Crow are a Native American tribe of the northern Great Plains of the United States. About 8,000 of the tribe’s members live on the Crow Reservation in southeastern Montana. The Crow have strong ties to this area, which they have occupied for at least 300 years.
The Crow conduct their official business through a tribal council made up of all adult members of the tribe. The council elects a chairman and other officers. The Crow work in agriculture, cattle ranching, tourism, and other occupations. The Crow hold several traditional ceremonies, including the annual sun dance and Crow Fair and Rodeo. Tobacco-planting ceremonies, the sun dance, Christianity, and use of the drug peyote play an important part in their religion.
The Crow were originally farmers. They were once part of another Plains tribe, the Hidatsa, along the Missouri River in what is now North Dakota. About the early 1700’s, the Crow moved westward and hunted buffalo on the northern plains. The people lived in tipis and moved often to follow the buffalo herds. The Crow called themselves the Apsaalooke, which means children of the large-beaked bird. They became wealthy horse traders and produced fine craftwork.
The Crow were frequently at war with neighboring tribes, including the Blackfeet and the Sioux. But they quickly became friends with the white settlers and soldiers. In 1825, the tribe signed a friendship treaty with the United States government. The government established the Crow reservation through a series of treaties that began in 1851.
