Absarokee

Former tribal area of ​​the Absarokee and today's reservation in Montana

The Crow , in their language Apsáalooke or Absarokee or Absaroka ("children of the long-beaked bird"), are a tribe of the Indians of North America , whose ancestors, together with the linguistically and culturally related Hidatsa, once lived in the western Great Lakes region before they moved to the center moved west in the 15th century; between 1600 and 1700 the later Hidatsa settled as semi-sedentary farmers in North Dakota , while the later Apsáalooke / Absarokee as nomads westward to the Northern Plains in the area of ​​the Yellowstone River , Powder River and the Upper Missouri River in today's Wyoming , Montana and North Dakota moved.

Today they count about 12,000 tribal members and form the recognized at the federal level strain (so-called. Federally Recognized tribe ) Crow Tribe of Montana . However, they now call themselves Crow Nation or Apsáalooke Nation .

Name and language

The self-designation as Apsáalooke , Absarokee , Absaroka , Upsaroka , Absaraka (and other spelling variants) referred in their language to a crow-like bird that was extinct before the first contact with white fur hunters. Hence they were called Corbeaux by the French and Crow by the British and later Americans . In German they used to be called Crow Indians (e.g. in Karl May ). The individual tribespeople also simply refer to themselves as biiluuke ("our side").

Their language, the Crow or Apsáalooke aliláau , together with the language of the Hidatsa , forms the Missouri River Sioux branch of the Sioux language family , but the two are mostly incomprehensible to one another .

history

Tribal area

Apsaroka warrior on his horse

Linguistic similarities with the Hidatsa as well as oral traditions suggest that the Absarokee split off from them, probably after a dispute between two chiefs . Linguists date the split to around the 16th century, historians more likely to the 17th or 18th century.

In the 18th century , the Absarokee migrated from the northeastern woodland into the catchment area of ​​the Yellowstone River ( E-chee-dick-karsh-ah-shay - 'Elk River' - 'Wapiti River') on the Northern Plains in the south and southeast of Montana and northern Wyoming. The arable farmers who were still settled in the north-eastern woodlands very quickly adopted the way of life of the nomadic prairie Indians as hunters and gatherers and went on bison hunting . After the horse spread in the Northern Plains from around 1740, various Eastern and Northern tribes became mobile and pushed more and more onto the Plains in search of game and even more horses. Since the Absarokee, Hidatsa, Eastern and Northern Shoshone were particularly famous as horse traders (and partly horse breeders) and therefore had large herds of horses, this brought them into conflict with neighboring tribes such as the Blackfoot Confederation, the Cree Confederation (Nehiyaw-Pwat) , the Pawnee , the Ute and the Lakota and their allies, the Arapaho and Cheyenne .

Their greatest enemies, however, were the tribes of the Blackfoot Confederation (Siksika, Kainai, Pieagan, Gros Ventre, Sarcee) and later the Lakota-Cheyenne-Arapaho Alliance; therefore, among their allies (sometimes enemies) were the Plains tribes of the Cree Confederation (Nehiyaw-Pwat) (Plains Cree, Saulteaux (Plains Ojibwa) , Stoney ), the Kiowa and Kiowa Apache (Plains Apache) and those from the west on the Plains for bison hunting advancing plateau tribes of the Flathead (Salish) , Nez Percé , Cayuse , Palus , Umatilla and Walla Walla as well as the Northern and Eastern Shoshone .

Their tribal area comprised the area of ​​today's Yellowstone National Park and the upper reaches of the Yellowstone River in the west, in the north they grazed to the Musselshell River and its confluence with the Missouri River , then southeast to the confluence of the Yellowstone and Powder Rivers ( Bilap chashee - 'Powder River' or 'Ash River'), southward along the South Fork of the Powder Rivers, in the southeast to the Rattlesnake Mountains , westward to the Wind River Range in the southwest. In addition, the river valleys of the Judith River ( Buluhpa'ashe - 'Plum River'), Powder River, Tongue River , Bighorn River and Wind River as well as the Big Horn Mountains (Basawaxaawúua or Iisiaxpúatachee Isawaxaawúua) , Pryor Mountains (Baahpuuo Isawaxaawúua) , Wolf Mountains ( Cheetiish - 'Wolf Teeth Mountains') and the Absaroka Range (also: Absalaga Mountains) ( Awaxaawe Báaxxioo - 'pointed mountains') named after them .

In order to gain control of their later tribal area, the Absarokee allied themselves with local Kiowa and Kiowa Apache (Plains Apache) and fought the Northern and Eastern Shoshone ( Bikkaashe - 'People of the Grass Lodges' - 'people' ), which at that time dominated the Plains who lives in grass huts') and drove them to the Rocky Mountains and the outskirts of the Plains to the west and south-west. The Absarokee then blocked the Shoshone's access to the pastures of the bison and mustangs, so that many once mounted Shoshone groups returned to their former nomadic, horseless hunter-gatherer culture of the Great Basin . The Kiowa and Kiowa Apache (Plains Apache) migrated ever further south from around 1770 to the outskirts of the Comancheria , so that the Absarokee now ruled their tribal area alone during the 18th and 19th centuries and into the era of the fur trade .

When members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition on the Yellowstone River were the first whites to encounter the Absarokee in 1804 , they mostly settled along the Bighorn River, Brown (1817) localized them along the Yellowstone and east of the Rocky Mountains along Drake (1834) the southern arm of the Yellowstone.

Once their tribal area reached from the Powder River Country eastwards to the Black Hills (in northeast Wyoming and in western South Dakota). Since about 1840/1850 the hostile Lakota (Teton-Sioux) had annexed the mountains and the area between the Powder River and the Black Hills developed into a "neutral ground"; roughly the same thing happened with areas along the Powder River and the Yellowstone River, which were claimed by the Northern Arapaho ( Alappaho - "people with many tattoos") from around 1830/1840 . Both contested areas therefore became the last retreats for bison and other large game.

Famous horse breeders

Group of the Absarokee, 1880

The Absarokee got their first horses between 1725 and 1730 after the Spanish conquistadors imported horses from Europe to North America. According to an Absarokee lore, a war party stole / bought the first horses from another tribe along the Green River ( called the Fat River by them ) and brought these then unknown animals to a camp of the Kicked-In-The-Bellies Band along the Upper Wind River in what is now Wyoming. According to a second version, a war party of the Mountain Crow Band migrated south to the Great Salt Lake in Utah , stole the first horses there and brought them north to the Absarokee. Since the Shoshone inhabited the valley of the Green River north of the Uinta Mountains and the Ute south of this, the tribes not named were probably members of one of these two peoples. The horse-rich Comanche on the southern plains or the Nez Percé des Plateaus in the west are believed to be further sources . The introduction of horses changed the balance of power in the plains. The Absarokee ousted the Eastern Shoshone from the area of ​​the Yellowstone River, secured good grazing places for their horses, established a successful horse breeding and soon owned the largest herds of horses among the tribes of the Northern Plains. As a result, they hunted the bison far more successfully and were able to move their camps faster and undertake larger and more far-reaching raids and war expeditions.

