men who blessed the ceremonies.

Historical Relations

27. By 1740, the Crow became successful middlemen trading horses and goods between Plains Village tribes and the Shoshone.
28. The tribe signed their first treaty with the United States in 1825 at a gathering of 300 tipis near a Mandan village.
29. In 1864, the Crow led a significant battle against the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho on East Pryor Creek.

Modern Developments

30. The current Crow reservation spans approximately 2.2 million acres in south-central Montana.
31. The tribe maintains active coal mines, oil fields, and gas resources as part of their economic base.
32. A three-branch government system including executive, legislative, and judicial oversees tribal affairs.

Warfare & Leadership

33. The Crow developed a complex system of counting coups, with four specific achievements required to become chief.
34. Military societies within the tribe had their own unique songs, costumes, and codes of behavior.
35. Warriors who captured enemy weapons were given special recognition and status within the tribe.

Spiritual Beliefs

36. The Crow believed in a Great Spirit called Manitou who oversaw the world.
37. Medicine bundles were created after vision quests under the guidance of supernatural guardians.
38. The Tobacco Society required married couples to join together, unlike other tribal societies.

Traditional Economy

39. The tribe used every part of the buffalo, creating containers and shields from the remains after processing meat.
40. Horse racing served as both entertainment and a means of economic exchange.
41. The Crow traded extensively with the Shoshone, exchanging metal goods and guns obtained from other tribes.

Family Life

42. Marriage ceremonies included the exchange of horses and goods between families.
43. Extended families lived together in large tipis that could house multiple generations.
44. Children learned tribal traditions through storytelling and practical demonstrations.

Modern Era

45. The tribe maintains sovereignty as a federally recognized nation with its own constitution and government. (ref)
46. The Little Bighorn College serves as a center for higher education and cultural preservation.
47. Powwows and rodeos continue to celebrate and preserve traditional Crow culture.

Contemporary Culture

48. The tribe actively maintains traditional ceremonies while adapting to modern life.
49. Many Crow artists continue to create traditional beadwork and clothing using ancestral patterns.
50. The reservation supports various economic ventures including tourism, mining, and ranching.

Source:
1. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis