Description
The Crow, whose autonym is Apsaalooke, also spelled Absaroka, are Native Americans living primarily in southern Montana. Today, the Crow people have a federally recognized tribe, the Crow Tribe of Montana, with an Indian reservation, the Crow Indian Reservation, located in the south-central part of the state. During the expansion into the West, the Crow people were allied with the United States against its neighbors and rivals, the Sioux and Cheyenne. In historical times, the Crow lived in the Yellowstone River valley, which extends from present-day Wyoming, through Montana and into North Dakota, where it joins the Missouri River. The means "children of the large-beaked bird" and was given to them by the Hidatsa, a neighboring and related Siouan-speaking tribe. French interpreters translated the name as gens du corbeau ("people of the crow").
Language
Crow is a Siouan language spoken in southern Montana in the USA, particularly on the Crow Indian Reseration. In 2007 there were about 3,000 Crow speakers. Crow is closely related to Hidatsa, a Siouan language spoken in North and South Dakota.
Culture
The main food source for the Crow was the American bison which was hunted in a variety of ways. Before the use of horses the bison were hunted on foot with arrows or lances. The horse allowed the Crow to hunt bison more easily as well as hunt more at one time. In addition to bison the Crow also hunted bighorn sheep, mountain goats, deer, elk, bear, and other game. Buffalo meat was often roasted or boiled in a stew with prairie turnips. The traditional Crow shelter is the tipi or skin lodge made with bison hides stretched over wooden poles. The Crow are historically known to construct some of the largest tipis. The Crow wore clothing distinguished by gender. Women wore dresses made of deer and buffalo hide, decorated with elk teeth or shells. They covered their legs with leggings during winter and their feet with moccasins. Crow women wore their hair in two braids.