Intermediary between plateau and plains

At the beginning of the 19th century, more and more white traders and settlers penetrated the western United States - among them the fur trader and Indian agent Manuel Lisa , who lived at the confluence of the Bighorn and Yellowstone Rivers with Fort Raymond (also Fort Manuel) (1807-1809) first trading post built in the area of ​​the Upper Missouri River - two years later the Fort Lisa (also Fort Manuel Lisa Trading Post) was built as a replacement further east, near a village of the Gros Ventres between the Little Missouri River and the Big Knife River in what is now North Dakota built.

Since the Absarokee knew no cultural-religious taboo regarding the hunt for the beaver - like z. B. the enemy Blackfoot  - they caught considerably more of these animals, whose coveted skins they offered the whites for exchange. Due to the location of their tribal areas along large rivers and in the transit area between the Northern Plains, Rocky Mountains, Great Basin and Columbia River Plateau, the Absarokee were able to secure an important position as middlemen in the horse and fur trade between Americans and Indian tribes (approx. 1800 to 1860). They sold to the tribes of the Great Basin and Columbia Plateau west of the Rocky Mountains the bartered metal and other merchandise of the white traders and the whites in turn, their own surplus horses (as well as those acquired from the plateau tribes) - each at a great profit. Since the Absarokee - in contrast to neighboring tribes - did not allow themselves to be corrupted by alcohol , they were famous as skilful and clever traders who could not be taken advantage of and therefore no great profits could be expected in trading with them. Since, as already mentioned, the Blackfoot were against the beaver hunt for religious reasons , they bitterly fought the white traders advancing into their tribal areas, and they also rightly suspected that the increased influx of white traders decimated the bison herds and kept them among the tribes devastating epidemics . The Blackfoot Confederation (which also included the Gros Ventre) raided Fort Lisa several times, so that it finally had to be abandoned in 1812, and at least 20 traders were killed in several skirmishes.

The developing fur trade in the west intensified the competition between the tribes and as more and more tribes moved to the plains between 1730 and 1850 (especially the Plains Cree and Assiniboine , later the Lakota ) and had adjusted their way of life to the horse, which was used as a riding, Hunting and transport animals, as well as being used as warhorses during the war, an adequate supply of horses on the wide plains had become a question of existence for the tribes. The original individual conflicts developed into a long phase of fierce competition, which escalated militarily with increasing frequency. The powerful, but horse-poor, Cree Assiniboine Alliance established contacts with the Flathead and Absarokee, who had large herds of horses. But since these two tribes were already bitter enemies of the Blackfoot, the Cree-Assiniboine-Blackfoot alliance broke up and bitter fighting broke out - horse theft was for the Cree-Assiniboine not only a proof of courage (as with the Absarokee), but often a desperate contribution to survival in order to be able to establish oneself successfully on the plains. In particular, the horse-rich Gros Ventre suffered from the raids and war expeditions of the Cree Assiniboine, as they had their residential areas along the Saskatchewan River Forks (the confluence of the North and South Saskatchewan Rivers) and were the first to withstand the armed attacks. In retaliation for supplying their enemies with weapons, the Gros Ventre attacked and burned the Hudson's Bay Company's branch in South Branch House on the South Saskatchewan River near present-day St. Louis in 1793 . Then they moved south to the Milk River in Montana, at the same time the mighty Piegan also dodged southwest to the Missouri River. Thus, although the Absarokee had found a militarily powerful ally in the multi-ethnic Cree- Assiniboine alliance, the alliance was hated by their traditional arch enemies, the Blackfoot, as well as by the increasingly powerful Lakota- Cheyenne - Arapaho alliance . The Absarokee therefore soon took on a kind of protective function for the trading stations and for the white traders moving through the plains from the constant attacks of the Blackfoot Confederation (Siksika, Piegan, Kainai, Gros Ventre and Sarcee).

Conclusion of the Treaty of Friendship in 1825

At several meetings in the summer of 1825 between Northern Plains tribes, semi-nomadic and sedentary prairie tribes of the Upper Missouri River and its tributaries with Brigadier General Henry Atkinson and the Indian agent Major Benjamin O'Fallon, various so-called friendship treaties (Treaty of Friendship) with the respective tribes, each of which had the aim of regulating trade according to US ideas and preventing wars between the tribes. The Ponca signed on June 9, 1825, the Lakota , Yankton and Yanktonai - Sioux on June 22, 1825, the Saône-Lakota and Oglala on July 5, 1825, the Northern Cheyenne on July 6, 1825, the Hunkpapa on July 16 1825, the Arikaree on July 18, 1825 (finally the so-called Arikaree War of 1823, in which they were defeated by a force of 230 US soldiers of the 6th US Cavalry, 50 trappers and 750 Lakota warriors under Colonel Henry Leavenworth , to end). The allied Hidatsa and Mandan both signed similar agreements on July 30, 1825.

On August 4, 1825, 15 chiefs of the Mountain Crow Band under the leadership of the shaman and chief Itchuuwaaóoshbishish ( Red Plume (Feather) At The Temple , better known as Is-she-u-huts-ki-tu / E-she-huns -ka or Long Hair , approx. 1750-1836) in Mandan Village also signed a Treaty of Friendship with the US government, in which the Mountain Crow recognized the political sovereignty of the US over their territory and their nation, allowed the US government to regulate trade, designate licensed traders and unilaterally set trading posts. In addition, the Absarokee should refrain from traditional retaliatory measures (read: war campaigns) in the event of intertribal conflicts or possible thefts or attacks between Absarokee and whites, but rather let US government organs regulate this. They also pledged to hand over unlicensed dealers to the US authorities, to protect US dealers and tribes hostile to the US government not to supply horses or other war materials.

The River Crow Band under Chief Eelápuash / Arapoosh (also known as Rotten Belly or Sore Belly , * 1795, † 1834) refused to sign the contract because they believed they could not agree to its provisions without their sovereignty as Give up tribe. Therefore, in 1834 the River Crow under siege Eelápuash / Arapoosh the Fort McKenzie at the Missouri River but were expelled by hostile Blackfoot warriors, whereby Eelápuash / Arapoosh was killed.

At that time, the Kicked in the Bellies Band split from the Mountain Crow Band; and since it prefers its winter camps in the Wind River Valley (the upper reaches of the Bighorn River is called the Wind River ) in southwest and west Wyoming and its summer camps in the eastern Big Horn Mountains in the border area of ​​Montana and Wyoming and southwards partly to the Sweetwater River migrated - and thus mostly lived far away from the two other bands, they were referred to by them as Ammitaalasshé ( Home Away From The Center , i.e. by the Ashkúale - Mountain Crow or also: away from the tribal area). However, all bands usually banded together for hunting in spring and summer.

Battle and loss of the tribal areas

Tribal area of ​​the Absarokee

The Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1851 redefined the tribal boundaries and was intended to ensure peace between the whites and the signatory tribes. A total of around 10,000 Indians were present at the negotiations in Fort Laramie - in addition to the Absarokee, the Lakota , Yankton , Arapaho , Cheyenne , Eastern Shoshone, Assiniboine , Arikaree , Mandan and Hidatsa. The land of the Absarokee was now limited to 143,787 km², as the government representatives accepted and thus contractually confirmed the current military strength of the allied Lakota, Northern Arapaho and Cheyenne, which advanced aggressively into the eastern tribal areas of the Absarokee and already occupied large parts. For the loss of their tribal areas east of the Powder River, the Absarokee received annual gifts from the whites. Many young warriors could not be controlled and sometimes skirmishes with the Eastern Shoshone, Nez Percé and Flathead .

In 1859 the Absarokee repulsed the advancing Lakota, Arapaho and Cheyenne. Two years later, the long-standing alliance broke the Blackfoot tribes with the Gros Ventre, who had to leave the Blackfoot Confederacy and seek refuge with their former enemies, the Plains / Southern Assiniboine the Cree - Assiniboine were -Konföderation (Nehiyaw-PWAT). The Absarokee wanted to use this and allied themselves with the Gros Ventre against the mighty Piegan , the southernmost tribe of the Blackfoot Confederation. In 1866/1867, however, they were defeated by the Piegan in a battle near the Cypress Hills and the allies Absarokee and Gros Ventre lost about 450 warriors. This was a heavy defeat for the Absarokee, who came under increasing pressure from larger tribes from the north and east due to increasingly dwindling herds of bison, which soon concentrated in their tribal area as well as in the area of ​​their archenemy, the Blackfoot. These include the Lakota, who took over the eastern territories of the Absarokee from 1860 at the latest, as well as the Cree Assiniboine Confederation from the north, who migrated south from Canada to the former tribal area of ​​the Absarokee until 1881, hunted bison and the horses of the Stole Absarokee.

In the Treaty of Fort Laramie 1868 , the area of ​​the entire present-day US state of South Dakota west of the Missouri River , including the Black Hills (from the northern border in Nebraska to the 46th parallel and from Missouri in the east to the 104th meridian in the west) as Indian land for unrestricted and unmolested use and settlement by the Great Sioux Nation and established the Great Sioux Reservation . Land assignments should only be possible if at least three-quarters of all adult male Sioux living on reservation areas agree. The treaty was preceded by the Red Cloud War (1866-1868), a war that meant a complete victory for the Lakota for the time being. Because of this, the Lakota were in a good negotiating position and were able to “reserve” the large area in what is now South Dakota for themselves. In addition to the reservation area, they and their allies were given extensive hunting and fishing rights in what is now the US states of Wyoming, Montana and Nebraska. Since the area was populated by several Indian tribes (the Absarokee in particular), several bases of the Bureau of Indian Affairs were established in the reservation area. The Battle of Little Bighorn on June 25, 1876 was the last attempt to defend the land rights attributed to the Great Sioux Reservation, the allied Lakota, Northern Arapaho and Northern Cheyenne were victorious as before, but they should after a grueling winter and always up to finally give up the flight.

Alliance with the Americans and service as scouts

Pressed on all sides, the Absarokee increasingly sought the favor of the whites who were at war with most of the neighboring tribes. The Absarokee thus hoped to avoid inevitable defeat and live in peace with the whites. Soon the good horses, weapons and other goods they had acquired from the whites aroused the envy of the hostile tribes, and their proximity to the whites earned them the hatred of many. Their support for the white settlers went so far that the governor of Montana asked the federal government to arm the tribe with firearms, as they had a greater deterrent potential than any army forts in the territory .

Despite all friendship with the whites, it was a popular sport among the Absarokee to rob both Indian and white travelers. The Absarokee were notorious as excellent thieves.

Many of the Absarokee warriors were hired by the US Army as scouts against the Indian tribes, who fought against the threat of defeat against the whites. The Absarokee scouts who had served under Colonel George A. Custer in the battle of the Little Bighorn River became particularly well known : White Man Runs Him , Curley , Hairy Moccasin and Goes Ahead . The sites of the fighting that took place along the Little Bighorn River (Iisiaxpúatahcheeaashisee Aliakáate) and Reno Creek (Bilippítshuhke) , as well as the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument and Reno-Benteen Battlefield Memorial are located on the area of ​​today's reservation of the Crow Nation.

Even during the subsequent Nez Percé War of 1877, the Absarokee remained true to their decision that it was in the interest of their tribe to stand by the side of the Americans and, if necessary, to prove themselves valiantly as scouts. The former friends and allies of the Nez Percé hoped for military or at least logistical support from the Absarokee and sent scouts to the Crow reservation to inform them about the request of the Nez Percé. Looking Glass (Allalimya Takanin) in particular, the most important military leader of the Nez Percé, pushed the alliance with the Absarokee against the whites among them. But the Indians also suffered a severe setback, because the Absarokee refused to fight the Americans with them.

When the Nez Percé flew on the Plains towards the Crow Reservation - despite the negative attitude of the Absarokee - Colonel Samuel Davis Sturgis of the 7th Cavalry Regiment stood in their way. Sturgis received support from 150 Absarokee scouts who were hoping to capture horses from the Nez Percé. That the Absarokee sided with the Americans was another disappointment for the Nez Percé. Without their support, the Nez Percé saw only one way out, to escape to Canada .

The now exhausted Indians moved north, still pursued by Howards and Sturgis' troops. Individual groups left the main group. One of them ended up in the reservation of the Assiniboine and Gros Ventres at Fort Belknap in Montana. Both tribes were traditional enemies of the Nez Percé and some of the fugitives were murdered on the reservation; It is unclear whether the perpetrators belonged to the Assiniboine or the Gros Ventres. Another small group fell victim to an attack by Assiniboine and Gros-Ventre warriors on October 3: five men were killed and two women captured. There were further arrests by the Absarokee and Gros Ventres.

Towards the end of the campaign, Nez Percé bitterly attacked a camp of the Absarokee, who were once friends with them, but now on the side of the Americans, where they stole dried buffalo meat, went buffalo hunt themselves and stole supplies that were for the US Army at Cow Island Landing on Missouri were intended. During the whole of the Nez-Percé War, there were repeated minor skirmishes between Nez-Percé warriors and Absarokee scouts or warriors, who often successfully stole horses from the Nez-Percé trek.

Life in the reservation

US General William T. Sherman negotiating with Indians at Fort Laramie around 1868

In 1868 the Absarokee ceded the whites with the second Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1868 over 100,000 km² of land; they still had 32,376 km². The whites pledged to set up an agency with schools and other services. In addition, the Absarokee received food rations and clothes. You should live as a farmer in the future. In 1883 the Crow Agency, the Absarokee's agency, was officially founded.

In 1887 the previously communal reserve land was parceled out with the Dawes Act and divided between the individual families. This should motivate the Absarokee more for agriculture.

Captive Absarokee, 1887

Due to further land cessions, their reserve melted to 10,117 km² by 1905.

The tribal constitution of 1948 gave the tribal council ( General Council or Tribal Council ) the executive, legislative and judicial power. The tribal council was formed by all registered members of the tribe who were at least 18 years (women) or 21 years old (men). The form of government was a direct democracy modeled on that of the ancient Greeks.

In 1948 the Absarokee introduced a new system of government that was more closely based on the American one. In 1990 the eligibility to vote was also reduced to 18 for men.

Because of the extensive land assignments in the 19th century, for which they had received very little compensation, the Absarokee went to various courts. In 1962 they were retrospectively awarded over $ 10 million. In 1981 the US Supreme Court ruled that the Absarokee owned the Bighorn River bed .

At the council meeting on July 15, 2001, the Absarokee (Crow Nation) replaced their constitution with a system of separation of powers. The executive is made up of four people, the chairman, the vice-chairman, the secretary and the vice-secretary. Three representatives from each of the six districts of the reservation (The Valley of the Chiefs, Reno, Black Lodge, Mighty Few, Big Horn and Pryor Districts) make up the legislature. Judicial power rests with the President of the Crow Nation's Supreme Court (Chief Justice). Angela Russell currently holds that office.

Chairman of the Crow Nation

• 2009 to date: Cedric Black Eagle
• 2002–2009: Carl Venne
• 2000-2002: Clifford Birdin Ground
• 1990-2000: Clara Nomee
• 1986-1990: Richard Real Bird
• 1982-1986: Donald Stewart
• 1977-1982: Forest Horn
• 1974–1977: Patrick Stands Over Bull
• 1972-1974: David Stewart
• 1966-1972: Edison Real Bird
• 1964-1966: John Wilson
• 1960-1964: John Cummings
• 1956–1960: Edward "Posie" Whiteman
• 1954-1956: William Wall
• 1946–1954: Robert "Robbie" Yellowtail
• 1941-1946: Henry Pretty On Top
• 1938-1941: Charles Yarlott
• 1934-1938: Hartford Bear Claw
• 1927-1934: William Bends
• 1921-1927: James Carpenter
• 1920–1921: Ralph Saco (Gets Down Often)

Demographics

Around 4,000 Absarokee lived around 1780. The explorers Lewis and Clark estimated their number in 1804 at 3,500 who had lived in about 350 huts. In the following years the number of Absarokee remained fairly constant; for 1833 it was estimated at 3,250–3,560. By 1890, however, it fell to 2,287 and by 1904 to 1,826. It should have bottomed out at 1,674 by around 1930. It has risen continuously since then. The US Census 2000 counted 13,394 registered tribal members of the Absarokee.

Traditional culture

In the following, the culture of the Absarokee is described as it presented itself up to the point of giving up self-determination and moving into the reserve. From that point on, it gradually adapted to the culture of European immigrants.

Culturally, the Absarokee can be assigned to the Plains cultural area, but with the influence of the tribes of the Great Basin and the Plateau .

Food acquisition

The bison was the main source of food for the Absarokee. They also hunted elk , deer , pronghorns , bighorn sheep and bears . The Absarokee knew a clear division of labor: the men were responsible for killing the animals, the women for processing the meat, drying and preparing pemmican . In addition, the women picked berries and dug for edible roots.

Material culture

The Absarokee made eating utensils from the horns of mountain sheep or bison, sometimes also from bison shoulder blades. Bison bellies served as water containers.

They used bows and arrows for hunting. They made the bows from cedar , ash or hickory wood , elk or mountain sheep horns ( horn bows ) and from the neck or shoulder tendons of bison, the arrows from stone and horn and the quivers from otter, bison calf or mountain sheep skins .

The women sewed about 20 bison skins together, put them over 14 to 30 round pine stakes and made tipis that also belonged to them. The tipis were mostly richly decorated and decorated. They were inhabited by 8 to 16 people.

The Absarokee made clothes from tanned animal skins. While women always wore long skirts, men limited themselves to loincloths and moccasins in summer . Both sexes used special festive dresses for ceremonies and solemn occasions, which they had decorated with feathers, seeds, porcupine bristles and shells. The Absarokee, on the other hand, did not paint their clothes. Both women and men wore their long hair loose and parted in the middle. They combed each other's tail with a porcupine.

Despite the rather colorless clothes, the Absarokee were described by the early European settlers as very beautiful, tall Indians, possibly the most beautiful North American Indians at all.

After the introduction of the horse, the Absarokee developed into excellent riders. They quickly created new cultural assets such as saddles and bridles. They decorated their horses as well as themselves. The nomadic Absarokee needed about five horses to transport their household. The transport took place with a travois , a grinding stretcher. In the past, dogs had to pull their belongings in the same way. In addition, the Absarokee soon entertained the largest herds of horses on the plains, as they had developed into famous and successful horse breeders among the tribes. In addition to the Absarokee, only the Nez Perce, Cayuse (both even bred their own horse breeds) and the Comanche, Kiowa and Plains Apache (Kiowa Apache) maintained; In comparison, the hostile Assiniboine, Plains Cree, Plains Ojibwe and Blackfoot were really poor of horses . The Absarokee called the horse Ichilay ("look out for", "go looking for"), the name probably related to the horse's use in hunting and in war. As already mentioned, the Absarokee did use the Travois, but thanks to their horse wealth - their herd was estimated at 30,000 to 40,000 animals - not as much as other Plains tribes, as they could afford to use the horses as pack animals. In addition, all Absarokee rode their own horses during the seasonal hikes, which enabled them to cover large distances faster than neighboring groups.

Life cycle

Dead frame of the Absarokee

After two days the newborns were pierced on the ears, after two more days they were placed under the protection of the medicine of a man of the same clan and given a name.

The Absarokee spent their childhood playing games, often imitating the life of adults.

Boys learned how to braid their hair and comb up the hair on their heads. At the age of fourteen to sixteen they were allowed to go on a campaign for the first time. At the same time they tried to be accepted into a warrior league of the tribe.

Girls learned the duties of women and how to abort unwanted children. A young man had to give horses to the family of the future wife. Only exogamous marriages were allowed. If a woman died shortly after marriage, the widower was offered a sister as a replacement if possible. People in law exchanged gifts to strengthen family ties. A man's relationship with his mother-in-law was subject to strict taboos . He had to show his father-in-law great respect. Both sexes could get a divorce.

In old age the men often sat down, smoked pipes and exchanged ideas, and they laughed often and happily.

If a member of the tribe died, he was dressed in his best clothes, painted and wrapped in a tipiplane. They bedded a deceased chief on a scaffolding in a tepee. If an enemy killed an Absarokee, the whole camp mourned. Relatives sometimes hacked off a fingertip or cut their hair short.

mythology

The mythology of the Absarokee is very similar to that of the Hidatsa and, to a lesser extent, that of the Arapaho and Assiniboine. According to their mythology, the earth was formed by the Old Man , identified partly as the Sun and partly as the Old Man Coyote . To do this, he had used the mud that the banded divers had brought up from the depths of the primordial sea. After Old Man created the earth, he blew dry earth from his hand, creating First Woman, First Man, and a flock of crows. Old man explained to people how to live and gave them the name Absarokee , crows. He placed them in the Yellowstone River area, in the midst of enemies they had to fight. Now old man felled a tree and white man emerged like a mouse from a hole. He told the Absarokee not to fight the whites who would teach them how to make iron.

Religion and healing of the sick

Dance of the Absarokee in festive attire, Crow Agency, Montana 1941

The main spiritual interest of the Absarokee was, according to Robert Lowie, in the acquisition of an omnipresent, supernatural force called Maxpe , which roughly corresponds to the Wakan of the Sioux peoples. Their interest in the spirit beings behind them was rather low. They named the sun Old Man Isáahkaxaalia and the moon Old Woman Káalixaalia . In their prayers they addressed her as a grandfather and grandmother . Both are in turn represented by the water (father Bilísaahke ) and the earth (mother Awaisahké - see also mother earth ). More prayers they addressed sometimes to First makers, Old Man Coyote ( Trickster ), "The one up" (which was only described diffuse), Morgenstern (son of the sun), bison, eagle-faceted Donner ( Thunderbird ) and dwarfs. From a polytheism , however, out of the question. Only the sun was called upon during oaths and as part of the vision search .

Every Absarokee warrior wanted good medicine through Maxpe, in other words spiritual power, in order to be successful. He tried to achieve this in a vision that he conjured up with consistent fasting in solitude. Or he sacrificed part of his finger or a strip of meat to convince a guardian spirit to adopt him as a son and give him the right to a medicine song, body painting or objects that he could collect in a medicine bag . All of this should give him a long life, enough to eat, and power over his enemies.

If an Absarokee did not have his own medicine, he could borrow it from his clan father up to four times. In return, the supplicant had to give the clan father horses, meat or other goods, and sometimes also loan his wife.

The Absarokee were organized in various religious associations, the best known by far is the Tobacco Association . Each covenant had its own ceremonies, songs and dances with which they wanted to tune the spirits and gain their power. Most of the ceremonies the Absarokee held in spring and autumn. In the summer, many warriors underwent the sun dance .

According to the belief of the Absarokee, if someone was sick, he had aroused the displeasure of the spirits by, for example, not following a taboo . A medicine man who knew the best about the spiritual world and nature was brought in for healing .

Socio-political organization

Social organization

The Absarokee were organized both territorially and functionally. Territorially, they lived in three regional tribal groups or bands, which in turn were divided into several local groups and held together socially by various matrilineal clans ( Ashammalíaxxiia or Araxu`a`tse ); functionally they knew military, religious and medical groups. However, there were no social classes.

The number of clans varied. During the 19th century they numbered 12 or 13 clans, the Mountain Crow and River Crow knowing the same clans, those of the Kicked in the Bellies differed slightly. Two or three clans were grouped into a total of five phratry (clan association) and traced back to common mythical ancestors or an ancestral mother ( ancestral mother) , which did not allow marriages within the same clan - the exogamous marriage rules forced the Absarokee, their future spouse to look outside their own clan or band, so that these mutual exogamous marriages between the different Absarokee clans led to alliances of individual families across the boundaries of the respective three bands and thus strengthened the feeling of togetherness and the unity of the entire Absarokee as a nation.

The individual clans came together to support one another, especially during the organization of larger hunts, celebrations (especially weddings) as well as during war and times of need. Each clan had its own chief, the clan father, who was assisted by other advisory chiefs. The chiefs coordinated the hunt, martial endeavors, ceremonies and had to ensure law and order within the clan. The functions and names of the individual clans were given to the Absarokee by their cultural hero Isáahkawuattee (Old Man Coyote), who also explained the origin of the name to them.

1. phratry

• Uuwatashe ( Greasy Inside The Mouth Clan - "Those with a greasy mouth", "Those with fat in their mouth", were so named because, as good hunters, they only ate the best meat and their mouths were therefore greasy)

Nickname: Axxaashe Akiaxapáalia ( Those Who Spiritual Power Is The Sun - "Those whose spiritual power is the sun")

• Ashíiooshe ( Sore Lip (Lodge) Clan - "inflamed, sore lips", so called because they hunted and defied the weather as bold warriors and hunters in wind and weather, summer and winter, so they had inflamed by the wind, sore lips)

2. Phratry

• Biliikóoshe ( Whistling Waters Clan - "Whistling Waters", so called because a young man once loved a woman who also belonged to his clan, and when they wanted to fetch water at the river, they whistled despite the command to marry outside the clan this one couple and the whole clan was now called Whistling Waters Clan after the event )

Nickname: Bapshíshbaashe ( my brother-in-law from the past. Because they are all related to each other due to the actually not allowed marriage within the clan)

Previous name: Akchihpawaaítche ( Wealthy Gophers Clan - "Rich ground squirrels", were known for their intelligence and language and were so generous that they always left small pieces of food for the ground squirrels as they roamed)

Nickname: Chihpashikáake ( Gopher Boys - "ground squirrel boys")

• Ashkápkawiia ( Bad War Deeds (Lodge) Clan - " Bad War Deeds ", during the wars against other tribes there were rivalries between the warring societies who asked each other to list their war acts. However, one warrior listed deeds that could not be proven and had to admit when asked that he had invented it)

Previous name: Ashxáhche ( Hair Remaining (Lodge) Clan. so called because they are allegedly careless when processing the animal skins and therefore clumps of hair were always left on the dermis)

3. Phratry

• Xúhkaalaxche ( Ties In A Bundle Clan - "Those who bundle everything together", were so named because they were always in a hurry and not tidy when moving camp and simply bundled all their possessions together; sometimes as Ties The Bundle Clan - "Those who tie the sacred bundle, tie" reproduced - the sacred medicine bundle contained tobacco , the only cultivated plant of the Crow)

Nickname: Iishiileete ( Not Mixed )

• Uússaawaachiia ( Brings Home Game Without Shooting Clan - "Those who bring game home without a shot", so called because they were considered very intelligent and they were said to bring food home without weapons)

4. Phratry

• Ashshitchíte ( Big (Lodge) Clan - "Those with large dwellings", were so named because they were known to be hardworking people and hard workers and therefore were able to build large dwellings)
• Ashhilaalíoo ( Newly Made (Lodge) Clan , so called because they were the last clan created by Old Man Coyote, i.e. they were only newly made )

5. phratry

• Ashkaámne ( Blood Indian (Lodge) Clan - "acting like Kainai (Blood)"; often incorrectly referred to in English as the Piegan Clan - however Piegan and Blood are different tribes of the Blackfoot ; got their name because they were the Biliikóoshe ( during a clan war ) Whistling Waters Clan) and the Ashkápkawiia (Bad Waar Deeds Clan) when they intervened on the side of the Biliikóoshe, so the Ashkápkawiia said that they would act as insidious and treacherous as the enemies of the Absarokee, the Kaámne (Kaánne ( Kainai Blood) ) and referred to them as Ashkaámne (Blood Indian (Lodge) Clan) )

Former name: Ashbatshúa ( Treacherous (Lodge) Clan - "insidious, traitorous", were supposedly so called because they were considered insidious and traitorous people, but they were afraid of water and therefore would not go into deep rivers)

• Ashpeennuushé ( Filth Eaters (Lodge) Clan , Dung Eaters (Lodge) Clan - "Those who eat dirt", "Those who eat dung"; once a jealous chief of this clan beat his wife against the ethics of the Crow and cut her Hair off and forced her to eat dung (dung) - her brothers saved her and thereby ended the marriage. The ashamed Crow disowned the chief and therefore later called the clan Ashpeennuushé (Dung Eater (Lodge) Clan) )

Former name: Isaashkahpaleeté ( Crop Eared Domesticated Animals - "Those with pack animals whose ears are damaged by frost", as they usually stayed outside in cold weather until the ears of their pack animals are damaged by frost)

The following clans still exist today: Ashshitchíte (Big Lodge Clan); Ashhilaalíoo (Newly Made Lodge); Uuwatashe (Greasy Mouth); Ashíiooshe (Sore Lip Clan); Xúhkaalaxche (Ties the Bundle Clan); Biliikóoshe (Whistling Waters Clan); Ashkápkawiia (Bad War Deeds Clan); Aashkamne (Blood Clan).

The Absarokee knew four warrior leagues just before the reservation period: Lumpwoods, Foxes, Muddy Hands, and Big Dogs. There had been other warrior leagues in the past. The warrior associations acted as police within the camps, arbitrating disputes and, together with the chiefs, organized the hunt and the relocations from one camp to the next.

The elders, the elders, were of great influence. Their advice and experience weighed heavily in making the most important decisions.

"Non-destructive-aggressive society"

The social psychologist Erich Fromm analyzed the willingness of 30 pre-state peoples, including the Absarokee, to use ethnographic records to analyze the anatomy of human destructiveness . He finally assigned them to the “non-destructive-aggressive societies”, whose cultures are characterized by a sense of community with pronounced individuality (status, success, rivalry), targeted child-rearing, regulated manners, privileges for men and, above all, male tendencies to aggression - but without destructive ones Tendencies (destructive rage, cruelty, greed for murder, etc.) - are marked. (see also: "War and Peace" in pre-state societies )

Bands or regional tribal groups of the Absarokee

According to oral tradition, the ancestors of today's Absarokee and Hidatsa (the actual Hidatsa, Awatixa and Awaxawi (Amahami)) originally came from the area west of the Great Lakes south of Lake Superior and west of Lake Michigan , which slowly came together in the mid-15th century moved west. In the area of ​​a lake sacred to many tribes, which the Absarokee call Sacred Waters ("Holy Water") or Spirit Lake ("Lake of the Spirit") - the Europeans, however, because they despised the religion of the tribal peoples - called it Devils Lake - in the northeast of North Dakota , a large group under the leadership of the brothers Shíipdeetash (No Intestines or No Vitals) and Chíitdeehisshish (Red Scout) settled in a jointly inhabited settlement at the beginning of 1600 (according to other tradition already around 1450) ; Both brothers received different visions: Chíitdeehisshish (Red Scout) saw in his vision an ear of corn and he was commanded to settle down with his entourage and plant corn for a living. From this group emerged what was once the largest group of the Hidatsa, the Awatixa Hidatsa; Shíipdeetash (No Intestines or No Vitals), on the other hand, saw the sacred tobacco plant in the vision and was ordered to move westward to the plains and into the mountains, and to plant them there, from this group emerged the once largest group of the Absarokee, later called the Mountain Known to Crow .

The Absarokee were divided into three regional tribal groups or bands , which in turn were divided into several local groups ( eng.local groups, subbands ), which consisted of related extended families: the individual local groups were of one as each Bacheeítche designated ( "Good man") chief out, the most influential chief of the local groups a band was as Ashbacheeítche ( Chief of the camp - called "leader of the camp or the whole band") and was the political leader the band - so there were three Ashbacheeítche among the Absarokee (one each for the Mountain Crow, for the River Crow and for the Kicked In The Bellies). The most outstanding of the three Ashbacheeítche was elected leader of the entire Absarokee and Ashakée ( Owner Of The Lodges - "owner or keeper of the tipis") - he represented the nation as chief chief and also symbolized the unity of the individual tribesmen internally individual bands.

• Ashalaho ("many dwellings") or Ashkúale ("the main camp" or "the largest, most important camp") called because they were the largest tribal group; also called Awaxaawaxammilaxpáake ("mountain people"), therefore mostly known today as the Mountain Crow . According to tradition, they split off from the Awatixa Hidatsa and, under the leadership of Chief Shíipdeetash (No Intestines or No Vitals) , were the first of the Absarokee to migrate westwards with the only cultivated Absarokee plant, tobacco (McCleary 1997: 2-3), (Bowers 1992: 21). They lived in the Rocky Mountains and their foothills in the border area of ​​Wyoming and Montana along the Upper Yellowstone River, in the Big Horn and Absaroka Mountains (also Absalaga Mountains) with the Black Hills on the eastern edge of their territory.
• Binnéessiippeele ("Those who live along the river banks"), therefore mostly known today as the River Crow ; also known by her nickname Ashshipíte ("black (from smoke) colored tipis"). In mid-split of the 17th century. Under the leadership of the chief Daxpitchée Daasítchileetash (Bear Whose Heart Is Never Good or Bad Heart Bear) from the orig . Hidatsa (another group of the Hidatsa) because of a dispute over a bison stomach, so that the Hidatsa called all Absarokee Gixáa-iccá or Kixa'ica ("those who sulk or quarrel about a little thing") (Bowers 1992: 23; Lowie 1993: 272-275). They lived along the Yellowstone River, Musselshell River south of the Missouri River and in the river valleys of the Big Horn, Powder and Wind River (formerly called Powder River Country ), sometimes northwards to the Milk River .
• Ammitaalasshé ( Home Away From The Center , from the Ashkúale - Mountain Crow ), split off from the Ashkúale (Mountain Crow) (Lowie 1912: 183–184), later mostly under their nickname Eelalapito ("In their tummies " ) or in English known as Kicked In The Bellies. They claimed the area of ​​the so-called Bighorn Basin, from the Bighorn Mountains in the east to the Absaroka Mountains in the west and to the Wind River Range in the south in the north and central Wyoming. Sometimes they settled in the Owl Creek Mountains and Bridger Mountains, as well as along the Sweetwater River to the south.

Oral tradition of the Absarokee reports from a fourth volume, the Bilapiluutche (Beaver Dries its Fur) , which was probably absorbed by the Kiowa tribe in the middle of the 18th century .

Culture during the reserve period

With the establishment of the Crow Agency in 1883, the self-determination of the Absarokee ended. For example, they were forbidden from holding war dances and sun dances. Hunting within the reserve required a special permit. An Indian police force had to bring sinners to a newly created court. In the early days of the reservation, young men frequently broke out and attacked the Piegan in particular.

By 1907, the Roman Catholic Church and the Baptist Church established various mission schools on the reservation. The missions wanted to integrate the Absarokee as quickly as possible into the culture of the whites and destroy the Indian culture. To do this, they ran boarding schools to which all children from the age of five had to go. The boarding schools were abolished in 1929.

The most significant changes were in technology. The women were less affected than the men; their skills in preparing food, making clothes and other handicrafts were largely preserved. Social organization and religious practices were also slow to change. The Tobacco Association, for example, continues to play a central role in the life of the Absarokee. Not only did they take over cultural elements from the whites, but also from other Indian tribes, for example the peyote cult of the Northern Cheyenne in 1910 and the sun dance of the Eastern Shoshone in 1910. On the other hand, they were only marginally captured by the ghost dance movement.

In the early years of the 20th century they formally gave up matrilinearity and instead adopted English surnames.

Many Absarokee continued the martial tradition in the active participation of the First and Second World Wars as well as in the wars in Korea and Vietnam.

Since 1970 the Absarokee's cultural rules have been watered down more and more. Clan exogamy (external marriage) is no longer strictly observed; the lively exchange of gifts at weddings still continues. The traditional faith had not been completely destroyed despite the intensive Christian proselytizing. By 1980, 40 to 50 percent of the Absarokee were members of the Native American Church . In 1980 the Absarokee established their own college, Little Big Horn College, with the help of Montana State University in Bozeman . The bilingual lessons in Absarokee and English are essential.

Current situation

In the 1930s in particular, many Absarokee moved to the cities. In 1990, a third still lived in the Crow reservation near the city of Billings in the US state of Montana, most of which lived in horse and cattle breeding and some lived from agriculture. The reserve covers 9235 km² (1998), about 50 percent are parceled out by Absarokee and 20 percent jointly managed by the tribe. 30 percent is owned by the state of Montana or white landowners. Most of the land is used for agriculture; In contrast to most Indian tribes, the Absarokee were also able to keep fertile land. The tribe-administered land was leased to 765 white and 74 Absarokee farmers in 1997.

Today, 7,900 of the approximately 11,000 enrolled tribal members of the Crow (Apsáalooke) Tribe of Indians live on the reservation, of whom about 85 percent use the Crow language as their mother tongue and English as a second language.

The clan system is quite well preserved; many Absarokee are still based on the traditional kinship pattern. The extended family plays an important role. Other cultural elements such as the sun dance, the tobacco union or traditional dances are also cultivated and were able to gain in importance again. New elements such as basketball, rodeo , powwows and new dances were added.

Although the Absarokee enjoy free health care within the reserve, the health situation is poor compared to the whole of the United States. Many Absarokee suffer from diabetes or cancer. Joseph Medicine Crow , Doctor of Anthropology and former Absarokee chief, estimated the life expectancy within the reservation to be 50 years.

meaning

The Absarokee belonged in the 19th century to the most important Indian tribes of the northwestern Plains after the Lakota and the Blackfoot. They strictly adhered to the friendship treaty concluded with the whites in 1825 and supported them, mostly as scouts, also in the fight against the other Plains tribes (including the most famous battle of the Indian Wars on the Little Big Horn ). That is why most of the Plains tribes still consider the Absarokee traitors today.

A village in the US state of Montana was named after the Absarokee , see Absarokee (Montana) . The name Absaraka is a village in North Dakota , and Absaroka is the name of a mountain range and forest in Yellowstone National Park .

Chiefs and famous personalities of the Apsáalooke (Crow)

Mountain Crow (Awaxaawaxammilaxpáake)

• Itchuuwaaóoshbishish (Red Plume (Feather) At The Temple, better known as Is-she-u-huts-ki-tu / E-she-huns-ka or Long Hair ) (* ca.1750 ; † 1836) ( Ashbacheeítche i.e. Oberster Chief (and shaman) of the Mountain Crow during the fur trade, signed together with 15 other chiefs of the Mountain Crow on August 4, 1825 in the Mandan Village the so-called Treaty of Friendship with the US government; after his death it became extreme long hair - reportedly over three feet long - trimmed and kept by tribal chiefs, now the hair is kept by Chief Plenty Coups State Park in Pryor, Montana.)
• Daxpitcheehísshish (Red Bear) (* ca.1807 - 1860s) ( Bacheeítche i.e. chief of a local group of the Mountain Crow, was a well-known and feared warrior and leader during the 1840s and 1850s.)
• Déaxitchish / Déahĭtsĭśh (better known as Pretty Eagle) (* 1846, † 1905) (important war chief and diplomat, distinguished himself especially in campaigns against Lakota and Pawnee, accompanied other important chiefs to Washington several times to protect the rights of the Crow and their promises Maintaining the reservation was recognized by the US government in 1890 as Chief Chief alongside the actual and traditionally elected Ashakée, i.e. Chief Chief Plenty Coups .)
• Alaxchiiaahush / Alaxchíia Ahú (Many War Achievements, in English therefore known as Plenty Coups - "Many Coups "), also known as Chíilaphuchissaaleesh (Buffalo Bull Facing The Wind) (* approx. 1848; † 1932) (was due to his great acts of war against the hostile Lakota, Cheyenne, Arapaho and Blackfoot as early as 1876 (the year of the Battle of Little Big Horn ) at the age of 28 elected Ashbacheeítche , i.e. Supreme Chief of the Mountain Crow, was a great visionary, diplomat and the last traditionally elected Ashakée , i.e. Chief Chief of all three tribal groups, brokered peace between the Shoshone and Crow and offered the support of Crow scouts to the USA in the war against their traditional enemies)

River Crow (Binnéessiippeele)

• Daxpitchée Daasítchileetash (Bear Whose Heart Is Never Good or Bad Heart Bear) (according to tradition, in the middle of the 17th century, due to a dispute over a bison stomach with the actual Hidatsa, another large tribal group headed west, around the Awaxaawaxammilaxpáake , who already settled here / Mountain Crow Band . His tribal group evolved into the historic Binnéessiippeele / River Crow Band .)
• Eelápuash / Arapoosh (in English also known as Rotten Belly or Sore Belly ) (* 1795; † 1834) ( Ashbacheeítche i.e. supreme chief of the River Crow and opponent of Itchuuwaaóoshbishish , refused to sign the friendship treaty of 1825 as the River Crow believed they could not agree to its provisions without relinquishing their sovereignty as a tribe. In 1834 the River Crow under his leadership besieged Fort McKenzie on the Missouri River, but were driven away by enemy Blackfoot warriors, and Eelápuash / Arapoosh was also killed.)
• Chíischipaaliash (Twines His (Horse's) Tail or Rotten Tail) (* approx. 1800; † 1867) ( Ashbacheeítche i.e. supreme chief of the River Crow in the 1840s; later Ashakée i.e. chief of all three tribal groups during the 1850s and 1860s; also an important shaman and an excellent war chief (pipe carrier).)
• Itchúua Chíash (White Temple) or Uuwatchiilapish (Iron Bull) (* approx. 1820, † 1886) (important warrior and after Chíischipaaliash the highest ranking Bacheeítche, i.e. chief within the River Crow)
• Issaatxalúash (Two Leggings) or Apitisée (Big (Whooping) Crane) (* around the middle of the 1840s; † 1923) (important and well-known Bacheeítche ie chief of a local group of the River Crow and war chief (pipe carrier), also led his people into the first years of the reservation period.)

Kicked In The Bellies (Eelalapito)

• Peelatchiwaaxpáash (Medicine Crow (Raven)) (an important and well-known Bacheeítche, i.e. chief of a local group of the Kicked In The Bellies as well as war chief (pipe carrier) and later chief during the first reservation period.)

Warrior Women / female chiefs

• Bíawacheeitchish (Woman Chief - "female chief") or Barcheeampe (Pine Leaf - "Kiefernblatt") (* approx. 1790; † 1854) (was robbed by hostile Crow as a ten-year-old Gros Ventre girl and was in the family of her robber as a daughter Raised, but showed more interest in ventures than hunters and warriors, became a well-known horse breeder, horse robber, good archer, huntress and famous warrior. Once near a trading post the Crow were attacked by enemy Blackfoot and some of their warriors were killed, leaving the rest Crow fled into the station; only she ventured out of the station to negotiate with the Blackfoot, but was immediately attacked by five warriors. When she killed one and wounded two in battle, the rest of the Blackfoot fled. From that day she became Called Bíawacheeitchish (Woman Chief) . Became one of the three most influential chiefs on the council within her band and a famous war Chief - made many successful campaigns against Blackfoot, Gros Ventre and Lakota. She dressed as a man when she went to war and married at least four women.)
• Akkeekaahuush (Comes Toward The Near Bank) ( ca.1810–1880 ) (she and her husband, Knife, were notorious leaders of war troops among their enemies. She was captured in battle by Piegan-Blackfoot, but later escaped)
• Biliíche Héeleelash (Among The Willows) (1837-1912) (a famous leader of various war troops against enemy Lakota, who penetrated further and further into Crow Land from the east, was known for - in contrast to Bíawacheeitchish (Woman Chief) - always particularly elaborate women's clothes to wear when she went to war. She was one of the war chiefs (pipe carriers) who were killed in the legendary Battle of Rainy Buttes of 1858/1859 (known among the Lakota as the battle in which Sitting Bull's father was killed ) with approx. 50 warriors attacked a Hunkpapa camp under Jumping Bull (Sitting Bull's father), but were repulsed by the Hunkpapa hurrying to the aid of Sans Arc and Miniconjou.)

See also

• List of North American Indian tribes

literature

• John R. Swanton: The Indian Tribes of North America . Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 145, Smithsonian Press, Washington DC, 1969, ISBN 0-87474-092-4 .
• Raymond J. DeMallie: Handbook of North American Indians . Volume 13: Plains. Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC 2001, ISBN 0-16-050400-7 .
• Joseph Medicine Crow: My people, the Crow Indians. The tribal history of the Absarokee. Eugen Diederichs Verlag, Munich 1994, ISBN 3-424-01197-5 .
• Rainer Klis : You helped the whites! Interview with Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow. In: Magazine for American Studies. 1, 2002, ISSN  0170-2513 .
• Frederick E. Hoxie: Parading through History: The Making of the Crow Nation in America 1805-1935. Cambridge University Press, 1997, ISBN 0-521-48522-3 .

Web links

Commons : Crow  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• The Absarokee website (English)
• Constitution of 2001 (English)
• Constitution of 1948 ( Memento of March 10, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Rodney Frey: The World of the Crow Indians: As Driftwood Lodges. University of Oklahoma Press, 2009, ISBN 978-0-8061-2560-2 .
2. ^ Peter Nabokov, Lawrence L. Lowendorf: Restoring a History . University of Oklahoma Press, 2004, ISBN 0-8061-3589-1 .
3. ↑ Timeline of historic events from 1400 to 2003 by Chief Historian of Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, John Doerner
4. ^ Timeline and citations from Four Directions Institute
5. ↑ Phenocia Bauerle: The Way of the Warrior: Stories of the Crow people, University of Nebraska Press, ISBN 978-0-8032-6230-0 .
6. ↑ Crow The People . The Crow Society
7. ^ Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties - Treaty with the Ponca, 1825
8. ^ Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties - Treaty with the Teton, etc., Sioux, 1825
9. ↑ Treaty with the Sioune and Oglala Tribes, 1825
10. ^ Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties - Treaty with the Cheyenne Tribe, 1825
11. ^ Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties - Treaty with the Hunkpapa Band of the Sioux Tribe, 1825
12. ^ Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties - Treaty with the Arikara Tribe, 1825
13. ^ Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties - Treaty with the Belantse-Etoa or Minitaree Tribe, 1825
14. ↑ The Hidatsa - Tradition, Habitat, and Customs (PDF)
15. ^ Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties - Treaty with the Mandan Tribe, 1825
16. ^ Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties - Treaty with the Crow Tribe, 1825
17. ↑ The Black Hills (in Lakȟótiyapi : pahá sápa or Ȟe Sápa - "hills that are black (covered by forests)") and Big Horn Mountains (in northeast Wyoming and in western South Dakota) had been around since approx 1840/1850 the hostile Lakota-Sioux (Teton-Sioux) annexed militarily and were able to successfully (until today) enforce these as “ your sacred mountains ” and as “traditional” tribal territory against outsiders (especially government representatives) in contract negotiations and in the general public .
18. ↑ ^{a b c d} Christian F. Feest : Animated Worlds - The Religions of the Indians of North America. In: Small Library of Religions , Vol. 9, Herder, Freiburg / Basel / Vienna 1998, ISBN 3-451-23849-7 . Pp. 87-88.
19. ↑ Timothy P. McCleary: The Stars We Know: Crow Indian Astronomy and Lifeways, Second Edition. Waveland Press 2011, ISBN 978-1-4786-0955-1 . Pp. 82, 107.
20. ↑ Erich Fromm: Anatomy of human destructiveness . From the American by Liselotte et al. Ernst Mickel, 86. – 100. Thousand edition, Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1977, ISBN 3-499-17052-3 , pp. 191–192.
21. ↑ Crow names.
22. ↑ Little Bighorn College - Apsáalooke Writing Tribal Histories Project, Chapter 3.6: Political Organization
23. ↑ What is the Crow Nation?
24. ↑ Timothy P. McCleary: The Stars We Know: Crow Indian Astronomy and Lifeways. Waveland, 1996, ISBN 0-88133-924-5 .
25. ↑ About the Apsáalooke ( Memento from October 30, 2010 in the Internet Archive )

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on August 25, 2005 .