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From the Heart of the Crow Country: The Crow Indians' Own Stories

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From the Heart of the Crow Country is a unique book by Joseph Medicine Crow, oral historian of the tribe. Filled with stories, observations, biographical portraits, accounts of hunting, warring and religious practices, and even examples of Crow Indian humour, From the Heart of Crow Country is a valuable compilation enriched by many black and white historic photos of Crow Indians, including the author's own parents and family. Convincing cultural and religious parallels are drawn such as between Jesus' fasting for 40 days and a Sun Dancer's fasting for 4 days. In this vein a good definition is given of a holy man: "This special person is the product of three factors coming into conjunction: First is the event or situation at hand; second is a man with capability and intelligence; and third is this man's definition of the situation, which leads to the solution's becoming a reality. The result of the successful conjunction of these three factors is the emergence of a new leader, who brings about the final release of the people from their predicament (p.55)." A chronology of Crow history is included that highlights major events of Absarokee History from ca.1500 to 1962. From The Heart Of The Crow Country is a fully authentic work that has value and appeal to both scholars and general readers, elegantly voiced, and easily read.

Nancy Lorraine, Reviewer

Much of the popular understanding of the Plains Indians is based on the extensive and ubiquitous literature on Lakota Sioux. Other tribes, such as the Crows (Absarokee), the Arapaho, or Gros Ventres tend to be overlooked. Especially Crows. These beautiful people were THE principal enemy of the Lakota and although just a fraction of their number, the Crows were very successful in heckling the Sioux bands and keeping them at bay.

These book is a recapitulation of the stories of such exploits. Stories, which would have been forgotten, if not for Joseph Medicine Crow... we hear about the introduction of the horse (in 1700s; the Crows call the horse "ichilay", which means "to search with"), the "buffalo jumps", invented by the Crows, and the interminable war parties and horse-stealing. The war was not waged for conquest, gain of property or territory: it was the ultimate sport, a game of wits, chivalry, bravery and honor between the tribes. The Crows were incredibly successful in raising horses: so succesful that in 1919 the secretary of the interior issued orders that they must get rod of their horses. The governement contracted bounty hunters, hired planes and helicopters and killed tens of thousands of animals... a tragic and traumatic experience for the Crows, which was worse than the military defeat. Still, the Absarokee were spared, to a large extent, the large scale depredations by the US military, due to to the role played by a Frenchman named Pierre Chienne, who practicaly wrote the provisions of the treaty that chief Blackfoot signed in 1868.

There are many stories about grizzly hunting, about old shamans, vision quests and military exploits. About the historic defeat of the Sioux, who tried to exterminate the Crow tribe in 1900s once and for all by attacking with 10 000 warriors. And lost.

In short, this is an entertaining and informative book about a remarkable people. i recommend it highly.

Joseph Medicine Crow was officially designated as the tribal historian and anthropologist by the Crow Tribal Council in 1948. One of his grandfathers, Medicine Crow, was one of the tribe's last war chiefs and a signer of the 1880 treaty with the United States. His great-uncle, White-Man Runs Him, was one of Custer's favorite Crow scouts. At a young age, Joseph Medicine Crow began collecting stories of the elderly Crows as well as members of their tradition enemies, the Sioux and Cheyenne. From the Heart of Crow Country, his first book, is a combination of oral tradition and the written record. The result is a unique compilation of stories and history from the Crow and other Northern Plains tribes.
This short book is comprised of several short stories and anecdotes from the Crow perspective. Beginning with the creation of the Crow people, the book offers brief sections on Crow society such as Crow social organization, military organization, religion, economy, language, and physical appearance. Emphasizing the importance of land and hunting ground, he tells the Crow story of migration, which contrasts with the "whites'" version of the same progression. He explains the purposes of war, and how its prime objective was not bloodshed or manslaughter, but rather [for the Indian] to distinguish himself in battle. He explains the requirements necessary for becoming a chief, including "counting coup" on one's enemy, ridden an opponent of a weapon, taking an enemy's horse, and commanding a war party successfully. Intertribal warfare on the Plains, a "dangerous sport through which young men climbed the military ladder to attain chieftaincy," is discussed using oral history. Medicine Crow recounts the way in which the Crows hunted buffalo before they had horses. He offers an analysis of techniques used in luring, driving, and stampeding buffalo over cliffs. At certain points in a chapter, he will "switch" to from the oral history of one Crow to the voice of another, to finish the story from a different perspective. At other times, he will employ archival research to fill in certain gaps such as the names of places, or years and stipulations of treaties.
Medicine Crow believes it is his job to close the gap between legend and reality in the telling of the history of his people. He writes, "as oral and recorded history reach back into the past and begin to support and substantiate the legendary, the gap begins to close and a starting point is finally found from which some continuity can be identified and maintained" (16). This method of using archival history to, in a sense, "validate by scholarly standards" specific details of traditional oral history results in a well rounded account of previously undocumented historical events. The importance of this book is the documentation of oral history, and the friendly and accessible manner in which it is presented. For scholars, this book could use the help of an editor to introduce certain sections and provide a more coherent system of organization.

As a member of the Crow (Apsaalooke) Tribe I recommend this book. I especially like the story of the warrior "Plays with His Face." I like this book and my sons do too. Buy it, you won't be disappointed.

This book is written by a Crow oral and written historian who is not only a respected elder of the Crow tribe, but had both Medicine Crow, a leading war chief, and Yellowtail, or a sundance Medicine Rock Chief, as grandfathers.

His writings here concern mainly the Crow tribe but also briefly encompass the Hidatsa, Lakota, the Cheyenne, the Arapahoe, the Atsina, and the Gros Ventres. For me the more interesting of the tails told have to do with what he calls "pre-reservation days" or the Crow tribe before 1870.

He tells us that the name Crow originates from the white man's error in interpretation of Northern Plains sign language, seeing 'crow' rather than 'bird'. The earliest men (La Verendryes, 1743) to meet the Crows were from Canada and they called them 'beaux hommes' or 'handsome men'. More properly the Absarokee should be known from their relative's (the Hidatsa) language, as "children of the large-beaked bird". They were also known among other Indian tribes as 'sharp people' and by the Dakotas as the 'raven people'. However, he uses both the Crow and Absarokee terms generally throughout the book.

Interestingly he makes mention that the Bozeman Trail cut directly through the Crow country and that in 1825 the first treaty between the Crows and U.S. Government was signed. He also mentions the matriarchal clans, divided into tribes and sub-tribes broken down from early times into the River Crow and the Mountain Crow. This division stems from the 16th or 17th century as the tribe moved west to become followers of the buffalo herds. The Absarokee language is of Siouan stock similar to both Sioux and Hidatsa. Originally the Crow Indians were woodland dwellers south of Lake Superior and west of Lake Michigan, drought and hunger forced them westward onto the plains.

His tales are history but history through the actions of past members of the tribe. He also talks of the four acts of bravery for a young man to accomplish should that man wish to be a chief of the Crow tribe. One of the more interesting members of the Crow tribe for me, besides Chief Medicine Crow and Two Leggings, was Pierre Chienne. Pierre was a trader, a mountain man, a squaw man, and, speaking perfect Crow language, an interpreter for the Crow Indians. To sum him up "Pierre Chienne practically wrote the provisions for the treaty (Fort Laramie Treaty, 1868) that have served the (Crow) tribe well to this day.".

Listed below are the chapters of this book:

The Crow Country
The Crow Indians
Early History
Recent History
Relations with the United States
Patterns of Absarokee Culture
Social Organization
Military Organization
Religious Organization
Economic Orgainization
Language
Physical Appearance
Manner of Dress
Camp Activities
Population Trends
Important Events of Crow Tribe
The Crow Migration Story
Sits in the Middle of the Land
Medicine Crow
Inter tribal Warfare
Crow Indians and Buffalo Jumps
About Crow Indian Horses
Crow Humor

While this book may not be the only book for one to read concerning the Crow Indians, history and culture, it is a very excellent and very readable book in itself. I've several more to read in my library but this one fits in well with all the others.