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The effects of European culture contacts upon the economic, social, and religious life of the Crow Indians
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The effects of European culture contacts upon the economic, social, and religious life of the Crow Indians
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THE EFFECTS OF EUROPEAN.CULTURE CONTACTS
UPON THE ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, A N D RELIGIOUS
LIFE OF THE CRO W INDIANS"
A > i T h esis
P re se n te d to
"t^ie F a c u lty o f th e D epartm ent o f A nthropology
U h lv e r s ity of- S o u th ern C a lif o r n ia
I n . P a r t i a l F u lf illm e n t
ofi th e R equirem ents f o r th e Degree
M aster of A rts
by
Joseph- M edicine-Crow
May 1959
U M I Number: EP54603
All rights reserved
INFORMATION TO ALL USERS
The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted.
In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript
and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed,
a note will indicate the deletion.
Disssrtateft PuD itgm m g
UMI EP54603
Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author.
Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC.
All rights reserved. This work is protected against
unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code
ProQuest LLC.
789 East Eisenhower Parkway
P.O. Box 1346
Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346
X
This thesis, written by
Jo se p h M edicine-Crow
under the direction of AlS.. Faculty Committee,
and approved by all its members, has been
presented to and accepted by the Council on
Graduate Study and Research in partial fulfill
ment of the requirements for the degree of
M aster of A rts
Secretary
pyate 1939
Faculty Com m ittee
....
Chairman
TABLE OR CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
Foreword I l l
I n tr o d u c tio n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IV
part I
CHANGES IN THE ECONOMIC STRUCTURE
I . DOMESTIC L I F E ......................................................................... 1
D iv is io n o f ta s k s ........................ 1
S h e lte r • • • • • . . ...................................... .. 5
O ccupations and p ro fe s s io n s .................................. 5
I I . WEALTH-AND ' VALUES.................................. 10
Ownership o f w e a lth . . . . . . 10
S tan d ard o f l i v i n g . ................................................ 22
The system o f e x c h a n g e ..................................... 25
C ir c u la t io n o f w e a lth . . . . . . ......................... 27
PART I I
SOCIAL CHANGES A N D EFFECTS
I I I . TRIBAL ORGANIZATION...................... . 29
Government . . . . . . ................... . . . . . . 29
Clubs ................................. 55
C lan system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
IV. marital RELATIONS, FA I’ llILY, A N D KINSHIP . . . . 42
M ârriage custom s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Wife p u rc h a sin g ....................... 43
chapter PAGE
Wife c a p t u r i n g ................................................................... 44
Wedding g i f t s ....................... 46
The form o f f a m i l y - p a t r i a r c h a l . . . . . . . 48
D ivorce . ....................... . • • 50
P o s itio n of c h ild r e n . ....................... . . • . 52
K in sh ip and a f f i n i t y ........................ 53
V. AMUSEMENTS, GAMES, A N D SPORTS ....................................... 56
D à n c e s ....................... 57
Songs . ....................... 59
Games and s p o r ts .................... * ............................ 61
V I. m ilitary l i f e ..................................................... 63
V II. SPECIAL REORGANIZATION: TRIBAL COURT SYSTEM . . 70
Major c r im e s - m u r d e r,s te a lin g , a d u l t e r y , e t c . . 72
The p ro c e s s o f c i v i l i z i n g I n d ia n s ........................ 74
1934 Law and Order R e g u la tio n s .. . . .. 76
PART I I I
RELIGION A N D PHILOSOPHIES
V I I I . CONCEPTS OF THE W O RLD A N D UNIVERSE .. .. .. 80
IX. THE NATURE OF L I F E ................................................... 84
In anim ate o b je c ts ................................ . 85
P l a n t s ................................................. 85
Animal l i f e . . . . . . . . . . ............................. 86
Human l i f e ....................... 87
X; R E L IG IO N ....................................................................................... 92
The G reat: S p i r i t con cep t ................... 92
CHAPTER PAGE
The d e i t i e s 93
The holy men . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
C erem onials 100
The Sun D h n c e . .................................................... 105
FOREW ORD
More has been w r i t t e n about th e American n a tiv e
th a n about any o th e r p e r ip h e r a l group o f people in th e l a s t
th r e e c e n t u r i e s . A n th ro p o lo g ists have d e s c r ib e d him as a
c o l o r f u l specim en o f man, suddenly d em o lish ed , a v ic tim of
c u l t u r e ’s e v o lu tio n ; h i s t o r i a n s have p ic tu r e d him as a
savage who must be e x te rm in a te d f o r th e sake of c i v i l i z a
t i o n ; n o v e l is ts have c h a r a c te r iz e d him f a n t a s t i c a l l y ; and
th e av erag e p e rso n has known v ery l i t t l e about him.
Be t h a t as i t may, th e f i n a l q u e s tio n I s a s o c io lo g
i c a l one: what has been th e s to r y o f th e c u l t u r a l t r a n s i t i o n
o f th e I n d ia n , Where i s he now; what i s he d o in g ; and—
most im p o rta n t—what w i l l he do . Today we s t i l l h e a r much
about th e s o - c a lle d In d ia n problem , j u s t as much as d u rin g
th e tim e when In d ia n s a c t u a l l y r a is e d problem s f o r th e War
D epartm ent. B u t, i n th e f i n a l a n a ly s is , one wonders i f
th e re i s a r e a l In d ia n problem a t a l l . I s i t only a p o l i
t i c a l i s s u e , and t h a t th e s o - c a lle d In d ia n problem has been
u n n e c e s s a r ily c re a te d and m a in ta in ed by th e p o l i t i c i a n s fo r
th e p o l i t i c i a n s and t h e i r c o h o rts .
As a m a tte r of f a c t th e re i s no In d ia n r a c e problem .
In d ia n s a re not in them selves r a i s i n g econom ic, c u l t u r a l ,
and b i o l o g i c a l problem s f o r American c i v i l i z a t i o n . T h eir
problem s a re th e same as th e problem s o f th e American c i t i
zen— human problem s. The only d if f e r e n c e i s t h a t i n most
i l
in s ta n c e s problem s have b een fo re v e r made f o r th e In d ia n s
who have n o t been g iv e n t h e i r own way i n m eeting th e s e p ro
blem s, which were i n th e f i r s t p la c e u n n e c e ss a ry .
However, i t i s n o t to be assumed t h a t th e In d ia n s
had no r e a l problem s. They were bound to have some when
c irc u m sta n c e s became such t h a t they had to d is c a r d some of
t h e i r n a tiv e c u l tu r e as demanded by a f o r e ig n and dom inant
c i v i l i z a t i o n . U n q u estio n ab ly th e problem was n o t m erely a
m a tte r o f b e a tin g th e s p e a rs in to p lo w -s h a re s , nor o f aban
doning th e te p e e f o r th e h o u se; th e In d ia n d id t h a t e a s ily
enough. But i t was a m a tte r o f m oulding new p a t te r n s of
l i f e v/ith th e sc ra p s o f h is o ld c u l t u r e , sp ic e d w ith th e
f r u i t s o f a pow erful c i v i l i z a t i o n . He was r e q u ire d to do
magic over n ig h t. Such r e s p o n s i b i l i t y meant one th in g —
ch ao s. I t i s n o t to be wondered a t t h a t , f o r th e most p a r t ,
th e In d ia n has been flo u n d e rin g betw een two w o rld s. He came
to a p o in t where he found h i s w orld no lo n g e r p r a c t i c a l , and
where he found th e w h ite man’s w orld m y s te rio u s .
When I was a boy I was ta u g h t to d is r e g a r d and even
to h a te w h ite man. I was to ld th a t h is m orals were v i l e .
He danced w ith h is s i s t e r s and p u t h is arms around them; he
ta lk e d w ith h is m o th e r-in -la w ; he d id n o t g iv e p r e s e n ts to
s tr a n g e r s ; he even m a rried h i s own c o u sin s I As a c o lle g e
man to d a y , I am to ld t h a t my people a re p r im it iv e s , sa v a g e s,
and h e a th e n s . They dance w ith snakes i n t h e i r mouths to
i l l
induce th e R ain-gods to send r a i n ; they p a i n t t h e i r b o d ie s
and dance i n th e most abnoxious manner; t r i b e s a re v ery poor
economic u n i t s I I t i s now my u n d e rta k in g to d e s c rib e a d e f i
n i t e example of a c c u l t u r a t i o n t h a t I b o th see and f e e l#
V io la tin g th e law o f coherence i n co m p o sitio n , an
e x p e rim e n ta l form o f tr e a tm e n t w i l l be used i n t h i s paper
f o r th e sake o f a c c e n tu a tin g th e a c tu a l changes as th ey
have happened: f i r s t , th e d e s c r i p t i o n o f th e a c tu a l co n d i
tio n s b e fo re th e coming o f w h ite s ; and l a s t , th e d e s c r ip tio n s
o f th e changes as they have occurred#
J.M.C.
INTRODUCTION
Very o ld s t o r i e s i n d i c a t e t h a t th e a n c e s t r a l home
o f th e Crows was once i n th e h ead w aters o f th e M is s is s ip p i
R iv e r, p ro b ab ly i n th e w ild r i c e f i e l d s o f M innesota, One
day th e t r i b e fo ld e d up th e te p e e s and s e t o u t toward th e
la n d o f th e s e t t i n g sun.
At th e tim e t h a t Columbus landed in th e A n t i l l e s ,
th e t r i b e had a lre a d y e s ta b lis h e d a stro n g s e ttle m e n t along
th e banks o f th e M issouri R iver i n what i s now N orth D akota.
The people liv e d i n o v al-sh a p ed houses covered w ith e a r th .
Amidst th e ro v in g nomad t r i b e s o f th e p la in s they t i l l e d th e
loam and r a is e d co rn and sq u ash .
1
A fter a p e rio d of s e ttle m e n t th e t r i b e d iv id e d i n to
two g ro u p s, one f a c t i o n m ig ra tin g f u r t h e r w est and th e o th e r
re m a in in g . The l a t t e r group has rem ained th e r e ever sin c e
and i s now known as th e Gros V entre t r i b e . The d is s e n tin g
group i n tim e made i t s h a b i t a t along th e m ountains now
known as th e Big Horns, i n th e v i c i n i t y o f what i s now
so u th e rn Montana and n o r th e r n Wyoming. This t r i b e was c a lle d
A bsaroke, meaning sh a rp p e o p le ’’, by o th e r t r i b e s who had
found them to be v ery shrewd w a r r io r s . By t h i s tim e they
had a lre a d y f o r g o tt e n th e a r t o f p la n tin g c o rn , and had be
come h u n te r s .
I n th e days o f th e f u r tr a d e (th e whole o f th e n in e -
1
T his o cc u rred from ap p ro x im ately 350 to 400 y e a rs ago.
V
te e n th c e n tu r y ) , t h a t v a s t s t r e t c h of land ly in g betw een th e
B lack H ills and th e Rocky M ountains, and betw een th e N orth
P l a t t e R iver i n Wyoming and th e Mild R iver i n n o r th e r n Mon
ta n a , was g e n e ra lly conceded as th e Crow C ountry. Though
one o f th e s m a lle s t t r i b e s th ey mere n e v e r th e le s s one of th e
s tr o n g e s t t r i b e s .
C ircum stances made th e Crows (as th ey were c a lle d by
th e W hites) e s s e n t i a l l y a m i l i t a r i s t i c t r i b e . From th e n o rth
came th e B la c k f e e t; from th e s o u th , th e S hoshonis and Arapaho;
from th e w est th e F la th e a d s and Nez P e rc e s ; and from th e e a s t ,
th e Sioux and Cheyennes. For th e sake of economic and m il i
t a r y expediency th e t r i b e , sm a ll as i t was, was d iv id e d in to
th r e e groups— th e R iv er Crows, th e M ountain Crows, and th e
K ic k e d -in -th e b e l l i e s . A fte r a s e r i e s of lan d c e s s io n s to
th e U nited S ta te s Government, th e th r e e groups u n ite d as one
and accep ted a r e s e r v a t i o n i n 1872.
A b r i e f m ention as to th e f i r s t in te r c o u r s e of th e
t r i b e and th e w h ite s would perh ap s se rv e as a background f o r
our study o f th e a c c u l t u r a t i o n of th e t r i b e . The w hite men
whom Sacajaw ea le d tiirough th e Crow c o u n try were n o t th e
f i r s t to see i t . T rappers o f b e a v e rs and b la c k -ro b e d p r i e s t s
were th e f i r s t . The f i r s t n e g o t ia t io n made betw een th e
Crows and th e U nited S ta te s was i n .1825, when C h ief Long
H air sig n ed a t r e a t y of r e c o g n itio n . Even a t t h a t tim e , th e
t r i b e had a lre a d y le a rn e d to u se some Iro n Age co n v e n ien c es.
N o tw ith stan d in g th e many t r e a t i e s made betw een th e
V i
t r i b e , and th e Government, a s s o c i a t i o n betw een th e w h ite s
and th e Crow trib e sm e n was in f r e q u e n t. During th e days o f
Sioux h o s t i l i t i e s i n th e 7 0 ’ s , th e Crows v o lu n te e re d t h e i r
m i l i t a r y s e r v ic e s to th e U nited S ta te s. Army, as they were
anxious to e x p e l th e Sioux from th e Crow c o u n try . They
were in s tru m e n ta l i n th e cam paigns o f Crook, M ile s, C u s te r,
and o th e r noted In d ia n f i g h t e r s . A fter th e wars they
q u ie tly b u t s k e p t i c a l l y assumed r e s e r v a t i o n l i f e and de
c id e d to l i v e i n th e way o f th e w hite men f o r th e y r e a l i z e d
t h a t th e y could no lo n g e r l i v e by th e c h a se . The S u p e rin -
■ 1
te n d e n t o f In d ia n A ff a irs o f Montana, J . A. V ia l spoke
w e ll of th e Crows i n h is an n u a l r e p o r t o f September 5, 1871:
These In d ia n s have been l i b e r a l l y tr e a te d
by th e Government, and f u l l y d e s e r v e . a l l t h a t
has been done fo r them . Some o f th e headmen
were, v ery anxious to have houses b u i l t f o r them
f o r th e coming s p rin g t h a t they m ight tu r n t h e i r
a t t e n t i o n to fa rm in g . A la r g e number o f them
have shown evidence o f a w illin g s p i r i t to work;
q u ite a number have done good work t h i s summer
and a l l th e o ccu p an ts o f th e s e houses have f o r
saken th e te p e e w ith e x p re ss i n t e n t i o n s o f farm
in g . I ,am ,ag reeab ly a s to n is h e d a t th e d i s p o s i t i o n
shown by th e Crow In d ia n s to do^what i s d e s ir e d o f
them by th e D epartm ent. This s a t i s f a c t o r y ev idence
o f a c i v i l i z i n g d i s p o s i t i o n i s due i n a g re a t
m easure to th e advancem ent in th e farm ing o p era
tio n s o f th e agency under th e management o f Agent
F. D. P ease. I t i s b u t to s t a t e t h a t th e Crow
In d ia n s d e se rv e a l l th e r e p u ta tio n th e y have a l
ways borne as being p ea ce ab le and w e ll d isp o sed
toward th e governm ent. They have conducted them
s e lv e s r e s p e c t f u l l y tow ard t h e 'w h it e s ; have
com m itted no d e p re d a tio n s w h atev er; have co n fin e d
th em selves to t h e i r r e s e r v a tio n .
R eport Commissioner In d ia n A f f a i r s . 1871. Page 409
v i l
The American n a tiv e has been s te ro ty p e d as an
I
a t h l e t i c ty p e — le a n , l i t h e , and t a l l , b u i l t f o r a c t i v i t y
and n o t f o r la b o r . The Crow t y p i f i e d t h i s c o n c e p t. Rou
tin e d work work was i n c i d e n t a l to th e Crow e re th e days
h is v a s t domain was sh o rn o f i t s r ic h n e s s . W arfare, c e re
m o n ia ls, d a n c e s, and a t h l e t i c s p o r ts were th e o rd e r of th e
day . Much tim e and p r e p a r a tio n were g iv e n to them, b u t
n o t to work. There was no need f o r o rg an iz ed or s p e c i a l
iz e d la b o r . When needed, ch o ice m eats were e a s i l y p ro
c u re d , as " f l e s h on th e hoof" s ta lk e d a t camp’ s edge. In
th e se a so n o f grow th, c h e r r i e s , b e r r i e s , w ild rh u b a rb , and
lu s c io u s goobers of abundant v a r i e t y were t h e i r s f o r th e
p ic k in g . Though th e stream s ?ære in f e s t e d w ith t r o u t and
c a t f i s h , they were l e f t to swim i n p e a c e , f o r f i s h i n g was
a d u l l way o f o b ta in in g fo o d , ac c o rd in g to th e Crow.
The common ad ag e, ,"No w ork, no fo o d ", had no s e rio u s
c o n n o ta tio n to th e Crows, as i t was t h e i r f o rtu n e to have
owned a sp le n d id la n d . A fter a lu s c io u s meal o f barbecued
b u f f a lo m eat. C hief A rapooish p u ffe d l e i s u r e l y on h i s c a l
umet and s a id i n s o lilo q u y : "The Crow Country i s a good
c o u n try . In i t roam th e e lk , d e e r , b u f f a lo , and sm a ll a n i
mals t h a t a re f a t and good to e a t ; i n i t grow sw eet b e r r i e s ,
plum s, c h e r r ie s and r o o t s . The G re at S p i r i t has p u t i t i n
th e r i g h t p la c e . To th e n o r th , i t i s too c o ld ; to th e w e st,
to o rough and ro ck y ; to th e e a s t , to o f l a t ; and to the. s o u th .
v i i i
too h o t ." Such was th e p h ilo so p h y o f a f o r tu n a te group to
whom work as a means, to an end was a t r i v i a l i t y .
When th e I n d u s t r i a l R e v o lu tio n made l i f e c h a o tic i n
B r i t a i n i n th e l a s t days of th e 1 8 th c e n tu ry , th e Crow
In d ia n s knew n o t what r e a l work w^as. L a te r vfhen America,
to o , went aflam e w ith i n d u s t r ia lis m fo llo w in g th e C iv il War,
th e Crows were s t i l l l e i s u r e l y ro v in g th e p l a i n s . They
belonged to th e Stone Age such as was t h a t o f Europe many
th o u san d s o f y e a rs ago. Then l i k e a mad cloud th e t i d e o f
a v ig o ro u s c i v i l i z a t i o n swept them under i t s tra m p lin g
f e e t . I t was l i k e an o u trag eo u s dream . When i t was a l l
o v e r, th e In d ia n found h im s e lf a m is e ra b le c r e a t u r e . His
meat h e rd s had d is a p p e a re d ; h is v a s t domain, th e Good Coun
t r y , was no lo n g e r h i s .
As we have se e n , th e th r e e d iv is io n s o f th e t r i b e
u n ite d upon a r e s e r v a t i o n s e t a s id e f o r them. The p o lic y
of th e Government was to tra n sfo rm t h i s group o f Stone Age
h u n te rs in to se d e n ta ry a g r a r ia n s . The program was launched
r a t h e r too suddenly and was s u s ta in e d w ith o u t g iv in g th e
In d ia n th e chance to giv e r e f l e c t i o n to th e whole th in g
and th e re b y to h e lp h im s e lf. The main th in g was to " c i v i l
iz e " th e sa v a g e s. Whether th e a d m in is tr a to r s were conscious
o f i t or n o t, t h e i r d e s t r u c t i o n o f th e economic o rd e r o f th e
t r i b e . The same was done. F i r s t , th e l i f e s u b s ta n c e , the
v e ry fo u n d a tio n o f th e t r i b a l " s e tu p " was suddenly dem olished—
I X
th e b u f f a lo d isa p p e a re d i n mass s la u g h te r . Next th e h u n t
in g grounds w ent. T h ird , th e t r i b e i t s e l f w ent—y e s , i n t o a
s t a t e o f ch a o s.
The s ta g e s e t t i n g o f t h i s drama o f tra g e d y was th e
r e s e r v a t i o n . As i t happened, th e whole a f f a i r was a "comedy
o f e r r o r s " , b o th on th e p a r t of th e c i v i l i z e r s and on th e
p a r t o f t h e i r s u b je c ts . The f i r s t program was th e m a tte r of
keeping th e In d ia n s a l i v e a f t e r th e h u n tin g grounds and
game were gone. Under t r e a t y s t i p u l a t i o n s th e t r i b e r e
ce iv ed r a t i o n s . For th e most p a r t th e s e r a t i o n s were n o t
always u t i l i z e d . The meat g iv e n them was im m ediately de
voured— by th e dogs. The In d ia n would n o t e a t the to u g h and
m alodorous meat o f th e Texas lo n g h o rn s, w hich were d r iv e n
thousands o f m ile s to th e s la u g h te r . Sacks o f f lo u r and
p o ta to e s were o f te n l e f t unused. E n te r p r is in g w hite men
would o f t e n accum ulate sacks of f l o u r and p o ta to e s by th e
hundreds from th e In d ia n s and h a u l them to nearby w hite com
m u n itie s f o r b u s in e s s . The only com m odities c h e rish e d were
c o ffe e and su g a r.
When even food was th u s m isused, i t was e v id e n t t h a t
th e re was to fo llo w a c i v i l i z i n g p ro c e ss which would be
indeed b a f f l i n g and h ap h a za rd . The item o f te a c h in g th e
In d ia n s to be farm ers was th e f i r s t program . H arnesses and
plows were is s u e d ; seeds of a l l k in d s were d i s t r i b u t e d . I t
was not long b e fo re th e supply of farm im plem ents was d e p le te d .
X
The sm a ll h u n tin g p o n ies were not c o o p e ra tiv e a t a l l ; th e y
would ru n away w ith h a rn e s s e s and would la y strew n about
p ie c e s o f plow s. The p o n ies t h a t d id n o t ru n were to o sm a ll
to p u l l plow s. Sacks o f p o ta to e s were p la n te d u n c u t. The
I'lardy cro p s t h a t grew were o f te n n e g le c te d and o th e rw ise
m isused. Watermelons were g a th e re d u n rip e and were cooked
i n b o ilin g w a te r. No doubt th e In d ia n s were w illin g to
l e a r n , b u t i t was e v id e n t t h a t they were not accorded p ro p er
i n s t r u c t i o n s .
T his a g r a r ia n movement was suspended f o r a p e rio d of
s e v e r a l y e a rs on acco u n t o f In d ia n wars i n Montana. The
Crows were g iv e n arms and employed as sc o u ts f o r th e U .S.T roops
a g a in s t th e S ioux, who were now i n th e o ld Crow c o u n try ,
menacing and o f te n r a id in g th e Crov^s i n t h e i r r e s e r v a t i o n
camps. A fte r the w ars, th e Crows were g a th e re d and g iv e n a
new r e s e rv e (1884) and work was resum ed.
For a p e rio d o f tim e th e In d ia n men were n o t g iv e n
th e i n i t i a t i v e to d evelop t h e i r own fa rm s, such as t h a t
t r i e d i n th e f i r s t r e s e r v a t i o n . Perhaps a new id e a was
conceived by th e new Agent o f th e r e s e r v a t i o n . No in d iv id u a l
e n t e r p r is e was allo w ed . The men were used en masse i n th e
h a u lin g o f lo g s and i n th e c o n s tr u c tio n o f Government
b u ild in g s and p l a n t s . This p e rio d i s o f te n spoken o f by
some of th e o ld In d ia n s a s th e h a rd e s t tim e of t h e i r l i v e s .
They had n o t freedom . They were as s l a v e s . They could n o t
X I
do an y th in g w ith o u t th e p o lic e th r e a te n in g to a r r e s t them.
The Agent o f th e r e s e r v a tio n was an u n sy m p ath etic army man
who ru le d w ith t e r r o r , Mary n o to rio u s perform ances of t h i s
man a re s t i l l r e l a t e d to d a y . He was th e man who had two
h erm ap h ro d ites b ro u g h t in to h is o f f i c e . He d is ro b e d them
o f t h e i r fem ine g a rb , c u t t h e i r long b r a i d s , d re sse d them
i n men’s c i v i l i a n c l o t h e s , and tu rn e d them o u t i n to a crowd
of p e o p le . In one o f h is m a n iacal moments he made h is p o lic e
f o rc e flo g a w h ite man d riv in g a f r e i g h t wagon th ro u g h th e
Agency town, w ith o u t any a p p a re n t re a s o n . Another in c id e n t
o f te n to ld happened on a lumber h a u l. The In d ia n s had no
means o f o b ta in in g food o th e r th a n what th e Agent was com
m issio n ed to is s u e to them. On t h i s p a r t i c u l a r t r i p , he
made no p r o v is io n s f o r r a t i o n s , and i n a m a tte r of a few
days th e In d ia n s were d e s p e r a te ly hungry. The Agent could
e a s i l y have s e n t f o r some more fo o d , or e l s e have b u tc h e re d
one of th e t r i b a l b e e f h erd s n ea rb y , b u t he re fu s e d t h e i r
r e q u e s t. He had an id e a . He c a lle d a l l o f th e men, women,
and c h i ld r e n to g e th e r , and t o l d them to make a b ig c i r c l e
and chase a l l th e p r a i r i e ch ick en s to th e c e n te r and he would
k i l l them w ith h is sh o t-g u n ! The In d ia n s c a lle d t h i s man th e
" in s a n e a g e n t" .
I t i s e v id e n t t h a t th e c i v i l i z a t i o n program was f a r
from e f f i c i e n t , e s p e c i a lly under such in c a p a b le a g e n ts . The
b e s t a g e n t was a t l e a s t a norm al p e rso n , and accom plished some
x i i
good along w ith h is c o rr u p t le a s in g of th e Crow g ra s s ran g e
to a c a t t l e o u t f i t w ith whom he was s e c r e t l y a f f i l i a t e d .
Under t h i s regim e in d iv id u a l e n t e r p r is e was encouraged.
Farm s t a t i o n s were e s ta b li s h e d i n d i f f e r e n t p a r ts o f th e
r e s e r v a t i o n f o r th e i n s t r u c t i o n o f th e .n o v ic e fa rm e rs . In
a s u r p r i s in g ly s h o r t tim e , th e Crows were f a r above th e
s e lf - s u p p o r t l e v e l . The is s u a n c e of r a t i o n s was no lo n g e r
n e c e s s a ry , A new wave o f v ig o r and a s p i r a t i o n s was i n bloom .
The in t r o d u c t i o n o f a g r i c u l t u r a l f a i r s i n c o n n e c tio n w ith
th e f a l l f e s t i v a l s c re a te d i n t e r e s t i n g e n e ra l a g r i c u l t u r a l
p u r s u i t s . Among th e d i f f e r e n t d i s t r i c t s th e r e was com peti
t i o n f o r p r iz e s a t th e an n u al r e s e r v a t i o n f a i r . Each man
was th e proud owner of a s t r i n g o f ru nning p o n ie s . At th e
p a ra d e s were to be se en f i n e teams and wagons. The ran g es
were d o tte d w ith thousands o f h o rse s and some c a t t l e . Where
a s i n form er days a man’s v i r t u e and p r e s t i g e was m easured
a c c o rd in g to m i l i t a r y f e a t s , farm ing a b i l i t y became th e c r i
t e r i o n o f v i r i l i t y and r e s p e c t a b i l i t y . Though ig n o ra n t o f
s c i e n t i f i c fa rm in g , the r i c h lan d was id e a l f o r d ry -fa rm in g ,
and th ey produced cro p s w ith o u t much e f f o r t . They were s a t
i s f i e d i f th e y r a is e d enough crops to enjoy c o m fo rts. They
never farm ed w ith th e id e a o f g e ttin g r i c h . Some o f them
ceased growing a l f a l f a f o r th e re a s o n t h a t as soon a s th e y
c u t i t and p u t i t u p , a n o th e r grow th en su ed ,
A c o o p e ra tiv e t r i b a l herd o f s e v e r a l thousand c a t t l e
x i i i
was s u c c e s s f u lly m ain ta in ed on a p r o f i t b a s i s u n t i l Wyoming
r u s t l e r s s t o l e th e e n t i r e h e rd . This ended th e f i r s t t r i b a l
e n t e r p r is e on a la r g e s c a l e . From 1905 to ab o u t 1925,
r e s e r v a tio n l i f e was p le a s a n t. The e ra o f ad ju stm e n t and
h a rd sh ip s was f o r g o t t e n and th e r e was g e n e ra l h ap p in ess and
p r o s p e r i t y . S ince 1926 th e r e has b e e n -a d e c lin e o f p ro s p e r
i t y i n th e r e s e r v a t i o n . Many f a c t o r s have c o n trib u te d to
t h i s and w i l l be p re se n te d i n th e fo llo w in g s u b - to p ic s .
However, i t may be sa id b ro a d ly t h a t one o f th e s e re a so n s
i s t h a t th e In d ia n has found th e easy way to e a rn a l i v i n g .
This w i l l be e x p la in e d l a t e r .
PART I
CHANGES IN THE ECONOMIC STRUCTURE
C hapter 1
DOMESTIC LIFE
D iv is io n o f ta s k s
The home l i f e was made dom estic by th e women f o lk .
I t was th e woman who b u i l t th e te p e e , cooked fo o d , made
c l o t h e s , and k e p t th e te p e e .
Tepee-making was a woman’ s t a s k . At l e a s t over a
dozen b u f fa lo p e l t s had to be tan n ed and p ro p e rly w ea th er-
cured and sewn to g e th e r in to a la r g e c o v e rin g . The p o le s
were a ls o c u t and cured by th e women. I n th e making o f a
new lodge mary women c o n tr ib u te d la b o r , such as ta n n in g h id e s ,
and sewing them to g e th e r .
The m a tte r of making c lo th e s was a ls o a woman’s ta s k .
F i r s t , she would spend days in ta n n in g and smoking th e d e e r
s k in . The f in is h e d b u ck sk in was c u t i n to p a t te r n s and sewn
i n t o s h i r t s , le g g in g s , m occasins, and o th e r c l o t h e s . I t was
th e woman who d e c o ra te d th e costum es, and n o t th e man. The
d e c o ra tin g o f such costum es re q u ire d days o f a r t i s t i c c r e a
t i o n , in v o lv in g th e use of such th in g s as dyed porcupine
q u i l l em b ro id ery , b e a d in g , e t c e t e r a .
The woman’s t h i r d d u ty was th e p r e p a r a tio n o f fo o d .
Aside from h e r d a i l y cooking d u t i e s , she had to p re p a re food
f o r s to ra g e and f u tu r e u s e . Meat was o f te n p re se rv e d f o r
w in te r use i n th e form of what was c a lle d pemmican. F i r s t ,
th e meat was c u t in to t h i n je r k s and d r ie d i n th e s\in. I t
8
was th e n pounded in to f l u f f y f la k e s and w ith lumps o f ta llo w
i t was packed i n s tro n g raw -h id e c a se s f o r f u t u r e , as w e ll
as f o r p r e s e n t u s e . C h e r r ie s , plum s, and b e r r i e s were su n -
d rie d and packed away. E d ib le r o o ts were lik e w is e p re s e rv e d .
I t seemed t h a t women of th e t r i b e had an e n d le s s l i s t
o f d u t i e s ; and i f compared w ith th e d u t i e s o f th e men, th e r e
would u n doubtedly be a wide d if f e r e n c e . The d u tie s o f men
c o n s is te d o f tr a p p in g , making weapons and sto n e im plem ents,
ta k in g c a re o f h o r s e s , t r a i n i n g b o y s, h u n tin g , and f i g h t i n g .
The l a s t two were th e most im p o rta n t, and to th e s e men
devoted much tim e. In th e f i n a l a n a ly s is th e s e two item s
made men th e p r e s e rv e rs and p r o te c to r s o f th e t r i b e . I f they
f a i l e d i n th e s e , th e t r i b e would soon s ta r v e or be d e s tro y e d
by enemy t r i b e s . The women r e a l i z e d t h i s and g la d ly d id t h e i r
p a r t i n keeping th e home a going co n c ern .
The p o p u lar o p in io n t h a t th e In d ia n man was la z y and
t h a t th e women had to do a l l th e work i s wrong. I t i s j u s t
a n o th e r case o f judging an In d ia n a c c o rd in g to th e norms o f
th e w h ite man, which i s j u s t as f a l l a c i o u s as tr y in g to t e l l
a f i s h how to swim p r o p e r ly . N e v e rth e le s s , th e man was o f te n
c a r i c a t u r e d as always w alking ahead o f h i s woman em pty-handed
w h ile h is w ife came b ehind c a rry in g a b ig lo a d o f fire -w o o d
on h er b ac k . Be t h a t as i t may, th e p a r t i c u l a r c u l t u r a l
o r g a n iz a tio n and th e c o n d itio n s under w hich th e Crows liv e d
demanded t h a t th e man should devote h is tim e to th e hu n t and
3
w a rfa re . When enemy t r i b e s were f a r away and b u f f a lo h e rd s
n e a r, h is ta s k was ea sy ; when th e r e v e r s e was t r u e , he was
k e p t b usy.
Today th e d i v i s i o n o f ta s k s has not changed v ery
much. However, on th e whole th e re has been an in c re a s e
I n th e ta s k s o f men, w h ile th e re has been a d e f i n i t e d e
c re a s e i n th e d u tie s o f women. The a d o p tio n and usage o f
modern co nveniences have le sse n e d th e home d u tie s o f th e
woman. She no lo n g e r needs to ta n h id e s to make te p e e co v ers
and c l o t h e s . Aside from making a few b u ck sk in costum es, she
nom buys th e fam ily c lo th e s a t th e s t o r e . The man, on th e
o th e r han d , has in c re a s e d d u t i e s . True he no lo n g e r has to
f i g h t and h u n t, b u t he m ust p ro v id e food j u s t th e same. On
th e r e s e r v a t i o n farm ing p r e s e n ts about th e only o p p o rtu n ity
f o r e a rn in g a liv i n g f o r th e In d ia n . I n v a r ia b ly a l l In d ia n
men become farm ers and r a n c h e r s .
But th e q u e s tio n i s , what a re th e e f f e c t s o f th e s e
changes i n th e l i v e s o f th e men and women,? According to th e
old c u l tu r e th e d u tie s o f men were c o n sid e re d more im p o rta n t
th a n th o se o f th e women, and n a t u r a l l y men f e l t more im p o rta n t.
There was no doubt about th e im portance o f men. When a man
came back from th e h u n t or from th e w a r-p a th , th e women
would s t r i v e to make him c o m fo rta b le . When e a tin g , th e men
were serv ed f i r s t and g iv e n th e b e s t p o r tio n s o f th e m eat.
When s i t t i n g only men occupied the s o f t m ats; when s t r o l l i n g
4
th ro u g h th e camp th e man was i n th e le a d and th e w ife f o l
lowed him. Suddenly th e re came a. change o f custom s. Among
o th e r th in g s i t was expected of th e man to sh a re th e fem inine
work around th e home. But he was u n w illin g ; he co u ld not
low er h im s e lf to th e work o f women. I t was a g a in s t the
custom !
Today t h i s i s one o f th e problem s o f th e In d ia n home.
There a re c o n s ta n t m isu n d e rsta n d in g s and sometimes q u a r r e ls
betw een th e man and h is w ife , because th e husband w i l l not
b rin g i n w ater and fire w o o d , nor do any o th e r m en ial vmrk
around th e home. The In d ia n women know t h a t w h ite men h e lp
t h e i r w iv es, and th e r e f o r e want t h e i r husbands to do lik e w is e .
The Crow man o f today has n o t f u l l y come to ap p re
c i a t e th e v i r t u e o f T/ork such as t h a t s tr e s s e d by th e w hite
men. In s p i t e of th e y e a rs o f a c c u l t u r a t i o n some a re s t i l l
prone to th in k t h a t work i s a woman’s job and t h a t i t i s
d e g ra d in g f o r men to work. Not so many y e a rs ago i t was n o t
uncommon to see a woman working a t hard la b o r in th e f i e l d s ,
w ith h er husband. The re a s o n was n o t because th e fa m ily was
in d u s t r io u s , b u t becau se th e man would not work u n le s s h is
w ife worked to o , and th e re b y le s s e n e d th e shame w hich came
upon him fo r w orking. Such an a t t i t u d e tow ard work le a d s to
no good. The stig m a o f shame i n b ein g i d l e , how ever, does
n o t seem to b o th e r th e men, and e v e n tu a lly some become
a c t u a l l y la z y and u n d e s ira b le a c c o rd in g to th e norms o f to d a y .
S h elter
An averag e te p e e s h e lte r e d a fa m ily o f te n or tw elve
v ery e a s i l y . I n s p i t e of th e crowded c o n d itio n , th e s h e l t e r
was h e a l t h f u l because th e co v e rin g was n o t Im pregnable to
d r a f t and th e r e was alw ays a c i r c u l a t i o n o f f r e s h a i r . The
smoke, when f i r e was b u i l t in s i d e th e te p e e , was e a s i l y
e lim in a te d th ro u g h an opening a t th e to p , c o n tr o lle d by
w in d -fla p s a tta c h e d to long p o le s .
The change from th e te p e e to th e house was n o t a
sim ple th in g . The Crows d id n o t r e a d i l y ta k e to th e houses
and c a b in s which th e Government helped them to b u i l d . I t
was n o t u n u su a l to f in d a new house f i l l e d w ith t o o l s ,
s a d d le s , h a rn e s s e s and c h ick en s w h ile th e fa m ily liv e d i n a
te p e e or t e n t . The a c tu a l change from th e te p e e to th e
house had i t s i l l e f f e c t s . S a n ita tio n was n o t known. The
l i t t l e one room ca b in s were u s u a lly overcrow ded. I t was
n o t any wonder t h a t contageous d is e a s e s proved d i s a s t e r o u s .
Today th e re i s s t i l l room f o r im provem ent. In d ia n women
need I n s t r u c t i o n s i n e f f i c i e n t house c a re and cooking.
O ccupations and p r o f e s s io n s
Y ears b e fo re W e s te rn iz a tio n th e r e were no d e f i n i t e
o c c u p a tio n s and p r o f e s s io n s i n th e Crow t r i b e . I t was tr u e
t h a t men were w a r rio rs and h u n te rs and women were cooks and
makers o f c l o t h e s , b u t such were mere d u t i e s , th e s e n s ib le
th in g s to do.
S p e c i a l i z a t i o n and o r g a n iz a tio n o f la b o r could n o t
6
p o s s ib ly e x i s t i n a t r i b e t h a t was s m a ll, sim p le , and
u n i t a r y . However, th e re appeared from t l q e to tim e p e rso n s
who could p erform c e r t a i n f e a t s vfhlch were so superb and
e x tr a - o r d in a r y t h a t t h e i r s e rv ic e s must be p a id fo r* In
v a r ia b ly such g i f t e d p erso n s were h e a le r s o f d ise a se s*
There were s p e c i a l i s t s , such as w o u n d -d o cto rs, s n a k e -b ite
s p e c i a l i s t s , s to m a c h - s p e c ia lis ts , and o b s te tr ic i a n s * T h e ir
com pensations were u s u a lly i n th e form o f h o r s e s , b la n k e ts
and o th e r v a lu a b le s . D o c to rin g , how ever, was n o t a p ro
fe s s io n * The h e a le r s were n o t tr a in e d nor tu to r e d by old
d o cto rs* T h e ir knowledge was o b ta in e d p r i v a t e l y and s e c r e t l y .
N o tw ith stan d in g th e many y e a rs o f a c c u l t u r a t i o n and
r e s e r v a t i o n l i f e , i t has been b u t r e c e n t l y t h a t o c c u p a tio n a l
o p p o r tu n itie s have been c r e a te d i n th e r e s e r v a t i o n and t h a t
th e Crows have been g iv e n th e chance to do som ething e ls e
b e s id e s fa rm in g . Since 1934 v a rio u s Government New D eal and
re c o v e ry p r o j e c t s have been advocated i n th e r e s e rv a tio n *
I n d iv id u a l c h o ice o f p u r s u i t s has been en co u rag ed . In a
s u r p r i s in g ly s h o r t tim e many young men have become e x p e rt
o p e r a to rs o f m achinery and e n g in e s, w h ile o th e rs have le a rn e d
c r a f t s such as b r i c k - l a y i n g , c a r p e n tr y , e l e c t r i c w eld in g ,
s to n e - c u tti n g and v a r io u s o th e r p r a c t i c a l m echanical and
dom estic t r a d e s . There i s no q u e s tio n b u t t h a t such a p ro
gram v/as a good t e s t f o r th e r e s e r v a tio n - c o n f in e d In d ia n s
who had had no p re v io u s e x p e rie n c e s nor a s p i r a t i o n s f o r any
7
o c c u p a tio n s o th e r th a n fa rm in g .
This i s a l l v ery w e ll, h u t th e q u e s tio n i s , what
e f f e c t s has t h i s program upon th e economic l i f e o f a group
co n fin e d to a sm a ll a re a ? N o tw ith stan d in g th e m e rits of th e
Government p r o j e c t s , th e I.E .C .W ., N .R .A ., C .C .C ., a re
p a ra d o x e s; th ey a re n o t perm anent. They a re a r t i f i c i a l
m ethods o f a c q u a in tin g th e In d ia n s w ith some a s p e c ts o f th e
w h ite man^s c i v i l i z a t i o n , which th e In d ia n s ca n n o t hope to
r e a l i z e f u l l y and on w hich to e s t a b l i s h t h e i r l i v e l i h o o d .
To be more d i r e c t , th e In d ia n has le a rn e d some v a lu a b le tr a d e s
and c r a f t s and i s anxious to p u rsu e them on a b u s in e s s b a s i s ,
b u t he can n o t v ery w e ll do t h i s i n th e r e s e r v a t i o n , because
th e r e a r e no r e a l o p p o r tu n itie s i n th e r e s e r v a t i o n . I f
th e r e w ere, th e w h ite s have a lre a d y occupied such p o s i t i o n s .
The m a tte r of f in d in g employment i n th e n e a r-b y w h ite com
m u n itie s i s o u t o f th e q u e s tio n . The r e s u l t i s d i s i l l u s i o n
ment as many In d ia n s have a lre a d y found o u t. They have
found t h a t wage e a rn in g i s d is a p p o in tin g . For one th in g ,
w h ile th e y r e c e iv e d w ages, they g ra d u a lly f e l l in to d e b t.
Unaccustomed to draw ing an incom e, th ey could n o t v e ry w e ll
o p e r a te on a p r a c t i c a l budget b a s i s .
From a l l in d ic a t io n s th e t a s t e f o r wage e a rn in g has
b een d e c id e d ly d e tr im e n ta l to many. For one th in g th e work
in v o lv e d i s easy and l e s s la b o rio u s th a n i s fa rm in g , and th e
r e s u l t i s a d e l i b e r a t e fo rs a k in g o f th e fa rm s. The ran ch e s
8
a r e le a s e d to w h ite men or a re o th e rw ise l e f t to become
d ila p id a te d and to be p lu n d e re d . The Item o f r e c e iv in g a
m onthly wage i s th e f a t a l b a i t . I t g iv e s th e In d ia n s a
f a l s e s t a t u s ; they th in k i t give-s them a h ig h e r and more
d ig n if ie d s t a t u s " j u s t l i k e th e w h ite s " . (To th e In d ia n
a l l w h ite s have p le n ty of money, because th ey re c e iv e a
m onthly w age.) Perhaps t h a t i s n o t a l to g e t h e r an erro n eo u s
id e a , b u t i t i s in d eed e v id e n t t h a t th e In d ia n i s n o t en
t i r e l y ca p ab le o f h an d lin g a m onetary incom e. His c u l t u r a l
background and p r e s e n t t r a i n i n g i s such t h a t th e Crow has
n o t le a rn e d to a p p r e c ia te th e tim e elem ent o f w e a lth . The
p r e s e n t p o s s e s s io n o f money i s more g r a t i f y i n g to him th a n
th e v a s t ac cu m u latio n o f d u ra b le w e a lth over a p e rio d o f tim e .
R e p e rc u ssio n has a lre a d y a p p e a re d . Now t h a t only
a few p r o je c ts a r e i n o p e r a tio n , many In d ia n s have a c tu a l ly
r e a l i z e d t h a t th e y have no p la c e to go. While th e y earned
money and sp e n t i t as th e y re c e iv e d i t , t h e i r farm s de
t e r i o r a t e d so b a d ly t h a t th ey could not p o s s ib ly move r i g h t
back i n t o them. I n 1937/a t l e a s t h a l f of th e 522 f a m ilie s
of th e t r i b e l e f t t h e i r farm homes and liv e d i n t e n t s and
shacks w herever th e y found work. I t was n o t any wonder
t h a t f o r th e same y e a r only 60 f a m ilie s were e n t i r e l y s e l f -
s u p p o rtin g , and t h a t th e s e were th e f a m ilie s who rem ained
on t h e i r ran ch e s and managed to r a i s e some cro p s i n s p i t e
o f th e se v e re d ro u g h t seasons and th e g rassh o p p e r i n f e s t a t i o n s .
9
In speaking o f th e o c c u p a tio n a l and p r o f e s s io n a l
p u r s u i t s , i t i s o f te n s a i d , "Why ed u c ate th e In d ia n ? He
w i l l go back to th e b la n k e t anyway." The im p lic a tio n i s —
In d ia n s seldom make use of t h e i r e d u c a tio n . T his i s t r u e .
To th e w r ite r * s knov#ledge, n o t over te n , a t th e m ost, edu
c a te d Crows have a c t u a l l y made u se o f t h e i r e d u c a tio n .
These a re i n th e In d ia n S e r v ic e . But when a v a s t number o f
w e l l - t r a i n e d and schooled Crows have gone back to th e " b la n k e t" ,
s u r e ly th e r e i s a re a s o n f o r i t , o th e r th a n th e id e a th a t
In d ia n s a r e I n h e r e n tly la z y and t h a t th ey la c k a m b itio n .
One th in g i s c e r t a i n — when th e y come back from s c h o o l, th ey
fin d t h a t th e r e a re no o p p o r tu n itie s to u t i l i z e t h e i r t r a i n
in g . To p r a c t i c e b u s in e s s i n w h ite com m unities i s a ls o im
p r a c t i c a l . That cannot be d en ied nor o v erlooked I n d i f f e r e n t l y .
One a n th r o p o lo g is t rem arked t h a t he would much r a t h e r see an
In d ia n go back to th e " b la n k e t" th a n to see him go i n t o a
c i t y .
C hapter 11
WEALTH AND VALUES
Ownership of W ealth
Where th e r e i s a group of p erso n s l i v i n g to g e th e r ,
th e r e i s to be found some s o r t o f a con cep t or e v a lu a tio n
p e r ta in in g to p r o p e r ty , th e n a tu re o f th e co n cep t depending
on th e c o n c u rre n t c irc u m sta n c e s in v o lv e d . The concept o f
w ea lth among th e P la in s In d ia n s t r i b e s was n o t p e c u lia r nor
p ro fo u n d ly d i f f e r e n t from t h a t of o th e r p e o p le s . The d e f i
n i t i o n o f w e a lth among th e Crows im p lied b o th q u a n tity and
q u a l i t y ; and th e producer was a ls o g iv e n c r e d i t . P erhaps th e
d i s t i n c t i v e f e a t u r e about i t , was i t s f l e x i b l e n a tu r e . I t
was n o t a s e t sta n d a rd on which a l l p e rso n s were judged. A
man p o s s e s s in g a n enormous amount o f goods may n o t be con
s id e re d r i c h ; a man suddenly becoming w ith o u t p ro p e rty may
n o t be c o n sid e re d a f a i l u r e . In o th e r w ords, th e Crows d id
n o t have a long p e r s p e c tiv e view of w e a lth a c cu m u latio n and
ow nership; p r e s e n t p o s s e s s io n vtas th e th in g . T his was only
n a tu i'a l, f o r th e s t y l e of l i v i n g among th e h u n tin g and ro v in g
t r i b e s was a c t i v e , ch an g in g , and e v e n tf u l. They were n o t
se d e n ta ry ; lik e w is e t h e i r id e a s . I d e a l s , and a t t i t u d e s were
n o t s t a t i c . They a p p r e c ia te d th e s p e c ta c u la r , th e n o v e l, and
th e u n u s u a l.
Not to m ention th e custom s i n a r c h a ic tim e s , by th e
tim e th e w h ite men a r r iv e d i n th e Crow c o u n try , th e re were
1 1
some w e ll-d e v e lo p e d id e a s about w e a lth . The p o s s e s s io n
o f fo u r th in g s d is tin g u is h e d th e w e a lth ; a la r g e te p e e ,
many good h o r s e s , b e a u t i f u l c l o t h e s , and mar^r r e l a t i v e s .
These item s were n o t, how ever, e x to lle d f o r t h e i r i n t r i n s i c
v a lu e a l t o g e t h e r . The way i n w hich th e y were o b ta in e d o r
p ro d u ced , and th e ends to w hich th e y were employed a l s o have
some b e a rin g as to t h e i r Im portance and u ltim a te v a lu e . I n
o th e r w ords, ow nership o f w e a lth was a r e f l e c t i o n o f i n d i
v id u a l and fa m ily c a p a b i l i t i e s . The p o s s e s s io n o f many good
h o rse s meant t h a t thehusband was a good w a rrio r who had the
a b i l i t y to c a p tu re th e h o rse s o f enemy t r i b e s . The w ife was
g iv e n r e c o g n itio n f o r th e mar^ and p r e t t y costum es w hich she
made f o r h e r fa m ily .
Today, n e e d le s s to sa y , th e r e i s a v a s t d i f f e r e n c e .
The Crow has ac q u ire d th e w h ite man’ s norms w holly o r p a r t i a l l y
c o n v e rs e ly w ith what he has d is c a rd e d and r e s e rv e d o f h is own
n a tiv e norm s. Have su ch changes b een b e n e f i c i a l or d e t r i
m e n tal to th e t r i b e i s th e q u e s tio n . The answer could n o t
be a b o ld y es or no, one way or th e o th e r ; i t i s b o th y es and
no. Our p rim ary aim a t p r e s e n t i s to lo c a te th e p o in ts of
i r r e g u l a r i t i e s i n th e whole ad ju stm e n t p ro c e s s .
To be s u r e , some o f th e old norms a re s t i l l h e ld to
r i g i d l y , n o tw ith s ta n d in g th e trem endous changes; b u t f o r th e
most p a r t th e s e a re c o n s tru e d one way or th e o th e r . The
m a tte r o f money has b een a changing elem ent i n th e Crow c u l
tu r e s in c e r e s e r v a t i o n p e rio d began. The a t t i t u d e tow ard
money i s d i f f e r e n t today from what i t vms only te n y e a rs ago.
12
D uring th e days o f a d ju stm e n t and a d a p ta t io n , th e Grow was
so ta k e n up w ith h i s new pui’s u i t s t h a t th e r e a l im portance
o f money d id n o t dawn on him. Of co u rse he knew t h a t i t
would buy goods and s e r v i c e s , b u t he would sooner produce
such n e c e s s i t i e s h im s e lf . To a Grovf, one is, n o t a man
u n le s s he does th in g s by h im s e lf . C h ie f ta in s and w a r r io rs
were self-m ad e men i n th e o ld war d a y s. T h e re fo re , once the'l^
Crow tu rn e d h is e n e rg ie s to a g r i c u l t u r a l p u r s u i t s he meant t5.
e x c e l i n t h a t l i n e . And as he produced h is own fo o d , and
h is w ife produced co stu m es, he had no r e a l need f o r money.
\¥hen he had produced enough cro p s f o r h is w in te r u se t h a t was
enough. He had no c o ld d e s ir e to make money. Money was o f
minor im p o rta n ce. At give-aw ay f e s t i v a l s money i s g iv e n away
to an in c r e d ib le e x t e n t . Small c o in s a re sim ply throw n away.
Not much over te n y e a rs ag o , th e a t t i t u d e tow ard
money changed r a d i c a l l y . " Today money i s th e im p o rta n t th in g !
Among many f a c t o r s w hich u sh e re d i n t h i s m oney-consciousness
was th e s o - c a lle d d e p r e s s io n o f th e 1930’s . I t b ro u g h t about
c irc u m sta n c e s w hich em phasized th e im portance o f money. I n
th e f i r s t p la c e , th e d e p r e s s io n b ro u g h t th e f i r s t r e a l money
problem to th e Crows. Like th e r e s t o f th e p eople they
sud d en ly f e l t th e in c o n v e n ie n c e s o f money s h o r ta g e , and i t
was n o t long b e fo re th e y f u l l y r e a l i z e d th e im p o rtan ce o f
money. C oncurrent w ith th e d e p r e s s io n were th e s u c c e s s iv e
y e a rs o f crop f a i l u r e s , w hich a ls o em phasized th e s i t u a t i o n .
13
When th e y could n o t produce c r o p s , th e f i n a l q u e s tio n was
money.
The New Deal P r o je c ts came. Many o f th e trib e s m e n
were g iv en r e l i e f and r e h a b i l i t a t i o n jo b s . This was in d eed
g lo r io u s i n t h e i r e s tim a tio n . I t gave them a chance to do
som ething e l s e b e s id e s fa rm in g ; and a t th e same tim e th e y
re c e iv e d w ages, a new th in g ! A fte r th e s e y e a rs o f wage-
e a rn in g th e y a r e most u n w illin g to g iv e up th e id e a and to
r e t u r n to th e farm . The problem i s t h e i r t h i r s t f o r c a s h .
This d e s i r e f o r money i s n o t p u re a m b itio n , to be s u r e . I t
i s an i l l u s i o n . I t i s a n o v e lty — a f a l s e s u c c e s s . I f a
man made # 3 0 .0 0 , ru n n in g a m achine, indeed he was a f a r
g r e a t e r su c c e s s th a n th e m a tte r o f h is r e a l i z a t i o n o f
$1000.00 w o rth o f d u ra b le w e a lth th ro u g h a se aso n o f fa rm in g !
From a l l i n d ic a t io n s th e whole th in g i s a n a s ty s i t
u a tio n . The a b o l i t i o n o f some of th e p r o j e c t s a lre a d y has
had d is a s te r o u s r e s u l t s . Many o f th e wage e a rn e rs who have
b een l a i d o f f a re e x p e rie n c in g d i f f i c u l t tim e s , tr y in g to
a v e r t p au p e rism . Y et th e y a r e n o t w illi n g to go back to
t h e i r fa rm s. They a re w a itin g and hoping f o r more work o f
th e c a sh ty p e . What w i l l be th e f i n a l outcome i s a d i s t u r b
ing th o u g h t.
The m a tte r o f money n a t u r a l l y b rin g s us to th e
q u e s tio n o f la n d , w hich has b ee n th e most v a lu a b le economic
a s s e t o f th e t r i b e . B efo re th e coming o f th e w hite man.
14
lan d was n o t sim ply ta k e n f o r g r a n te d , b u t was th o u g h t o f
and t r e a t e d as an in h e r e n t b l e s s i n g . I t w as, to th e I n d ia n ,
l i f e i t s e l f .
W e have se e n th e s to r y o f th e Crow c o u n try . I t
was reduced tim e a f t e r tim e u n t i l by 1884, one could sta n d
a t one end o f th e r e s e r v a t i o n and a c t u a l l y see th e o th e r
s id e . I n 1920 a l a s t v ig o ro u s a tte m p t was made to open th e
r e s e r v a t i o n f o r th e p u b l i c . I t f a i l e d , b u t th e Crow A llo t
ment Act o f 1920 fo llo w ed by th e "Competent In d ia n " scheme
e v e n tu a lly opened th e r e s e r v a t i o n f o r th e f u r t h e r w h ite
in v a s io n . The r e s e r v a t i o n was a l l o t t e d i n s e v e r a l t y , t h a t
i s , each h e a d - r ig h t re c e iv e d an average o f 1040 a c re s o f
g ra z in g and farm in g la n d . The u n a l l o t t e d m ountainous a re a
was owned t r i b a l l y . The "com petency" id e a was th e p o lic y
t h a t a f t e r a Crow has h e ld h i s a llo tm e n t f o r a p e rio d o f
tim e , he a u to m a tic a lly becomes com petent and i s th e r e f o r e
g iv e n th e f u l l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y o f h is la n d . Many a newly
d e c la re d com petent In d ia n was preyed upon by la n d s h a rk s ,
and i n tim e th e r e s e r v a t i o n vms h e a v ily p o p u la te d by w h ite s
who had secu red In d ia n la n d s .
The a l i e n a t i o n o f th e I n d ia n ’ s la n d s was sudden and
b e f o re th e In d ia n r e a l i z e d w hat had happened he found him
s e l f surrounded by w h ite n e ig h b o rs . Towns grew l a r g e r and
l a r g e r u n t i l th e w h ite p o p u la tio n was w e ll over tw ice t h a t
o f th e I n d ia n s : and i n th e en d , a county was c re a te d r i g h t
on to p o f th e r e s e r v a t i o n , so to sp eak .
P r io r to th e a llo tm e n t o f la n d s th e In d ia n s s e t t l e d
15
w herever th ey p le a s e d in th e r e s e r v a t i o n . They s k e p t i c a l l y
o p e ra te d sm a ll farm s and f o r th e most p a r t th e y were more
d ev o ted to th e c a re of t h e i r la r g e herd s o f h o r s e s , m o stly
w ild o n es. A man’s p r e s t i g e was m easured by th e number and
q u a l i t y o f h is h o r s e s , and i t was n o t u n u su a l f o r each head
man o f a fa m ily to own n e a rly a hundred head o f h o r s e s .
When th e trib e s m e n were f i n a l l y g iv e n in d iv id u a l a l lo tm e n ts ,
th e r e fo llo w ed sudden p ro g re s s i n a g r i c u l t u r a l p u r s u i t s .
The v a lle y s teemed w ith a c t i v i t y . Farms in c re a s e d and be
came p ro d u c tiv e . The In d ia n s soon ov/ned modern homes, b a rn s ,
g r a n a r i e s , wagons, and o th e r equipm ent. The trib a lly -o w n e d
h erd o f b e e f c a t t l e became v e ry s u c c e s s fu l and soon e m b e llish e d
th e t r i b a l t r e a s u r y . T his was th e e ra o f p r o s p e r i t y , w ith o u t
depending on money. This was n o t to l a s t very lo n g , however.
The b u s in e s s of le a s in g a llo tm e n ts was th e th in g
t h a t e v e n tu a lly warped th e p ro g re s s made. To be su re th e
In d ia n s were a lre a d y f a m i l i a r w ith th e p r a c t i c e o f le a s in g
la n d . B efore th e a llo tm e n t th e r e s e r v a t i o n S u p e rin te n d e n t
had le a s e d p a r t s of th e r e s e r v a t i o n to w h ite c a ttle m e n ,
and p r o f i t s were always fo rth c o m in g , a l l of w hich was im
p r e s s iv e to th e I n d ia n s . T h e re fo re , when th e In d ia n s r e
c e iv e d t h e i r a llo tm e n ts , i t was n o t long u n t i l th e g r e a te r
p a r t o f th e r e s e r v a t i o n was h e ld i n le a s e s by w h ite farm ers
and stockm en. L easing of la n d was indeed a b ig b u s in e s s —
f o r th e w h ite s . As u s u a l th e In d ia n had th e v/rong s l a n t of
1 .6
t h in g s . I n h i s e s tim a tio n , as soon as he became a le s s o r he
a u to m a tic a lly became a " r i c h man", because,.someone d id h is
work f o r him w h ile he was i d l e and s t i l l re c e iv e d an incom e.
He would r e f e r to h is le s s e e as h is " l a b o r e r " . White farm ers
and stockm en were knov/n as s o - a n d - s o ’ s "w orking-m an". I t
was tr u e t h a t th e y -were working men—b u t n o t f o r th e In d ia n s
by any means.
Today th e le a s in g b u s in e s s has come to a p o in t where
th e In d ia n s a re th e mere t h e o r e t i c a l owners of t h e i r own
la n d s , and c e r t a i n l y t h e i r economic l i f e i s f a r from d e c e n t.
The In d ia n has now r e a l i z e d t h a t he has a g a in f a l l e n a v ic tim
• o f th e w h ite man, and t h a t i t i s th e w h ite man who i s making
money on th e I n d ia n ’s la n d s ; b u t th e s i t u a t i o n has become
so d i f f i c u l t t h a t i t seems f u t i l e to do an y th in g about i t .
I t i s n o t s tr a n g e t h a t such i s th e outcom e. The In d ia n him
s e l f i s a t f a u l t , b u t he should n o t be blamed f o r h is ig n o ra n c e
of b u s in e s s p r i n c i p l e s and w rongly c o n s tru e d economic ideas,.
B ut th e t r a g i c th in g i s t h a t th e In d ia n has abandoned th e
p ro g re ss he has made i n a g r i c u l t u r e and t h a t he i s now con
te n te d to eke o u t a s c a n t liv e lih o o d on h is le a s e income.
To him th e im p o rta n t th in g nov/ i s —he m ust have w h ite l e s s e e s !
I t i s n o t s tra n g e th e r e f o r e t h a t i n 1937, th e t o t a l
In d ia n la n d o p e ra te d by w h ite s was 1 ,9 6 5 ,7 0 0 a c r e s , w h ile
th e In d ia n s th e m selv es only o p e ra te d 158,148 a c r e s . Ex
p re sse d i n p e rc e n ta g e , th e w h ite s a re u s in g ap p ro x im ately
1(7
92^ w h ile th e In d ia n s a re u s in g 1% of th e Crow la n d . T his
i s no doubt a p p a llin g , b u t i f one i s to compute th e r e s p e c tiv e
incomes o f th e two groups on th e b a s is o f th e above f i g u r e s ,
he w i l l a r r i v e a t f ig u r e s w hich w i l l sim ply defy th e law o f
r a t i o , o f p r o p o r tio n , o f d ecen cy , and many o th e r th in g s !
For example a cowboy came to th e r e s e r v a t i o n y e a rs ag o , and
i n a m a tte r o f a few y e a rs has become a m i l l i o n a i r e . One
of h is cowboys i s now a n e a r - m il lio n a ir e a l s o .
Something i s d e f i n i t e l y wrong, b u t i t i s a ls o d e f i n i t e l y
p l a i n to s e e . A fa,rmer i l l u s t r a t e d t h i s wrong v ery v i v i d l y .
His v ic tim was an uneducated In d ia n . By p la c in g $50.00
c a sh i n th e I n d ia n ’s hand a t th e r i g h t moment, he a c q u ire d
a n e a t tw e n ty -a c re t r a c t f o r f i v e y e a r s . A fte r th e d e a l,
th e farm er was soon re a p in g hundreds of to n s o f a l f a l f a .
I n co ld f a c t s , he p aid only f i v e d o l l a r s p er y e a r on th e t r a c t .
A common p r a c t ic e o f b ig stockm en i s to le a s e b ig
t r a c t s o f g ra z in g la n d and s u b le t them to a number o f sm a ll
c a t t l e men on a p e r-a n im a l b a s i s . The b u s in e s s i s v ery p r o f i t
a b le b ecau se th e s e c a ttle m e n ( i n c i d e n t a l l y an A sso c ia tio n )
have a way o f le a s in g la n d a t t h e i r own p r ic e s wliich i s in d eed
v ery low , g e n e r a lly from 5 to 12 c e n ts p e r a c r e . By o v e r-
g ra z in g th e la n d , they v ery e a s i l y r e a l i z e a p r o f i t o f 500
to 700 p er c e n t.
There i s no q u e s tio n b u t t h a t th e Crow r e s e r v a t i o n i s
a p a r a d is e f o r e n t e r p r i s i n g w h ite men. The le a s e r a t e s a re
18
in c r e d ib ly low and th e term s to o e a s y . The s h a re -c ro p p e r
i n th e r e s e r v a t i o n g e ts t h r e e - f o u r t h s to f o u r - f i f t h s o f h is
p ro d u ce. The In d ia n i s a t a d e c id e d d isa d v a n ta g e and
e a s i l y f a l l s a v ic tim o f shrewd b u s in e s s . Income from th e
le a s e i s a b su rd , b u t th e In d ia n has g o tte n to a p o in t where
he can n o t d is p e n s e w ith th e le a s in g b u s in e s s .
I n speaking o f-w e a lth , som ething must be s a id about
th e h o r s e . I t p la y ed a g r e a t p a r t i n th e a c c u l t u r a t i o n o f
th e t r i b e — so im p o rta n t t h a t p erh ap s i t i s one of th e b a s ic
f a c t o r s w hich made th e m a tte r o f a d ju stm e n t so d i f f i c u l t .
The a c q u i s i t i o n o f th e anim al has b een c o m p a ra tiv e ly r e c e n t ,
b u t i t has developed i n t o one o f th e most im p o rta n t elem ents
of th e c u l t u r e . I n th e f i r s t p la c e , i t b ro u g h t to th e t r i b e
i t s e a r l i e s t method o f t r a n s p o r t a t i o n o th e r th a n w alk in g , and
th e r e s u l t was in c re a s e d m o b ility w hich b ro u g h t th e t r i b e
i n t o c l o s e r and more f re q u e n t c o n ta c t w ith th e t r a d i t i o n a l
enem ies. Second, l i f e was e a s i e r f o r th e aged and th e young.
In form er tim es i t was n o t u n u su a l to f in d in v a lid o ld f o lk
f o rs a k e n and l e f t behind when th e t r i b e had to f l e e su d d e n ly .
When h o rs e s were o b ta in e d everyone was mounted o r o th e rw ise
tr a n s p o r te d . W ith th e h o rse i t was much e a s i e r to k i l l
b u f f a l o , w hereas h u n te rs on f o o t had to s u f f e r to se c u re m eat.
The h o rse was so im p o rta n t t h a t th e p o s s e s s io n o f i t meant
w e a lth ; to c a p tu re th e h o rs e s o f enem ies was a g r e a t w ar-
dee# ; to d ev e lo p an anim al i n t o a f a s t h u n tin g and war pony
19.
was a g en tlem an ’s f a v o r i t e p a s tim e ; to g iv e h o rse s away was
th e acme o f honor and manhood. I n s h o r t th e h o rse v/as th e
m ost v a lu a b le p o s s e s s io n o f th e t r i b e . I t was th e th in g
w hich changed th e t r i b e from a c o m p a ra tiv e ly p e a c e a b le
p e d a ria n c u l tu r e to a h o rse c u l t u r e . The Crows became h a r d -
r id in g and f a s t - f i g h t i n g nomads o f th e p l a i n s !
Among o th e r th in g s w hich th e t r i b e has hs,d to d is c a r d
i n th e c i v i l i z a t i o n p ro c e ss i s th e h o rs e . To be su re he
d id n o t v o l u n t a r i l y to s o , b u t he was f o r c e d . Ever s in c e
th e Crows a c q u ire d h o r s e s , ab o u t 1735, th e y w ere never s h o r t
o f h o r s e s . Not o n ly were Crows g r e a t horsem en, b u t they were
a ls o m a ste rs o f c a p tu rin g h o rs e s from enemy t r i b e s , which
was p a r t o f th e b ig game o f w ar. By th e tim e th e y s e t t l e d
down i n th e r e s e r v a t i o n i n 1884, they had hundreds o f h o rs e s .
Along w ith fa rm in g , t h e i r prim ary i n t e r e s t was s t i l l i n
t h e i r h o r s e s , w hich in c re a s e d r a p i d l y , and by 1920 th e h i l l s
w ere f u l l of h o r s e s , numbering a p p ro x im a tely 3 0 ,0 0 0 . Each
head-m an o f a fa m ily owned from f i f t y to over one hundred
head o f h o r s e s . S e v e ra l men had s e v e r a l hundred h o r s e s ,
m o stly w ild o n e s.
I t w^as th e stockm en l e s s e e s who f i n a l l y succeeded i n
d e c im a tin g th e Crow h o r s e s . I t v/as f o r th e h o rs e s t h a t th e
In d ia n s re f u s e d to le a s e ch o ice g ra z in g la n d s to th e s to c k
men, and t h i s was of c o u rse a th o rn e i n th e p a th o f th e
stockm en. They went to work and i n tim e ind u ced th e govern-
20
ment to r i d th e r e s e r v a t i o n ran g es o f w ild h o r s e s . The
governm ent inform ed th e In d ia n s t h a t th e y must g e t r i d o f
t h e i r h o rs e s w ith in a c e r t a i n le n g th o f tim e ; a f t e r t h a t th e
h o rse s would be rounded up and k i l l e d . Horse b u y e rs , l e g i t i
mate and o th e rw is e , swarmed th e s to c k y a rd s and shipped c a r
lo a d s o f h o rse s a t $2.50 p e r head. The h o rs e s t h a t were n o t
b ro u g h t i n were g a th e re d and sh o t en m asse. But n e a rly a l l
o f them were l>rought i n and so ld r a t h e r th a n k i l l e d .
The whole a f f a i r was a g r e a t shock to th e trib e s m e n ,
j u s t as much a s th e p re v io u s c le a r in g o f th e Crow ran g e o f
b u f f a lo e s was a sad blow . O ther th in g s b ein g e q u a l, th e
d e s t r u c t i o n o f th e h o rse was one o f th e b a s ic f a c t o r s d e t r i
m en tal to th e Crowr’s problem o f a d ju s tm e n t, f o r th e Crow c u l
tu r e was p r im a r ily based on th e h o r s e . I n th e f i r s t p la c e ,
th e h o rse w as, among o th e r th i n g s , an ite m o f exchange. A
h e a le r was p a id i n h o r s e s ; a w ife was bought w ith h o r s e s .
F rie n d s gave each o th e r t h e i r b e s t m ounts; a man’ s c h e ris h e d
d u ty was to g iv e a b r o th e r - i n - la w a p r iz e d a n im a l, e s p e c i a l l y
a f a s t ru n n in g h o r s e . I n s h o r t , th e h o rse was b a s ic to th e
p h ila n th r o p ic system o f th e t r i b e . I t was a ls o th e a r t i c l e
by means o f w hich w e a lth was p u t i n c o n s ta n t c i r c u l a t i o n .
When th e h o rse was ta k e n away from th e I n d ia n , much
o f h is c u l t u r e was a ls o ta k e n away. Money was s u b s t i t u t e d
f o r th e f u n c tio n o f th e h o rse as an ite m o f w e a lth exchange;
b u t t h a t has been u n s a t i s f a c t o r y and more th a n l i k e l y i t has
2%
b ro u g h t about in c re a s e d p roblem s. More and more th e In d ia n
i s becoming l i k e h i s p a le -fa c e d b r o th e r s ; he has l o s t a g r e a t
d e a l o f h is n a tiv e p h ila n th ro p y and group r e s p o n s i b i l i t y and
i s f a s t becoming i n d i v i d u a l i s t i c , s e l f g a i n i n g , and money
s e e k in g . Another sad lo s s has now come to f u l l l i g h t . A fter
h is h o rse was gone, th e In d ia n no lo n g e r had genuine i n t e r e s t
i n h i s ra n c h l i f e . The id e a t h a t he would r a i s e c a t t l e i n
s te a d o f h o rse s d id n o t work o u t v e ry w e ll. For one th in g ,
c a t t l e could n o t ta k e th e im p o rta n t p la c e which th e h o rse
occupied i n th e system o f exchange. The m a tte r o f r a i s i n g
c a t t l e was to o much work f o r nomads who had j u s t r e c e n tly be
come s e d e n ta ry .
A fte r th e h o rse was gone, th e w h ite stockm en went to
work a g a in and soon le a s e d a l l th e open ra n g e s and e v e n tu a lly
had v i r t u a l c o n tr o l o f th e r e s e r v a t i o n ra n g e s . Today th ey
have such a p o w erfu l g r ip o f th e le a s in g b u s in e s s t h a t th e y
draw t h e i r own c o n t r a c ts on t h e i r own te rm s. As an I n d iv id u a l
th e In d ia n has had no d i s c r e t i o n i n h is l e a s i n g s . But th e
sad p a r t i s t h a t th e In d ia n i s n o t d oing much o f an y th in g
e x c e p t to w a it f o r le a s e money, meanv/hile n e g le c tin g h is
fa rm in g . Some, i n f a c t a g r e a t many f a m i l i e s , have fo rs a k e n
t h e i r farm homes a l t o g e t h e r . There i s no doubt b u t t h a t th e
lo s s o f th e h o rse was f a t a l to th e c u l t u r e o f th e Crow. He
became p o o re r . The p r e s e n t S u p e rin te n d e n t o f th e r e s e r v a t i o n ,
who i s a Crow In d ia n h im s e lf , has f u l l y r e a l i z e d t h i s sad
22
l o s s and i s r e h a b i l i t a t i n g th e r e s e r v a t i o n w ith f in e ly - b r e d
d r a f t and mount h o r s e s , and i s encouraging h is trib e s m e n to
r a i s e good h o rs e s and to farm w ith them. From a l l in d ic a
t i o n s th e In d ia n s a p p r e c ia te su ch a program and i n a few
y e a rs much o f th e lo s s w i l l be re g a in e d .
There rem ains to be s a id som ething o f th e I n d ia n ’s
d om estic ow nership ( r e a l p r o p e r t y ) . C oncerning l i v e - s t o c k ,
th e re c o rd s ^ a t th e r e s e r v a t i o n agency shoed:
No. o f T o ta l T o ta l
In d ia n s u n i t s v a lu e
owni ng : owned
C hickens 65 5,025 $ 2512
Turkeys
25"
800 2400
D airy c a t t l e 60 120 7200
B eef c a t t l e 120 3,820 153^00
Sheep 6 2,300 ; 9200
Swine 35 170 1700
H orses 220 1,650 8^500
(based on a p o p u la tio n o f 2,173)
In b r i e f , th e t o t a l v a lu e o f th e In d ia n homes, b a rn s ,
c o r r a l s , im plem ents, e t c . was ab o u t $ 95,200, The t o t a l v alu e
o f th e l i v e s to c k was $258,922 i n 1937.
S tan d ard o f l i v i n g
In a system where goods were c i r c u l a t e d around to
members o f a group on th e b a s is o f sh e e r p h ila n th r o p y , and
1 Annual R eport on Crow R e s e r v a tio n . Crow Agency, Mont. 1937
23
where w e a lth was m easured n o t on e x c e s s iv e a c c u lu l a ti o n , b u t
on th e q u a l i t y o f in d iv i d u a l v i r t u e in v o lv e d , i t i s d i f f i c u l t
to s p e c if y and to d e f in e a c l e a r - c u t c o n c ep t co n cern in g th e
sta n d a rd o f l i v i n g . B ecause th e re was no premium on food
and c lo th e s g e t tin g and s e r v i c e s , i t can n o t be s a id t h a t th e
sta n d a rd o f l i v i n g was d eterm in ed by th e amount o f economic
goods n e c e s s a ry f o r a d e c e n t, wholesome l i f e . I f th e re was
a s ta n d a rd o f l i v i n g , th e co n cep t in v o lv e d was i d e a l i s t i c and
n o t j u s t m erely m a t e r i a l i s t i c . That i s to sa y , th e s ta n d a rd
of l i v i n g was based on th e a s p i r a t i o n s and th e i d e a l s o f th e
t r i b e . For in s t a n c e , a c h i e f t a i n ’ s sta n d a rd o f l i v i n g would
be re c o g n iz e d n o t only by th e amount o f p o s s e s s io n s and s e r
v ic e s he enjoyed b u t m o stly by th e way he secu red h is h o r s e s ,
th e number o f r e l a t i v e s he h ad , and th e w orking a b i l i t y of
h is w if e , o r w iv es.
I t i s n o t to o d i f f i c u l t , how ever, to i n f e r th r e e
p la n e s o f l i v i n g . The p o v e rty p la n e in c lu d e d th o se orphans
and aged p e rso n s who had no n e a r - r e l a t i v e s to c a re f o r them.
They la ck ed f i n e c lo th e s and h o r s e s , and o u t o f n e c e s s ity
must borrow or ask f o r a s s is ta n c e o c c a s io n a lly . The second
l e v e l in c lu d e d th e av erag e fa m ily . The in d iv i d u a l had no
in c o n v e n ie n c e s , p h y s ic a lly or p s y c h ic a lly . He was c o n te n te d .
The h ig h e s t l e v e l was t h a t occupied by a c h i e f t a i n whose
r e l a t i v e s were many, whose herd o f h o rs e s was l a r g e , and
whose c l o th e s w ere_the envy o f th e p e o p le . N o tw ith stan d in g
2 4
th e p la n e s o r le v e l s o f s t a t u s , th e r e was no hard l i n e o f
c a s t e , s o c i a l or o th e rw is e . A ll th e peo p le a s s o c ia te d w ith
one a n o th e r i n d an ce, f e a s t , h u n t, and p la y . The po#r were
never d is c rim in a te d a g a i n s t . In f a c t , th e poor were th e
o b je c ts o f b e n e v o len c e; th ey were fe d and c lo th e d . No one
was ev er to o m ise ra b ly i n v^ant of a n y th in g .
Today th e home, fo o d , p r o p e r ty , everyday c l o t h e s , and
g e n e ra l o c c u p a tio n s of th e av erag e Crow In d ia n a re th e
same as th o se o f h is w h ite n e ig h b o rs . T h eir c h i ld r e n go to
th e same s c h o o ls ; they have m utual i n t e r e s t s . T h is,h o w ev er,
i s t r u e j u s t on th e s u r f a c e , as th e b a s ic p r i n c i p l e s on which
th e economic co n cep ts o f th e two r a c e s sta n d a r e v ery d i f
f e r e n t . Inasmuch as th e w h ite man e v a lu a te s h is economic
w e ll-b e in g acco rd in g to h is m onetary and r e a l p ro p e rty
a c c u m u la tio n s, i t i s easy to make in f e r e n c e s co n cern in g h i s
s ta n d a rd o f l i v i n g , and to i d e n t i f y h is p la n e o f l i v i n g .
The economic s t a t u s o f th e I n d ia n , how ever, cannot be l i k e
w ise e v a lu a te d and i d e n t i f i e d . His co n c e p ts o f th e economic
s t a t u s a r e d i f f e r e n t . For th e most p a r t , he i s s t i l l under
th e o ld i d e a l i s t i c co n cep t o f v /e alth . Thus i t i s im p r a c tic a b le
to make a n e v a lu a tio n o f th e I n d ia n ’s economic l i f e i n com
p a r is o n w ith th e s ta n d a rd s o f th e w h ite man, even though th e
two groups l i v e v ery s i m i l a r l y .
I t i s r a t h e r d i f f i c u l t to stu d y th e two co n c e p ts by
t h e i r s i m i l a r i t i e s . P erhaps i t w i l l be e a s i e r to n o te th e
2 5
d i f f e r e n c e s . In th e f i r s t p la c e , th e w h ite man’s id e a o f
economic w e ll-b e in g i s to a c c u lu la te as much money and p ro p e r
ty as p o s s i b l e . This i s n o t th e ca se v^ith th e Crow. So
long as he has enough fo o d , c lo th in g , and o th e r c o m fo rts, he
has no f u r t h e r in c e n tiv e f o r a c c u m u la tio n . Old a t t i t u d e s
and custom s so a r r e s t th e th in k in g o f th e p r e s e n t g e n e r a tio n
t h a t th e av e ra g e Crow seems to be devoid of an a c q u i s i t i v e
s e n s e . Second, th e "give-aw ay" complex does n o t h e lp th e
Crow to become p ro s p e ro u s . There i s n o th in g to o v a lu a b le to
g iv e away; th e most p riz e d p o s s e s s io n i s th e th in g u s u a lly
g iv e n away. Then th e r e a r e numerous p o in ts of o th e r d i f
f e r e n c e s , such as th e com m unistic system o f th e t r i b e , th e
d e a r th o f economic and s o c i a l c a s te sy stem , e t c e t e r a .
There i s no doubt b u t th a t as a group th e Crow t r i b e
i s a poor economic u n i t ; b u t th e t r i b e sh o u ld n o t be blamed
on th e grounds o f l a z i n e s s and in d o le n c e . The Crow i s to o
generous to keep h is w e a lth and s e r v ic e s to h im s e lf; th e
f e a r o f p o v e rty i s n o t an I n c e n tiv e f o r him; he has a poor
knovfledge of b u s in e s s a f f a i r s and i s p rey ed upon. I n a v/ord,
he i s d e c id e d ly a t too g r e a t a d is a d v a n ta g e to become p r o s
p e ro u s .
The system o f exchange
B efore th e coming o f th e t r a d e r s , th e Crows d id n o t
engage i n commerce w ith o th e r t r i b e s . I n th e f i r s t p la c e ,
th e y were alw ays a t war w ith n eig h b o rin g t r i b e s , and even
2 6
i f th e r e were no wars th ey had no need f o r t r a d e . A ll th e
t r i b e s on th e p la in s were s e l f - s u f f i c i e n t and d id n o t depend
on commerce. T h eir produce and needs were n o t in te r - d e p e n d e n t.
I f th e r e was any tr a d in g a t a l l , i t amounted to a mere ex
change o f sm a ll p r e s e n ts .
W ith in th e t r i b e th e r e was a d ecid ed d e a r t h of
exchange on a b u s in e s s b a s i s , such as buying and s e l l i n g .
Even d i r e c t b a r t e r was la c k in g . Boys exchanged sm a ll a r t i
c l e s among th e m se lv e s, b u t men d id n o t d a re b a r t e r t h e i r
c lo th e s l e s t they o ffe n d t h e i r w ives and fem ale r e l a t i v e s
who took g r e a t p rid e i n making th e c l o th e s . The f a c t i s ,
th e r e was no r e a l need f o r buying and s e l l i n g th in g s . The
give-aw ay custom k e p t goods i n c i r c u l a t i o n i n so many ways
t h a t o n e ’s p o s s e s s io n s were n o t always th e same. There were
c a s e s , how ever, when some th in g s were b o u g h t. A v ir tu o u s
and b e a u t i f u l woman v/as sometim es b o u g h t; th e s e r v ic e s o f
h e a le r s were a ls o b o u g h t.
W ith th e coming of th e tr a d e r s came th e p r a c t i c e o f
tr a d in g to th e Crow I n d ia n s . The a r t i c l e s th e In d ia n s d e s ir e d
most were n e ith e r food nor t r i n k e t s b u t guns and powder. The
In d ia n s were very shrewd t r a d e r s b u t were v ery poor u s e r s
o f money. Today money h as come to be v ery im p o rta n t to th e
trib e s m a n , b u t s t i l l he does n o t use i t w is e ly . His c u l t u r a l
se tu p i s su c h t h a t he does n o t have to depend e n t i r e l y on
money f o r h is o rd in a ry co n v en ien ces and i s t h e r e f o r e a t a
2 7
d isa d v a n ta g e to l e a r n how to u se money e f f i c i e n t l y . For
i n s t a n c e , i n th e r e s e r v a t i o n a p e rso n has no Im m ediate
w orry about h i s d a i l y m e a ls. I f he i s away from home, he
can alw ays e a t a t any In d ia n home. T h e re fo re , he i s c a re
l e s s w ith h is c a sh supply and does not th in k an y th in g about
th e f u tu r e v a lu e o f money. The man who fe e d s him i s none
th e b e t t e r o f f e i t h e r . The custom i s such t h a t h is ta b le
i s open to a l l comers a t any tim e , and he must th e r e f o r e
n e c e s s a r ily in c u r added food e x p e n d itu r e . The m a tte r o f
h e lp i s a n o th e r ite m which th e In d ia n does n o t w orry too
much a b o u t. I f he needs h e lp he can alv/ays g e t f r e e h e lp .
Help i s f r e e . I t i s e v id e n t t h a t th e s e and o th e r custom s
have been d e tr im e n ta l to th e I n d ia n ’s p ro p e r u n d e rsta n d in g
and a p p r e c ia tio n o f money. The f a c t i s t h a t he has n o t b ee n
im pressed hard enough r e a l l y to l e a r n th e f u l l v a lu e of
money, and today he does not p r a c t i c e economy. He m erely
knows how to spend.
C ir c u la t io n o f w e a lth
The la c k o f tr a d e and exchange n o tw ith s ta n d in g , th e r e
was and i s s t i l l a normal c i r c u l a t i o n o f w e a lth i n th e t r i b e .
T his i s so because o f th e com m unistic and s o c i a l i s t i c s p i r i t
o f th e t r i b e .
S e v e ra l s p e c i f i c ways of w e a lth c i r c u l a t i o n may be
p o in te d o u t. (1) "G ive-away" a f f a i r s a re an in d is p e n s ib le
p a r t i n any t r i b a l f e s t i v i t i e s . During s o c i a l d a n c e s, g i f t s
a re f r e e l y g iv e n . Old men o f d i s t i n c t i o n t e l l t h e i r war
f e a t s and g iv e away p r e s e n t s . In th e "hand-gam e", o f te n
g i f t s a r e g iv e n to th e l o s e r s . The m a rria g e o c c a s io n i s
e n t i r e l y a m a tte r o f exchanging g i f t s . R egular c e re m o n ia ls
a re never com plete w ith o u t th e s ta c k in g up o f c o n t r ib u t io n s
to th e c a u s e . In th e i n i t i a t i o n c e re m o n ia ls , which a r e
many, g i f t s a r e pooled and d i s t r i b u t e d to th e p a r t i e s con
c e rn e d , su ch as th e clansm en, r e l a t i v e s , and th e p a r t i c i p a n t s .
(2) The c o n tin u a l g iv in g o f p r e s e n ts to th e b r o th e r - in - la w
and th e s i s t e r - i n - l a w i s a n o th e r way o f w e a lth c i r c u l a t i o n .
The male and p a t e r n a l clansm en of a m a rrie d g i r l see t h a t
t h e i r b r o th e r - i n - la w i s alw ays p ro v id ed w ith e v e ry th in g t h a t
a man t r e a s u r e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y f in e h o r s e s . L ik ew ise, th e
fem ale r e l a t i v e s see to i t t h a t t h e i r s i s t e r - i n - l a w i s g iv e n
h e lp and p ro v id ed w ith th e th in g s she n e e d s. (3) I n case
o f d e a th , th e custom , y e a rs ago and to some e x te n t to d a y ,
was to d i s t r i b u t e a l l th e p o s s e s s io n s o f th e b e r e f t fa m ily
to th e m o u rn ers. (4) I n th e days o f w ar, th e h o rse s b ro u g h t
back were d i s t r i b u t e d to r e l a t i v e s and clansm en. In s h o r t ,
th e r e was and i s s t i l l no s t a t i c ow nership o f goods i n th e
t r i b e ; and th e r e s u l t i s good w i l l and no extrem e c a se s o f
e i t h e r p o v e rty or p r o s p e r i t y .
PA RT I I
SOCIAL CHANGES A N D EFFECTS
C hapter 111
TRIBAL ORGANIZATION
Government
The re a d e r must keep I n mind th e method o f tre a tm e n t
to be fo llo w ed i n t h i s t r e a t i s e : f i r s t , th e d e s c r i p t i o n o f
th e Crow s o c ie ty as i t was i n i t s o r i g i n a l s e t t i n g ; seco n d ,
th e d e s c r i p t i o n o f p r e s e n t c o n d itio n s and th e changes i n
v olved .
Where th e r e i s a group of in d iv i d u a ls bound to g e th e r
by a com m onality o f i n t e r e s t s , th e r e d ev elo p s some s o r t of
a governm ent, th e form o f w hich i s p r e s c rib e d by en v iro n m e n tal
and in h e r e n t c irc u m s ta n c e s . At b e s t th e form o f governm ent
i s j u s t as v a r ia b le as th e whims and f a n c ie s of th e p e o p le .
But one th in g we must g iv e co g n izan ce to i s t h a t one form o f
governm ent i s j u s t as tr u e f o r one group o f people a s a n o th e r
form f o r a n o th e r g ro u p , inasm uch as th e v a r i a n t s w hich p re
s c r ib e th e form s of th e governm ent a r e i n th em selv es d i f f e r e n t
and ca n n o t be th e same.
The t r i b a l o r g a n iz a tio n o f th e Crow, as w e ll as t h a t
o f t h e i r n e ig h b o rin g p la in s t r i b e s , was unique i n some r e s p e c t s .
There was no a c tu a l a d m in is tr a tiv e body and y e t th e t r i b e was
a going co n c ern w ith o u t any a p p a re n t disharm ony; th e r e was no
perm anent enforcem ent body b ecau se th e r e were no a b s o lu te
laws to be e n fo rc e d , b u t s t i l l th e t r i b e was w e ll behaved;
in d iv id u a lis m was suprem e, b u t s t i l l th e people liv e d i n a l l -
30
p erv ad in g p h ila n th r o p y , such as W estern c i v i l i z a t i o n s had
never h e a rd o f .
Among E a s te r n t r i b e s , th e c h i e f was th e p e rs o n i n
whose hands la y th e d e s tin y o f th e t r i b e . His word was law ;
he was a l l p o w e rfu l. In th e Crow t r i b e , th e c h i e f t a i n s were
n o t a u t o c r a t s . To be s u re Crow c h i e f t a i n s were in d eed men
o f g r e a t courage and wisdom, b u t i t so happened t h a t th e p a r
t i c u l a r type o f c u l t u r e i n which th e y liv e d was d i f f e r e n t ,
and n a t u r a l l y th ey were d i f f e r e n t from th e E a s te r n c h i e f t a i n s .
The Crow t r i b e was alw ays w ell s u p p lie d w ith a number o f
c h i e f t a i n s . As a r u l e , th e c h i e f t a i n s formed a c o u n c il
th ro u g h w hich th e y e x e r c is e d a c e r t a i n c o n tr o l over th e t r i b e ,
b u t n o t as a governing body. T h eir u lti m a t e f u n c tio n was
a d v is o ry . O ther th in g s b ein g e q u a l, one c h i e f was u s u a lly
b e t t e r known and p erh ap s more r e s p e c te d th a n th e o t h e r s . The
th r e e d iv i s i o n s o f th e t r i b e were headed by a h e a d -c h ie f and
h is c o u n c il o f s u b - c h ie f s . The u n iq u e th in g about th e ’’many
c h i e f t a i n s ” se tu p was t h a t th e r e were no c o n tr o v e r s ie s over
s t a t u s . Because each p e r s o n ’s c h ie f ta n c y depended on fo u r
re c o g n iz e d w ar-d e ed s, each c h i e f ’s d i s t i n c t i o n was known by
a l l , and th e c h i e f t a i n s co m p lacen tly a c c e p te d th e amount o f
esteem w hich p eo p le accorded them. To be c a lle d a c h i e f was
th e Im p o rta n t th in g , and Wee men became c h i e f s th e y c o n s id e re d
i t u n d ig n if ie d to make any a tte m p t to be more noble and i n
f l u e n t i a l i n any o th e r way th a n o n -th e b a t t l e f i e l d # T h e re fo re
51
th e most Im p o rta n t o f th e c h i e f t a i n s , w hether he had any
le a d e r s h ip a b i l i t y o r n o t, was th e one who had f u l f i l l e d th e
fo u r m i l i t a r y re q u ire m e n ts more tim es th a n any o th e r man. A
c h i e f t a i n who was a v is io n a r y and a b le to p ro p h ecy , was o f te n
an im p o rta n t p e rso n a g e . Many o f th e h e a d -c h ie f s were o f
such a ty p e . But seldom d id a v is io n a r y endeavor to e m b e llis h
h is im p o rtan ce i n any a g g re s s iv e way. Such men, as w e ll as
o th e r m edicine men, deemed i t more com plim entary and d ig n i
f i e d to be approached and asked f o r a i d . They nev er v o lu n
te e r e d t h e i r s e r v ic e s o r gave d e m o n s tra tio n s . The f a c t t h a t
th e s e c h i e f t a i n s were r e a l men, men who had r is k e d t h e i r
l i v e s many tim e s , men who had re p lu s e d enem ies, made them
g r e a t l y r e s p e c te d , h o n o red , and obeyed i n what a d v ic e they
g a v e . The g e n e ra l f u n c tio n o f th e c o u n c il o f c h i e f t a i n s was
to d e c id e upon th e movements o f th e t r i b e , to a d v is e h u n tin g
and war p a r t i e s , and i f n e c e s s a ry to s e l e c t one o f th e m i l i
t a r y c lu b s to do p o lic e d u ty , such as r e g u la tin g th e c a ra v a n ,
p u n ish in g extrem e r e c a l c i t r a n t s , and o th e r d u t i e s .
The w h ite man u s u a lly d e a l t w ith c h i e f t a i n s ; and th e
Government re c o g n iz e d them o f f i c i a l l y and t r e a t e d them as
men o f ra n k . I t was a f t e r th e coming o f th e v/hite men t h a t
th e p o s i t i o n o f th e c h i e f s grew v a s t l y im p o rta n t.
N eedless to say th e governm ental o r g a n iz a tio n o f th e
t r i b e has undergone trem endous changes sin c e th e w h ite men
to o k ch arg e o f a f f a i r s . I t i s th e purpose o f th e w r i t e r to
p o in t o u t th e e f f e c t s o f su ch ch an g es. I t i s in d eed p e r
p le x in g to n o te t h a t w h ile a s tr o n g e r n a t io n , p a r t i c u l a r l y
i f one o f th e W estern n a t io n s , i s e x p lo itin g a weaker o n e,
i t endeavors to ’’c i v i l i z e th e sa v a g e ” a t th e same tim e . To
c i v i l i z e was o f t e n th e b a t t l e c r y . I t was th e same s to r y i n
th e ca se o f th e Crow t r i b e . The b ig is s u e a t hand, soon
a f t e r th e trib e s m e n were p la c e d i n a r e s e r v a t i o n , was to
c i v i l i z e them , and th e e x p e d ie n t th in g was to d is s o lv e th e
t r i b a l governm ent. As we have se e n , th e r e was no d e f i n i t e
governm ental o r g a n iz a tio n to d i s s o l v e , save th e counci}.; t h i s
was th e f i r s t th in g th e Agent d id . T his w as, o f c o u rs e , a
lo s s to th e t r i b e , n o t to m en tio n th e p e r s o n a l shock which
th e c h i e f s r e c e iv e d . The h ig h e s t and most c h e ris h e d g o a l o f
every Crow man was suddenly gone and i t was not long u n t i l
th e r e was v e ry l i t t l e to a s p ir e to and l i v e f o r . I t does
n o t ta k e a p s y c h o lo g is t to know what th e e f f e c t s would b e .
The In d ia n s became i n s o l e n t and la c k e d en th u siasm and con
s e q u e n tly t h e i r p ro c e s s o f a d ju stm e n t was slow and p a i n f u l .
Meanwhile th e Agent whom th e Government p la c e d i n ch arg e o f
th e r e s e r v a t i o n was d eterm in ed to c i v i l i z e d th e sa v a g e s. He
made i t known t h a t th e G reat W hite F a th e r a t W ashington made
him th e C h ief and t h a t what he s a id m ust be obeyed. The h a l f
h e a rte d re sp o n se s which th e In d ia n s gave to h is in n o v a tio n s
no doubt made him s p e c u la tiv e and he was f o re v e r t r y in g one
id e a a f t e r a n o th e r , which n a t u r a l l y c r e a te d added problem s
53
and c o n t r o v e r s i e s .
The e a r l y r e s e r v a t i o n Agents were u s u a lly army men
and r u le d as su ch . They were hard men, g e n e r a lly u n sy m p a th e tic .
From a l l in d ic a t io n s th e a g e n ts o f r e c e n t y e a rs have men o f
u n d e rsta n d in g and s i n c e r i t y who have b een c o o p e ra tiv e , t o l e r
a n t , and an x io u s to se e t h e i r wards make p r o g r e s s . More and
more th e trib e s m e n have b een g iv e n th e o p p o rtu n ity to have
some v o ic e i n th e f a s h io n in g o f t h e i r own w e lf a r e . R e ce n tly
th e c o u n c il was re v iv e d and o f f i c i a l l y re c o g n iz e d by th e
In d ia n B ureau as a d i s t i n c t t r i b a l o r g a n iz a tio n , n o t a f f i l i a t e d
w ith th e Government O ffic e i n th e r e s e r v a t i o n . T his was
indeed an im p o rta n t g a in f o r th e trib e s m e n . I t gave them a
s t a t u s , a new o u tlo o k on l i f e , a s e l f - r e a l i z a t i o n ! Soon
t r i b a l le a d e r s came f o r t h to a tte n d to th e m a tte r o f s e l f -
im provem ent, a th in g w hich th ey had h e r e to f o r n o t b een g iv e n
th e chance to do an y th in g ab o u t i t . And i t seemed t h a t th e
In d ia n B ureau has r e a l i z e d a g a in a l s o . By having a c c e ss to
th e o p in io n s , d e s i r e s , and s u g g e s tio n s o f th e trib e s m e n , th e
In d ia n D epartm ent has been more a b le to form p o l i c i e s w hich
have been e f f i c i e n t and f a r more e f f e c t i v e .
For th e p a s t tw enty y e a rs th e t r i b a l c o u n c il has
j u s t i f i e d i t s e x i s te n c e . Through i t th e trib e s m e n have
e x e rc is e d some d i s c r e t i o n i n t h e i r re a d ju s tm e n t and t r a n s i
t i o n a l p r o c e s s . They have had a p art, i n th e fa s h io n in g of
t h e i r u lti m a t e d e s t i n y , and from a l l i n d ic a t io n s th e y have
3é
w is e ly p re s e rv e d some v ery good n a tiv e cu sto m s, i n s t i t u t i o n s ,
and i d e a l s w hich have been b e n e f i c i a l to th e t r i b e to d a y ; and
a t th e same tim e th ey have ad v o cated new th in g s w hich a re
n e c e ss a ry f o r p r o g re s s .
L ike a l l o th e r i n s t i t u t i o n s and o r g a n iz a tio n s th e
c o u n c il i s n o t f r e e from f o l l y . P a r t i c u l a r l y d u rin g th e
l a s t seven o r e i g h t y e a r s , th e c o u n c il has n o t b een harmon
io u s i n i t s o r g a n iz a tio n and co n se q u e n tly i t has become i n
e f f i c i e n t and has been a so u rce o f c o r r u p tio n . There has
been a c o n tro v e rs y betw een th e o ld c o n s e r v a tiv e group and th e
p r o g re s s iv e s who b o a s t a goodly number of ed u c ate d men. Some
e d u cated In d ia n s have gained c o n tr o l o f th e c o u n c il and have
been u sin g i t f o r t h e i r ov/n f i n a n c i a l g a in . P o l i t i c s has
a ls o h i t th e r e s e r v a t i o n and poisoned th e c o u n c il. The s i t
u a tio n has come to a p o in t where th e c o u n c il i s on th e v e rg e
o f c o l la p s e .
The u ltim a te outcome may or may n o t be p l e a s a n t , b u t
th e im p o rta n t th in g i s t h a t th e In d ia n on th e r e s e r v a t i o n
has a d e f i n i t e p a r t i n h is problem o f c u l t u r a l a d a p ta tio n
and a d ju s tm e n t. He i s by no means unaware t h a t he cannot
l i v e w ith in th e c o n fin e s o f h is r e s e r v a t i o n . He i s j u s t as
much i n t e r e s t e d i n th e w e lfa r e o f th e n a t i o n a l governm ent as
anyone e l s e . He has been a c i t i z e n s in c e 1924, and i s by
no means ig n o r a n t o f h is r i g h t s and- o b l i g a t i o n s . At p r e s e n t
th e In d ia n B u re a u ’s p o lic y i s to hold th e In d ia n s i n w ard sh ip .
3 6
th u s g iv in g them s p e c i a l p r i v i l e g e s and im m u n itie s, and to
r e le a s e th o se In d ia n s who v o l u n t a r i l y d e s i r e to assume f u l l
c i t i z e n s h i p .
Clubs
The co re o f th e t r i b a l o r g a n iz a tio n was th e govern
m ent, and r e l a t e d to i t were many minor a g e n c ie s and d e p a r t
m ents. One o f th e s e was th e clu b sy stem .
The c lu b s were e s s e n t i a l l y men’s c lu b s , some m i l i t a r
i s t i c and some s o c i a l . Though th e number and th e names o f
th e c lu b s changed from tim e to tim e , th e two noted m i l i t a r y
c lu b s o f r e c e n t tim es ( i . e . , th e whole o f 1 9 th c e n tu ry ) were
th e ”Crazy Dogs” and th e ”O v /n e rs -o f-th e -c ro o k e d -s tic k s ” .
These two c lu b s m ight be w e ll c a lle d ”s u ic id e sq u a d s” , f o r
t h e i r d u ty was to p led g e t h e i r l i v e s to th e p r o t e c t i o n o f th e
t r i b e . Under no c irc u m sta n c e s were th e y to r e t r e a t when
a tta c k e d by enem ies. A s im ila r clu b was known as th e ’’Owners-
o f - t h e - b u l l - b u f f a l o ” , composed o f aged w a r r i o r s . A lthough
t h e i r s was an hon o rary c lu b , they were n e v e r th e le s s d eterm in ed
to be on th e f r o n t when th e camp was a tta c k e d .
The names s i g n i f y th e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of th e s e c lu b s .
In combat each w a r r io r c a r r ie d a lo n g s t i c k c a lle d t h e ”coup
s t i c k ” . T his was used to s t r i k e th e f i r s t enemy s l a i n or
wounded, a deed which went tow ard th e a tta in m e n t o f c h i e f
t a i n s h i p . The O w n e rs -o f-th e -c ro o k e d -s tic k were s o - c a lle d
b ecau se th e y were so c a r e l e s s l y u n a f r a id o f d e a th t h a t even
3 ^ 6
t h e i r c o u p - s tic k s were crooked and s h o r t . The Crazy Dogs
was d e riv e d from a p h ra s e , ”as c ra z y as dogs, n o t knowing
what d e a th i s ” . T h e - o w n e r s -o f - th e - b u ll- b u ff a lo e s c a lle d
th e m selv es such b ecau se th e y i d e n t i f i e d them selv es as o ld
b u l l s s t i l l ca p ab le o f u s in g t h e i r h o rn s. I n t h e i r d a n c e s,
th e y im ita te d ch a rg in g b u l l s — g r u n tin g and s n o r tin g .
The s o c ia l clu b s o f r e c e n t tim es have b een th r e e i n
number, though long ago th e r e were as- many as e i g h t . These
th r e e were th e B ig -d o g s. F oxes, and th e K n o tty -c lu b s
( K n o t te d - s tic k s ) . O ther th a n doing guard d u ty i n camp and
on th e move (c a ra v a n ), th e y had no a c tiv e p o l i t i c a l f u n c tio n .
They were more or l e s s analogous to c o lle g e f r a t e r n i t i e s ,
t h e i r r e l a t i o n s h i p bein g c o m p e titiv e i n th e f i e l d o f s p o r t s ,
s o c i a l a c t i v i t i e s , and i n war fame a t th e expense o f enemy
t r i b e s . Such c o m p e titiv e s p i r i t was conducive to t r i b a l
r i g o r and v a l o r .
Today th e s e m i l i t a r y c lu b s have ceased to e x i s t w ith
th e p a s s in g of th e w a r-d a y s, w ith th e e x c e p tio n o f th e C razy-
d o g s, w hich has a new meaning now. Those who p le d g e them
s e lv e s to th e o rd e r proK^aim t h a t th e y a re n o t a f r a i d to giv e
p r e s e n ts away. When th e C razy-dog dance i s h e ld to d a y , th e
members, a f t e r d ancing around p ro u d ly , g iv e away v a lu a b le
th in g s to v i s i t o r s and to th o se who may need them. The v a lo r
i n war has been re p la c e d by th e v a l o r i n g iv in g , w hich i s
p erh ap s one o f th e in s ta n c e s i n vfhich th e trib e s m e n were n o t
5(7
n o t so g u l l i b l e i n t h e i r c u l t u r a l a d a p ta tio n and where th e y
d i s c r e t e l y p re se rv e d some commendable a s p e c ts o f t h e i r own
c u l t u r e .
B ecause o f t h e i r m i l i t a r i s t i c p a t t e r n s , th e s o c i a l
c lu b s a ls o d is s o lv e d a t th e p a ssin g o f th e w ar-days (1886).
The Government e x p e d ite d th e d i s s o l u t i o n o f th e s e c lu b s
when i t fo rb a d e one o f t h e i r c o m p e titiv e f u n c tio n s — t h a t
of w if e - c a p tu r in g . (T his w i l l be e x p la in e d l a t e r ) I n p la c e
o f th e com plete d i s s o l u t i o n o f th e s e s o c i a l c lu b s , a group
of m inor c lu b s came i n t o prom inence ab o u t 1900. These were
p r im a r ily s o c i a l o r g a n iz a tio n s . They competed i n th e p a r
t i c i p a t i o n o f community p r o j e c t s . For exam ple, th e y r a is e d
fu n d s , fu rn is h e d l a b o r , and gave f e a s t s to v i s i t o r s from
o th e r t r i b e s d u rin g c e l e b r a t i o n s . A part from and above
th e s e s o c i a l f u n c tio n s , they were re c o g n iz e d in a s s o c i a t i o n
w ith th e H ot-d an ce, o r th e dance commonly c a lle d th e War-
dance by w h ite s . At such dances th e d i f f e r e n t c lu b s would
t r y to e x c e l one a n o th e r i n manner of d a n c in g , d r e s s , h o sp i
t a l i t y to v i s i t o r s , and i n o th e r p e rfo rm a n c e s. The noted
c lu b s were th e Big E a r -h o le s , N ight H o t-d an ce s, L ast Hot-
d a n c e s. Day H o t-d a n c e rs , and R ich H o t-d a n c e rs.
By 1920 th e s e c lu b s had v a n ish e d and today th e r e a re
no c lu b s o f any s o r t . To be su re th e re ' a re e v e r a l re a s o n s
f o r t h i s l o s s . The sudden i n f l u x of th e p eyote r e l i g i o n was
one. I t s members r e f r a i n e d from d an cin g or from p a r t i c i p a t i n g
i n any c e re m o n ia l e v e n ts . Whiskey was a n o th e r f a c t o r . At
any o th e r tim e w hiskey was s c a rc e and d i f f i c u l t to g e t , b u t i n
3B
b u t i n tim e o f dance g a th e rin g s b o o tle g g e rs would swarm
th e camp. Many o f th e c lu b members would r a t h e r d r in k tiian
dance w h ile whiskey was a v a i l a b l e . Lack o f r e c r u i t s and new
members was a n o th e r r e a s o n f o r th e d e c lin e of th e c lu b s .
Young In d ia n s a re no lo n g e r i n t e r e s t e d i n th e t r i b a l d o in g s ;
p a r t i c u l a r l y th o se who have gone away to sch o o l have b e
come somewhat a n t a g o n is t ic tow ard In d ia n l i f e .
C lan system
The c la n , system r e p r e s e n ts th e s o c i a l s id e o f th e
t r i b a l o r g a n iz a tio n . ( I t w i l l be spoken o f i n th e p r e s e n t
t e n s e , as i t i s s t i l l an i n t e g r a l p a r t o f th e p r e s e n t Crow
c u l t u r e . ) I t a p p e a rs , a t th e o u t s e t , t h a t c la n s a re u n i t s
o f th e t r i b e , i . e . , th e t r i b e i s composed of s e v e r a l g ro u p s.
I n r e a l i t y , th e c la n s a r e n e i th e r p o l i t i c a l nor governm ental
u n i t s . They a r e p u r e ly s o c i a l u n i t s , or i n s t i t u t i o n s .
The o r i g i n o f th e c la n system or th e c la n s them
s e lv e s i s v ery o b s c u re . The In d ia n s th em selv es do n o t know o r
have any id e a as to i t s o r i g i n . However, th e r e a r e i n d ic a
t i o n s t h a t th e d i f f e r e n t c la n s a re th e outgrow ths and s u r
v i v a l s o f a n c ie n t fa m ily g ro u p s. The f a c t t h a t th e Crow c la n
system i s mat r i l i n e a l su g g e sts a. v e ry a n c ie n t o r i g i n , ro o te d
p erh ap s i n th e days when p r im itiv e p e o p le s re g a rd e d th e woman
a s th e c o re of th e fa m ily and man as having no r e l a t i o n a t a l l
to c h ild b e a r in g . I t m ight be prem ised t h a t , to b e g in w ith
a c la n c o n s is te d o f one m a te rn a l g en e alo g y , b u t i n tim e th e
39
th e s in g le fa m ily developed i n t o s e v e r a l d iv i s i o n s u n t i l
to d ay s e v e r a l non-consanqulnous f a m il ie s c o n s titu t e d a c la n .
As has b een s a id , th e p e r p e tu a tio n o f th e c la n i s
mat r i l i n e a l i n scheme. O ffs p rin g belong to t h e i r m o th e r’s
c la n and n o t to th e c la n o f th e f a t h e r . T h is means t h a t
a lth o u g h th e f a t h e r d e f i n i t e l y b elo n g s to a c l a n , h is c h i ld r e n
do n o t belo n g to h i s c la n . I n o th e r w ords, th e r e i s no
p a t r i l i n e a l d e s c e n t (gens) i n th e Crow t r i b e . However,
th e r e i s a c e r t a i n amount o f a f f i n i t y betw een a p e rso n and
th e c la n to w hich h is f a t h e r b e lo n g s . One may a d d re ss a l l
th e clansm en o f h is f a t h e r as ^ f a t h e r s ” , and th e clanswomen
as h is ”m o th e rs” . The c h i l d r e n o f h is ’’f a t h e r s ” , th o se whose
s t a t u s i s th e same as h i s , a re h is ” jo k in g clansm en” , w hich
w i l l be m entioned l a t e r .
J u s t a s th e number and th e names o f th e clu b s were
n o t p erm anent, so th e c l a n s . At tim e s , two w i l l converge
i n t o one and v ic e v e r s a ; one w i l l co m p letely d is s o lv e and
a new one be form ed. I t i s n o t uncommon f o r two d i f f e r e n t
c la n s to become a l l i e s (m oiety) and to s h a re one a n o th e r ’s
r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s and i n t e r e s t s . In r e c e n t y e a rs and ex
te n d in g even to th e p r e s e n t th e r e a re te n c l a n s , i n s p i t e
o f th e nicknam es and, o th e r names each c la n has ;
1. F i l t h - e a t i n g lodge
2 . Newly-made lo d g e
3 . Thick lo d g e
40
4 . B u rn t ( s o r e ) - l i p lodge
5 . W h istlin g W aters
I
6 . Poor w ar-deeds
7. T ie d - to g e th e r - i n - a - k n o t
8 . G re a s y - in s id e -th e ir- m o u th s
9. W ith o u t-s h o o tin g -th e y -h rin g -m e a t
10, P ieg an s or B la c k f e e t
I t i s w e ll to d e s c r ib e th e c la n system o f th e t r i b e ,
b u t th e u ltim a te q u e s tio n i s th e f u n c tio n and v a lu e o f su c h
a sy stem . In th e f i r s t p la c e , i t i s th e i n s t i t u t i o n w hich
u p h o ld s th e t r i b a l i d e a l o f exogamy and p re v e n ts i n c e s t .
To be s u i e , th e trib e s m e n o f o ld d id not s i t down and p la n
i t a l l o u t, b u t such as i t i s , th e c la n system has p lay ed
a g e n e tic s i g n i f i c a n c e . S eco n d ly , th e c la n system i s th e
fu ndam ental fram ework th ro u g h w hich th e com m unistic scheme
has o p e ra te d . Each c la n i s r e s p o n s ib le f o r th e economic
and dom estic w e lfa r e of i t s members. T h ir d ly , th e system
fo r e v e r s tim u la te s e s p r i t de co rp s o f th e t r i b e , i n t h a t
th e d i f f e r e n t c la n s have a c o m p e titiv e r e l a t i o n s h i p i n th e
f i e l d of s o c i a l a c t i v i t i e s . A f o u r th p o in t i s th e ’ ’jo k in g
r e l a t i o n s h i p ” o f th e c l a n s . T his custom s a n c tio n s open
r i d i c u l e , s a t i r i c r e p r o o f , jo k e s , and mockery f o r th e p u r
pose o f p o s s ib le r e fo rm a tio n o f one a n o t h e r ’s u n s o c ia l ways
and f a u l t s . Such jo k in g s a r e , how ever, r e s t r i c t e d and n o t
i n c l u s i v e . One may joke and exchange p ran k s o n ly w ith th e
41
c h ild r e n o f h i s f a t h e r ’s clansm en. No m a tte r how c u t t i n g
th e rem ark and joke may b e , th e r e never has been a c a se o f
i l l - f e e l i n g . O ther th in g s bein g e q u a l, th e jo k in g id e a i s
a commendable a s s e t o f th e t r i b a l c u l t u r e . One cannot be
to o i n d i v i d u a l i s t i c , nor too ru d e . His b e h a v io r i s d i r e c t l y
b u t q u i t e u n o b tr u s iv e ly c o n tr o lle d by o t h e r s .
At th e p r e s e n t tim e th e c la n s a r e s t i l l v i t a l p a r t s
o f th e Crovf c u l t u r e , b u t th e r e a re i n d ic a t io n s t h a t w ith in
tw enty y e a r s , i t w i l l be alm o st t o t a l l y f o r g o t t e n . From an
a n th ro p o lo g ic a l p o in t of view , th e p a s s in g o f th e c la n system
w i l l be a l o s s , a n o th e r ca se o f th e good going w ith th e bad
i n th e p ro c e s s o f a c c u l t u r a t i o n . The younger g e n e r a tio n a r e
more and more f o r g e t t i n g and v i o l a t i n g th e c la n laws and
co d es, and th e e f f e c t s a r e to be se e n a lr e a d y . The young
f o l k a r e in d e p en d en t and i n d i v i d u a l i s t i c , and c o n se q u e n tly
a r e n o t f r i e n d l y nor c o n s id e r a te o f t h e i r clansm en, Theye
a re e a s i l y o ffen d ed and ca n n o t be c o n t r o ll e d w ith th e custom
o f jo k in g ; th e y a re a rg u m e n ta tiv e , q u a rre lso m e , alw ays f i g h t
in g . The o ld p eo p le a r e w ondering what i s going to become
o f th e young p e o p le , and a re s k e p t i c a l a b o u t th e w h ite man’s
p o lic y of tr y in g to c r e a te w h ite men o u t o f I n d ia n s , in s t e a d
o f tr y in g to make good In d ia n s o u t o f th e In d ia n s who were
found to be p r i m i t i v e s .
C hapter IV
marital RELATIONS, FAMILY, A N D KINSHIP
M arriage custom s
The custom o f e a r l y c h ild m a rria g e was n o t p r a c tic e d
by th e Crpw I n d ia n s , The m a tte r of m a rria g e was g iv e n i t s
n a t u r a l developm ent. When th e tim e came, e i t h e r th e boy
p ic k ed h i s own b r i d e , o r h i s p a r e n ts p ick ed one f o r him .
A ccording to th e f i r s t , l e t us sa y , a boy was read y
to ta k e a woman a f t e r a tim e of c o u r t s h i p . But he would n o t
h im s e lf propose to h e r ; he would ask h is m other o r an au n t
to t a l k to th e m other o f th e g i r l and have an u n d e rs ta n d in g .
The envoy to say to th e m other o f th e g i r l , ”M y son d e s ir e s
l i f e - t o g e t h e r n e s s w ith your d a u g h te r” . I f th e answ er was
i n th e a f f i r m a t i v e , i t was up to th e boy to b rin g th e g i r l
to h i s home.
I n most m a r r ia g e s , th e p a r e n t ’s choosing to o k p re
cedence over th e s o n ’s c h o ic e . Whenever th e p a r e n ts deemed
i t f i t t i n g to have a d a u g h te r - in - la w , th e y would f o r th w it h
p ic k - a c a n d id a te w ith o u t th e knowledge o f th e so n . However,
he was inform ed and u s u a lly , convinced t h a t t h e i r c h o ice was
indeed a w ise one. Again th e m other o r th e au n t would ap
p ro a c h the, p a r e n ts o f th e g i r l and p r e s e n t th e p r o p o s itio n .
I t was n o t uncommon t h a t a m other showed r e lu c ta n c e , e s
p e c i a l l y i f h e r d a u g h te r was known to be v ir tu o u s and com ely.
In t h i s c a s e , th e a l t e r n a t i v e was to p u rc h a se th e g i r l .
43
Wife P u rc h a sin g
A fte r a p e rio d o f shrewd b a r g a in in g , a s a t i s f a c t o r y
d e a l was made. O ther th in g s b e in g e q u a l, a g i r l ’s, u ltim a te
w orth was h e r c h a s t i t y and v i r t u e . The medium o f exchange
u s u a lly c o n s is te d o f h o r s e s . The more h o rse s t h a t were p aid
f o r a g i r l , th e h ig h e r a s o c i a l p r e s t i g e she a c q u ire d . I f
s l i g h t e d by a n o th e r fe m a le , she co u ld e a s i l y em barrass h er
a n ta g o n is t by m erely s a y in g , ”I was bought f o r tw enty h o rse s
and you a re w o rth only f i v e ” .
I t was n o t u n t i l th e h o rs e s , w ere d e liv e r e d t h a t th e
m a rria g e d e a l was v a l i d . A gain i n t h i s c a s e , th e boy would
go a f t e r th e g i r l . I t m ust n o t be presumed t h a t th e p a r e n ts
o f g i r l s a ls o p ic k ed or p u rch ased s o n s - in - la w . That i s th e
a n t i t h e s i s .
Not u n t i l r e c e n tly have such m a rria g e p ro c e d u re s
changed n o tic e a b ly . Very few p a r e n ts now p ic k wives f o r
t h e i r so n s. The son i s th e b o ss now and u s u a lly p ic k s any
g i r l he w ants and th e p a r e n ts have n o th in g to sa y . The days
when c h i ld r e n were b ro u g h t to r e s p e c t and honor e ld e r s a re
gone. The p o s i t i v e methods o f te a c h in g b e h a v io r p r i n c i p l e s
no lo n g e r work i n a system w here mores a re d i f f e r e n t and where
b e h a v io r i s c o n t r o ll e d d i f f e r e n t l y . I n a w ord, th e In d ia n
does n o t know how to c o n t r o l h is c h i ld r e n who r e a d i l y ta k e up
th e ways o f t h e i r w h ite sch o o lm ates and n e ig h b o rs .
The o ld f o lk m erely sa y , ” th ey a re to o much l i k e
44
t h e i r p a le - f a c e d b r o th e r s and s i s t e r s ” , b u t have a re a s o n
to be a larm ed . The conduct o f th e boys and g i r l s i s some
th in g th e r i g h t th in k in g p eo p le o f th e t r i b e a r e s o r e ly
concerned a b o u t. The g i r l s a r e no lo n g e r m a rrie d by p u rc h a s e ,
and as a r e s u l t fem in in e c h a s t i t y as an i d e a l among th e
Crows i s i n no way a r e a l i t y .
Wife C a p tu rin g
The game of w if e - c a p tu r in g was a n o th e r way o f
a c q u irin g a w if e . T his p r a c t i c e grew o u t o f th e r i v a l r y b e
tw een th e men’ s c lu b s , p a r t i c u l a r l y th e Foxes and th e K n o tty -
woods. I n th e s p rin g o f th e y e a r a se a so n was opened f o r such
r i v a l r y . R e s t r i c t i o n s were l a i d down, b a r r in g th e p o s s i
b i l i t y o f c a p tu r in g a w ife under mob s p i r i t or s e n tim e n ta lis m .
Only th e u n f a i t h f u l w ife of a r i v a l clu b member yms v ic tim iz e d ,
When a Fox had won th e lo v e o f a k n o tty -w o o d ’s w ife ,
he would say to h is clu b b r o t h e r s , ”I have a way w ith a woman
b e lo n g in g to a K notty-w ood. The same s h a l l r i d e w ith me
t h i s day” . I n t h e i r b e s t r e g a l i a and mounting t h e i r b e s t
s t e e d s , th e y w^ould come sin g in g and su rro u n d th e lodge o f
th e woman. Two o f them would e n te r th e lodge and b r in g h er
o u t. She was made to r i d e beh in d h e r c a p to r and away th e y
would r i d e , w ith much s in g in g and joyous h aran g u e. A b r i e f
honeymoon e x c u rs io n v;as made a f t e r w hich she became h is w ife .
Sometimes th e woman was n o t k e p t as a w if e , and she became an
o b je c t o f r i d i c u l e , b u t n o t o s t r a c i z e d . F u rth e rm o re , h e r
45.
form er husband would n o t ta k e h e r back i n t o h is te p e e , l e s t
he be o u tra g e o u s ly r i d i c u l e d by th e o th e r c lu b , and n o t f o r
g iv e n by h is own c lu b b r o t h e r s . A tr u e Crow man was n o t
e x p e c te d to humble h im s e lf to a woman by ’’c r y in g ” a f t e r h e r ,
when she was a b d u c te d .
The u nm arried woman was seldom a b d u c te d . Though she
was c a rrie d -a w a y on h o rse -b a c k d u rin g th e w if e - c a p tu r in g
s e a s o n , i t was g e n e r a lly u n d e rsto o d t h a t i t was a n a t u r a l
elopem ent and n o t a c a p tu r e . The m e rit came i n th e cap
t u r i n g o f a n o th e r man’s w if e . When, how ever, an unm arried
maid was c a r r ie d away a g a in s t h e r v /ill n o t k e p t a f t e r
w ard s, i t was th e e x c e p tio n . A man would r e s o r t to such an
a t r o c i t y when the g i r l had i n s u l t e d him d u rin g c o u r ts h ip .
G ir ls ,, how ever, were v ery m e tic u lo u s and avoided i n s u l t i n g
t h e i r s u i t o r s . I f th e y do n o t l i k e them th ey sa y , ’’Because
you lo v e your m o th er, i n h e r name I beg you to v/ithdraw
your a t t e n t i o n s from me” . When o n e ’s lo v e f o r h i s m other
was c h a lle n g e d th u s , he co u ld nev er v i o l a t e i t . I t v/as a
s a c re d c iia lle n g e to him.
Though i t may seem c r u e l , th e o ld w if e - c a p tu rin g
custom had i t s f u n c tio n . I t was v i t a l to th e w e ll-b e in g
o f th e i n s t i t u t i o n o f m a rria g e . Wives were made f a i t h f u l ,
and th e f a i t h f u l w ife was acco rd ed honor and r e s p e c t . Thus
to be a f a i t h f u l w ife was th e i d e a l .
The w if e - c a p tu r in g custom v/as a b o lis h e d by th e
46
governm ent i n th e l a t e 9 0 ’ s . At p r e s e n t th e r e i s no t r i b a l
custom by which m a r ti a l m o r a lity i s p r e s e rv e d . Though
th e r e a re s t a t e m a rria g e laws now, th ey prove i n e f f e c t i v e .
The In d ia n does n o t a p p r e c ia te th e n e g a tiv e ty p e s o f la w s.
F orm erly h is law s o f m o r a lity , m i l i t a r y , r e l i g i o u s and
o th e r modes o f e t h i c s were o f a p o s i t i v e n a tu r e .
Wedding G if ts
The av e ra g e p e rso n th in k s t h a t e v e ry th in g t h a t th e
In d ia n s do i s a cerem ony. In th e Crow t r i b e , th e r e was no
m a rria g e ceremony u n t i l th e m is s io n a r ie s b ro u g h t t h e i r
ch u rc h r i t u a l s o f m a rria g e . Now th e trib e s m e n m arry w ith
a c e r t a i n amount o f ch u rch r i t u a l s .
Held i n c o n n e c tio n v^ith a m a rria g e , how ever, i s a
system o f exchanging of g i f t s , betw een th e members o f th e
f a m il ie s co n c e rn e d . F i r s t , one fa m ily , u s u a lly th e fa m ily
o f th e b rid eg ro o m , would announce a f e a s t , a t w hich tim e
th e b r id e i s to be M r e s s e d ” (g iv e n p r e s e n t s ) . On t h a t
day g i f t s a re s ta c k e d and tu rn e d over to th e b r id e who,
w ith th e a id o f h e r m o th er, d i s t r i b u t e s th e g i f t s to h er
c l a n members and kinsm en.
On th e day th e brid eg ro o m i s ’’d r e s s e d ” , th o se r e l a
t i v e s of th e b r i d e who had r e c e iv e d p r e s e n ts a t th e f i r s t
f e a s t r e c i p r o c a t e . The p r e s e n ts th e y b ro u g h t a r e tu rn e d
over to th e bridegroom who d i s t r i b u t e s them to h i s r e l a t i v e s
and clansm en who had c o n tr ib u te d to h is c a u s e . I n s h o r t .
one fa m ily would po o l t h e i r g i f t s and p r e s e n t them to th e
b r i d e ’ s or th e b rid e g ro o m ’s fa m ily , w ith th e e x p e c ta tio n
t h a t th ey would r e c e iv e p r e s e n ts i n r e t u r n . The r e a l l o s e r s
i n th e d e a l a re th e p a r e n ts o f th e newly-weds who d i r e c t l y
g iv e s p e c i a l p r e s e n ts to th e new member o f th e fa m ily .
I t seems t h a t t h i s custom i s h a r d ly to be c a l l e d , a
g iv in g o f wedding g i f t s . A lthough i t i s h e ld i n c o n n e c tio n
w ith a m a rria g e , i t co n cern s th e newly-weds v ery l i t t l e .
The f a m il ie s o f th e co u p le a re th e p r i n c i p a l co n cern .. F u r th e r
m ore, th e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f th e p r e s e n ts I s never s a t i s f a c t o r y
and c o n s e q u e n tly th e r e a re alv/ays some g rie v a n c e s . The
r e c i p i e n t s , u s u a lly women, a re n ev e r s a t i s f i e d w ith what
th e y a re g iv e n and a re fo re v e r begru d g in g one a n o th e r . T his
i s o n ly n a t u r a l , b ec au se some would be j u s t g iv e n p r e s e n ts
w h ile some a re g iv e n th e p r i v i l e g e o f p ic k in g what th e y wrant
f i r s t .
The whole a f f a i r i s n o t a d m ira b le , b u t i n th e long
ru n i t seems to j u s t i f y i t s e l f . So long as th e co u p le rem ain
m a rrie d , th e fem ale r e l a t i v e s o f th e boy make i t t h e i r d u ty
to see t h a t t h e i r s i s t e r - i n - l a w , or d a u g h te r - in - la w , i s never
i n n e e d . They se e t h a t h e r w ardrobe c o n ta in s th e b e s t of
costum es and f i n e r y . I t i s a r e c i p r o c a l a f f a i r . The b r o th e r s -
in -la w o f th e boy, i . e . , th e male r e l a t i v e s o f th e w if e , a ls o
see t h a t t h e i r s i s t e r ’s husband i s nev er s h o r t on good c lo th e s
and h o r s e s . I t i s a g r e a t d e l i g h t to be a b le to s a y , " B ro th e r-
4 8
in - la w , h e re i s a good h o rse to r i d e ” , or "These c lo th e s
s h a l l make you handsome a t d a n c e s” .
There has b ee n a r e c e n t change i n th e tr e n d o f wed
d in g g i f t custom s. The r e c i p r o c a l exchange o f g i f t s has been
d is r e g a rd e d by some f a m i l i e s . They m erely supply th e y o u th
f u l fa m ily w ith h o u seh o ld n e c e s s i t i e s and d is r e g a rd e d th e
r e l a t i v e s a l t o g e t h e r .
The form o f fa m ily — p a t r i a r c h a l
N o tw ith stan d in g th e f a c t t h a t c la n s h ip was m a tr i-
l i n e a l , th e form o f th e Crow fa m ily was more p a t r i a r c h a l .
In th e d o m estic l i f e , th e man was th e l o r d ; women were th e
s u b o r d in a te s . Food was f i r s t se rv e d to th e men. The c h o ic e
p o r tio n s o f th e meat occu p ied t h e i r e a tin g m a ts. I n th e
te p e e th e y occupied th e p la c e o f honor w h ile th e women to o k
th e background. I n a w ord, th e p o s i t i o n o f th e woman was
low er th a n t h a t o f a man, b o th i n d o m estic and s o c i a l l i f e .
The Crow man enjoyed e x c e s s iv e s o c ia l freedom , b u t
n o t so h i s w if e . I t was a l l r i g h t f o r him to be u n r e s t r i c t e d
i n h i s p e rs o n a l s o c i a l q u e s ts so long as h is b e h a v io r was
n o t ab n o x io u sly u n s o c ia l. I t was no shame f o r a man to have
many women a c q u a in ta n c e s o th e r th a n h is w if e . A w ife would
know t h a t h e r husband was f i c k l e o f h e a r t , b u t would n o t
rep rim an d him. I n f a c t , she would o f t e n make s p o r t o f h is
s w e e th e a rts . She would even h e lp him d r e s s up i n h i s f i n e r y
b e f o re he went o u t c o u r tin g th ro u g h th e camp on h o rse b a c k .
49
I t was n o t r a r e , how ever, t h a t a w ife became in d ig n a n t and
s c ra tc h e d h er h u sb a n d ’s f a c e , b u t t h i s was c o n s id e re d p ro p er
decorum . The s c a r s on a man’s f a c e became marks o f v i r i l i t y
and p r i d e . The b e a u ty o f i t a l l was t h a t no woman would
want a man who was n o t w orth b ein g je a lo u s o v e r. Thus, even
an u g ly man had s c a r s , to th e s a t i s f a c t i o n o f h im s e lf and
h is w if e .
R e g a rd le ss o f how low i n p o s i t i o n th e w ife w as, she
was nev er a c h a t t e l . Once she was m a rrie d , she was more or
l e s s u nder th e power o f h er husband, b u t b e fo re m a rria g e ,
she was f r e e and was r e s p e c te d . The v ir tu o u s woman was e s
teemed and honored.
There were no s e t r u l e s as to th e number o f w ives a
man m ight h av e . The p o p u la r form o f m a rria g e was monogamy.
Only a few men e v e r had more th a n one w ife . In su ch c a se s
th e wives were u s u a l l y s i s t e r s ( s o r o r a t e ) .
New c o n d itio n s and new mores have g r e a t l y changed
th e custom s o f th e p r e s e n t g e n e r a tio n o f Crows, b u t th e p o s i
t i o n of th e man i s s t i l l th e same. The f a c t t h a t h is ta s k s
and d u t i e s have in c re a s e d w h ile th o s e o f h is w ife have de
c r e a s e d , d id n o t low er h is p o s i t i o n any. He i s s t i l l th e
b o s s . He sc o rn s men who have made a h a b i t o f ta k in g o rd e rs
from t h e i r w*ives, and c a l l s su ch men, " th o s e -w h o s e -w iv e s -a re -
men” .
The Government p eo p le and m is s io n a r ie s have worked
60
to g e th e r and have succeeded i n c r e a tin g f o r th e I n d ia n
new and many m o rals f o r him to obey. They keep rem inding
him t h a t to have o th e r women a c q u a in ta n c e s i s bad and i s
a g a in s t th e law ; b u t, i t seems t h a t ag e -lo n g mores and c u s
toms a re n o t e a s i l y abandoned. I n 1936 new law and o rd e r
r e g u l a t i o n s were i n s t i t u t e d i n th e r e s e r v a t i o n w ith d e f i n i t e
p r o v is io n s to outlaw e x t r a - s o c i a l p r i v i l e g e s o f th e Crow
husband and to make him a d h e re to th e w h ite man’ s laws o f
m a rria g e f i d e l i t y .
D ivorce
I t can n o t be s a id t h a t s e p a r a tio n s were few i n th e
o ld e n d a y s . In a s o c ie ty where th e r e were no d iv o rc e la w s,
and where th e group i t s e l f was n o t d i r e c t l y in v o lv e d i n a
c a se o f d iv o r c e , s e p a r a tio n s were bound to be f r e q u e n t.
The u s u a l c a u se s f o r d iv o rc e on th e p a r t o f th e w ife
were c r u e l t y o f th e husband and lo s s o f a f f e c t i o n f o r th e
h usband. Among o th e r c a u s e s , th e m ost f re q u e n t one w hich le d
a man to d iv o rc e h is w ife was in c o m p a t ib ilit y betw een th e
w ife and h er m o th e r-in -la w . In d e fe n s e o f h is m other a man
would sim ply t e l l h is w ife to le a v e . I n f i d e l i t y on th e p a r t
o f th e w ife was a n o th e r m ajor cau se f o r s e p a r a tio n , a lth o u g h
t h i s happened in f 'r e q u e n tly . I n t h i s c a se the, husband m ight
m erely t e l l h is w ife to le a v e or r e s o r t to a custom c a lle d
" th ro w in g -a w a y -a -w ife ” . D uring a dance he would a sk th e
s in g e r s to sin g th e song o f th e "w ife throw away", and dance
51
a lo n e . He would n o t say a w ord, b u t by m erely throw ing
away a l i t t l e s t i c k , he made i t p u b lic ly known t h a t he was
throw ing away h is w ife . The w ife was th u s d iv o rc e d i n
shame. P eo p le would im m ed iately th in k o f h e r as u n f a i t h f u l
and h er husband was j u s t i f i e d i n th ro w in g h e r away l i k e a
mere p o s s e s s io n . At th e same tim e th e husband was re c o g
n iz e d as a man o f v a l o r , f o r throw ing away what was re g a rd e d
a s h is p r iz e d p o s s e s s io n . A ccording to th e p r i n c i p l e s o f
th e w h ite man t h i s was c o n s id e re d c r u e l and was e v e n tu a lly
su p p re sse d by th e w h ite s .
N eedless to sa y , th e m a tte r o f d iv o rc e i s q u ite
d i f f e r e n t to d a y . I t must n e c e s s a r i l y be so . The I n d ia n has
n o t t o t a l l y changed h is n a t iv e id e a s and b e l i e f s ab o u t th e
m a tte r o f sep a r a t i o n , and as long as he b e lie v e s i n them ,
he i s bound to p r a c t i c e them. But th e Government i n ch arg e
o f him th in k s o th e rw is e . I t says t h a t th e In d ia n s to o must
conform to th e w h ite man’ s r u l e s o f m a rria g e and d iv o r c e .
I t i s t r u e t h a t they do obey th e s t a t e r e g u l a t i o n s , th e y
s t i l l m arry and d iv o rc e w ith o u t l i c e n s e , b u t as a m a tte r
o f f o r m a lity th e y do o b ta in n e c e ss a ry p a p e rs . As a r u l e
young f o l k do marry and d iv o rc e a c c o rd in g to th e s t a t e la w s.
I t i s th e o ld n o n -E n g lish sp eak in g In d ia n s vfho u s u a lly m arry
and d iv o rc e i n th e " I n d ia n way".
W hether th e County C ourt acknov/ledges t h i s I n d ia n
custom o r n o t, i t n e v e r th e le s s has accommodated th e In d ia n s
52
by g ra n tin g them easy d iv o r c e s . The co unty can a f f o r d to
do t h i s b ec au se th e r e i s n o t much l i t i g a t i o n in v o lv e d i n
an In d ia n d iv o rc e c a s e . Seldom do In d ia n s c o n te s t d iv o r c e s ,
or demand c h ild - s u p p o r t l i t i g a t i o n s # I f th e c o u r t does
make any such judgm ent, i t i s up to th e In d ia n O ffic e to
h an d le th e n e c e s s a ry t r a n s a c t i o n s .
P o s i t i o n o f c h i l d r e n
The q u e s tio n o f d iv o r c e n a t u r a l l y in v o lv e s th e p o s i
t i o n o f th e c h i l d r e n . A ccording to th e Crow system o f any
fa m ily r e l a t i o n s h i p s , c h i l d r e n were more o r l e s s group re sp o n
s i b i l i t i e s , r a t h e r th a n s t r i c t p a r e n t a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s .
Boys were v e ry much a tta c h e d to t h e i r m a te rn a l u n c le s , who
assumed th e r o l e o f t e a c h e r s . G ir ls were ta u g h t by th e g ran d
m o th e rs. The g ra n d p a re n ts u s u a lly b ro u g h t up some o f t h e i r
g r a n d c h ild r e n . The f a t h e r , n o tw ith s ta n d in g h is s u p e r io r
p o s i t i o n , had no p r io r claim over th e a f f e c t i o n o f h is
c h i l d r e n . As a r u l e boys were more a tta c h e d to t h e i r f a t h e r s ,
and th e g i r l s t h e i r m o th e rs. The g r a n d p a r e n ts , how ever,
could ta k e any o f th e c h i l d r e n th e y w anted. S e p a ra tio n
a f f e c t e d th e c h i l d r e n v e ry l i t t l e . A side from tem porary
l o n e l i n e s s , c h i ld r e n v e ry e a s i l y t r a n s f e r r e d t h e i r p a r e n t a l
a f f e c t i o n to t h e i r g r a n d p a re n ts and u n c le s and i n no way
s u f f e r e d from th e s e p a r a tio n o f th e p a r e n t s .
The same i s s t i l l tr u e to d a y . The c h i ld r e n have a
v ery sm a ll chance o f becoming h o m eless. There a re r e l a t i v e s
53
and clansm en who would ta k e them i n t o t h e i r homes. I n
ca se o f s e p a r a tio n s th e c h i l d r e n do. n o t become th e problem
o f th e governm ent nor o f any o th e r i n s t i t u t i o n . As lo n g
as th e r e a r e r e l a t i v e s , th e y w i l l be w e ll ca re d f o r .
K in sh ip and A f f in it y
N o tw ith sta n d in g th e d i r e c t a s s a u l t on th e c u l t u r e o f
th e I n d ia n , th e r e a re c e r t a i n elem en ts w hich have n o t been
a f f e c t e d , and i t i s th e s e w hich d is t in g u is h e d th e In d ia n s as
s t i l l d i f f e r e n t from th e w h ite s . One o f th e s e i s th e k i n
sh ip sy stem . Today i t i s th e same as i t was b e fo re th e
coming o f th e w h ite s .
The k in s h ip system i s v ery com plex. I t i s more th a n
mere blood r e l a t i o n ; i t i s v e ry c l o s e ly r e l a t e d to th e c l a n
system w hich goes beyond th e sp h e re o f c o n s a n g u in ity . I t
i s f a r r e a c h in g ; on one i s a d i s t a n t r e l a t i v e . I t i s p h i l
a n th ro p ic and b e n e v o le n t.
The m a tte r o f k in s h ip te rm in o lo g y i s i t s e l f th e
so u rc e o f c o m p lic a tio n s . The c h i ld r e n do n o t use a s in g le
term to a d d re s s t h e i r f a t h e r and g r a n d f a th e r , as th e y do
t h e i r m other and gran d m o th er. Boys have a d i f f e r e n t name
f o r f a t h e r and g r a n d f a th e r , as do th e g i r l s . M atern al
u n c le s a r e c a lle d " b r o th e r s " and p a t e r n a l u n c le s a r e c a lle d
" f a t h e r s " . The a u n ts , b o th m a te rn a l and p a t e r n a l , a re
c a lle d " m o th e rs ."
The c o u s in te rm in o lo g y i s r a t h e r c o m p lic a te d .
54
C ousins a r e e i t h e r c a lle d and m entioned as b r o th e r s and
s i s t e r s o r a s sons and d a u g h te r s . B ecause t h e r e i s no
a b s t r a c t word f o r c o u s in , th e c la n s h ip te rm in o lo g y , w hich
seems to be more d e f i n i t e and u n d e rsto o d b e t t e r , i s used
to d e s ig n a te such k in s h i p . (In t h i s r e s p e c t i t seems t h a t
th e c la n r e l a t i o n s h i p p red o m in a tes over t h e a c tu a l blood
r e l a t i o n s h i p . ) M atern al c o u s in s , t h a t i s , c h i ld r e n whose
m others a re s i s t e r s , a re known as b r o th e r s and s i s t e r s , be
cause th e y b elo n g to th e same c l a n .^ The same i s t r u e of
p a t e r n a l c o u s in s ( c h ild r e n whose f a t h e r s a re b r o th e r s ) on
th e s t r e n g t h o f anology a lo n e , because th e y o r d i n a r i l y do
n o t b elong to th e same c l a n , having d i f f e r e n t m o th e rs. I n
case c h i l d r e n a r e c o u s in s p a t e r n a l l y and m a te rn a lly ( i . e . ,
c M ld r e n o f b r o th e r s and s i s t e r s r e s p e c tiv e ly ) th e r e l a t i o n
s h ip i s " f a t h e r and h is sons and d a u g h te r s " , or "m other and
h e r sons and d a u g h te r s " . The m a te rn e l c o u s in i s a " f a th e r "
or a "m other" to th e p a t e r n a l c o u sin s r e g a r d le s s o f th e
a g e s. T his i s so becau se th e m a te rn a l c o u s in b elo n g s to th e
2
c la n o f th e f a t h e r s o f th e c o u s in s .
The d i s t a n t c o u s in s , even v ery rem ote o n e s, a r e con
s id e re d as f i r s t c o u sin s inasm uch as th e y a r e bound by c la n
s h ip . I t m ust be c l e a r by now t h a t c la n a f f e c t i o n i s as
s tr o n g as k in a f f e c t i o n . A g i r l ’s c la n b r o th e r s a r e l i k e
1 . C lan lavtf say s t h a t members o f a c la n (m e.ternal) a re as
b r o th e r s ana s i s t e r s , beyond th e im m ediate m other and son
r e l a t i o n s h i p .
2 . C lan law s a y s , th e male members o f o n e ’s p a t e r n a l c la n ( i . e . ,
th e c l a n o f o n e ’ s f a t h e r ) a re h is f a t h e r s and th e fem ale
members a re h i s m o th e rs.
55
blood b r o t h e r s . To h e r husband th e y would g iv e p r e s e n t s ;
I n r e t u r n th e g i r l would b r in g p r e s e n ts to t h e i r w iv es,
whom she c a l l s h er s l s t e r s - l n - l a w .
The r e l a t i o n s h i p of a p e rs o n to h is or h e r f a t h e r ’s
clansm en i s as ^ f a t h e r s ” or ’’m o th e rs’’. When a p e rs o n has
d is t in g u is h e d h im s e lf , h is ’’f a t h e r s ” ta k e g r e a t p r id e in
p r a i s i n g him i n p u b l i c . I n acknowledgem ent o f su c h a f f e c t i o n s ,
he would i n v i t e h is c l a n " f a t h e r s ” to a f e a s t .
There i s no q u e s tio n b u t t h a t b o th k in and c l a n
a f f i n i t i e s a r e e x te n s iv e and i n c l u s i v e , and th e r e s u l t i s
m u tu al and wide a f f e c t i o n th ro u g h o u t th e whole t r i b e . T r ib a l
u n ity and harmony i s th u s m a in ta in e d . As i t has been s a id
b e f o r e , th e in f lu e n c e o f th e w h ite s has n o t as y e t a f f e c te d
t h i s k in s h ip sy stem . School c h i l d r e n who had b een away would
r e t u r n and t r y to d i s a s s o c i a t e th e m selv es from t r i b a l cu s
toms and t r a d i t i o n s , b u t in v a r ia b ly would be re c la im e d
th ro u g h th e k in s h ip r o u t e . I t i s so a f f e c t i o n a t e , so r e a l
and em bracing t h a t b e fo re th ey know, i t has m elted t h e i r
i n d i v i d u a l i s t i c te n d e n c ie s i n t o th e I n d ia n n a t u r e , w hich i s
s y m p a th e tic , u n d e rs ta n d in g , and p h ila n th r o p ic .
C hapter V
AMUSEMENTS, GAMES, Am SPORTS
The s a y in g , "good old d a y s " , means j u s t t h a t to th o se now
aged members o f th e t r i b e who saw th e days when th e y moved
ab o u t as th e y p le a s e d i n t h e i r own c o u n try . The l i f e t h a t
th e y knew was an easy one, f o r th e c o u n try i n w hich th e y
liv e d was r i c h i n game and o th e r food r e s o u r c e s . T here
f o r e , a s id e from o c c a s io n a l h u n ts , th e y were i d l e most o f
th e tim e and c o n s e q u e n tly in d u lg e d i n numerous forms o f
am usements, e n te r ta in m e n ts , and s p o r t s . The fo u r se aso n s
o f th e y e a r were w e ll f i l l e d w ith a p p r o p r ia te games. W ith
th e e x c e p tio n o f m ournings, th e r e was n o t an e v e n t, e r r a n d ,
or u n d e r ta k in g , w hich was w ith o u t some elem en t o f p la y and
amusement. On th e w a r-p a th th e r e was th e s in g in g of songs
when s t a r t i n g o u t, when a t t a c k i n g , and when r e tu r n in g i n
v i c t o r y ; a f t e r th e h u n t th e r e were v a r io u s form s o f f e a s t s
a t w hich i n v a r ia b ly th e r e were s in g in g and jo k in g ; when
b e r r i e s were r i p e th e r e were b e r r y -p ic k in g s o c i a l s . By
no means d id amusement and m errim ent ap p e ar o n ly i n th e form
o f games and s p o r t s ; th e u n w r itte n l i t e r a t u r e o f th e Crows
was alm o st a l l humor and th o u g h t p la y . There was every s o r t
o f word p la y , such as j e s t i n g , c ro s s -w is e s a y in g s , r i d d l e s ,
s a t i r e s , and puns w hich were so i n t r i c a t e and w itty i n t h e i r
makeup t h a t ev e ry p e rs o n had to be a p r a c t i c a l h u m o rist and
5 7
a jo k e r i n o rd e r to defen d h im s e lf from th e o n s la u g h t o f
jo k es and p ran k s w hich were alw ays fo rth c o m in g from jo k in g
clansm en. Of c o u rs e , th e t r i b e was n ev e r i n want o f funny
s t o r y - t e l l e r s , who sp re a d la u g h te r whenever they s a t down to
t e l l s t o r i e s . In a w ord, f o r i t s sm a ll s i z e , th e Crow t r i b e
i s n o t to be e a s i l y e x c e lle d i n th e e x t e n t and q u a l i t y o f
b o th a c t u a l and m en tal amusements and s p o r t s .
Dances
The Crows sh a re w ith th e r e s t o f th e W estern t r i b e s
i n th e m agnitude o f t h e i r d a n c e s . T here were m i l i t a r y , c e r e
m o n ia l, and s o c i a l d a n c e s . A lthough th e number o f th e s e
dan ces was n o t alw ays c o n s ta n t, th e fo llo w in g l i s t w^ere i n
vogue ab o u t th e tim e th e w h ite s came;
M il ita r y Dances C erem onial Dances S o c ia l Dances
W ar-dance S a c re d -P ip e dance Hot dance
V ic to ry dance Sun dance Owl dance
C razy-dog dance Tobacco c e re m o n ia ls (2 )Squaw dance
B u ffa lo dance B ear-so n g dance C h ief dance
Long Tepee dance
Shoshone dance
However 3 . i n t e r e s t i n g i t m ight be to d e s c r ib e each
o f th e s e d a n c e s , t h a t i s n o t th e p u rp o se o f t h i s p a p e r, our
p u rp o se b ein g to p o in t o u t w h e re in th e c h a n g e s" in th e s e
d an c es a f f e c t th e whole c u l t u r a l t r a n s i t i o n . P r io r to 1900,
th e m i l i t a r y dances were gone and th e c e re m o n ia l dances were
on th e wane. I t was o n ly n a t u r a l t h a t th e m i l i t a r y dances
d is a p p e a re d s h o r t l y a f t e r t r i b a l w ars were te r m in a te d , as
th e y no lo n g e r had any f u n c tio n a l im p o rta n c e . I t was tr u e
58
t h a t they were o f t e n h eld in c o n n e ctio n w ith sham b a t t l e s ,
b u t i n due tim e th e y were f o r g o t t e n . The p assin g of the
cerem onial dances was not so sudden nor com plete, f o r the
r e l i g i o u s b e l i e f s on which they were i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e d
were deep ro o te d . N otw ithstanding th e d i r e c t p r o h ib iti o n
of such d o in g s, th e s e cerem onials were p erp e tu a te d as long
as p o s s ib le u n t i l they were g ra d u a lly d is s o lv e d i n the face
o f the p r a c t i c a l workings o f the w hite man’s s c ie n c e s . To
day th e re rem ain one or two c e re m o n ia ls, but they have been
m odified in to s o c i a l e v e n ts.
The dances t h a t have p e r s i s t e d to t h i s day a re the
s o c ia l dances. New dances have been c re a te d and borrowed
from o th e r t r i b e s . Foremost of th e s e s o c i a l dances of today
i s tiie Hot dance or th e Omaha dance, which i s o f te n c a lle d
th e War-dance by th e w h ite s . I t i s s t r i c t l y a dance fo r the
men, who dance according to t h e i r own in d iv id u al, s t y l e , as
th e r e i s no accepted form of s t e p s . Held i n c o n n e c tio n w ith
t h i s dance i s a s o c i a l dance c a lle d the Owl-danee or the
Round-dance, i n which b o th sexes p a r t i c i p a t e , e i t h e r dancing
to g e th e r or s e p a r a t e l y , the men on one sid e and th e women
on th e o th e r . The s t y l e of the dance i s a clockw ise move
ment, a l l th e d an cers dancing s id e by sid e forming a big
c i r c l e . In r e c e n t y e a rs t h i s dance has become l e s s p o p u la r.
A new dance c a l l 3d th e C o y o te -tro t dance, a m o d ific a tio n of
th e F o x - tr o t, has become th e fa d . The ste p s are the same as
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th e F o x - tr o t, only s e t to In d ia n m usic. New dances o c c a s io n a l
ly come from o th e r t r i b e s , such as th e R abbit-dance and the
" F o rty -n in e ” dance, which i s a v ery f a s t Round-dance. At
l e a s t once a y e a r , th e Long-tepee and the 8hoshon i dances
a re h e ld . They a re slow d an c es, p a r t i c i p a t e d i n only by
women. True we have seen a d e f i n i t e d e c re a se of t r i b a l
dances and cere m o n ia ls, b u t the q u e s tio n i s , what a re th e c u l
t u r a l e f f e c t s of th e s e changes? There can be no uniform ly
agreed s e t of e f f e c t s . The Government sa y s, i t i s good t h a t
such t r i b a l doings a re v a n is h in g ; they only hin d er th e In d ia n
from becoming c i v i l i z e d . Along t h i s same l i n e of thought
i s t h a t o f the m is s io n a r ie s . Heathen p r a c t i c e s must be
stopped. N a tu ra lly th e In d ia n i s opposed to th ese view s.
He had a c tu a l reaso n s to b e lie v e t h a t th e w hite men, who were
anxious to give him a new type of l i f e , did not give him any
th in g b e t t e r a f t e r a l l .
Songs
Songs were more numerous th a n th e d i f f e r e n t dan ces.
For each dance th e re were s e v e r a l ty p e s of songs sung. The
Sun-dance, Tobacco Ceremonial dan ces, and o th e r cerem onial
dances have many songs of v a rio u s tempos and movements which
sometimes l a s t one whole day i n t h e i r r e n d i t i o n . For the
Hot-dance th e songs were sung i n four d i f f e r e n t tempos.
Other th a n dance songs, th e re were o ccasio n s fo r the sin g in g
of songs. Out-going war p a r t i e s would sin g throughout th e
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camp* when ready to make a charge each w a rrio r would sing h is
m edicine song; when r e tu r n in g v i c t o r i o u s l y , they would sin g
t h e i r v ic t o r y songs. Clansmen sing songs p r a is in g one of
t h e i r members who had d is tin g u is h e d h im se lf on the b a t t l e
f i e l d . At n ig h t f l u t e p la y e rs f i l l e d th e a i r w ith t h e i r love
songs; songs echoed from th e rendezvous o f th e d i f f e r e n t
clubs ; s e re n a d e rs went from tepee to te p e e sin g in g t h e i r
songs. In o th e r w ords, music was a p a r t of the very l i f e of
th e Crows. They had a w onderful sense of music and could
compose music from the p l a i n t of the w o lf, and the sin g in g
of th e wind through th e p in e s . Even when a s le e p they would
hear songs as sung by t h e i r dream c h a r a c te r s which they would
always remember.
Turning to the p i c t u r e of to d ay , we see a decided
d i f f e r e n c e . By no means have th e Crows l o s t t h e i r songs and
dances as t o t a l l y as have some o th e r t r i b e s . O utside of the
Southwest t r i b e s , th e Crows hold more dances th a n any o th e r
two t r i b e s p u t to g e th e r . O utside of th e s e dances, fo r the
most p a r t th e songs a re n e a rly gone. There a re no longer
song f e s t s nor much in d iv id u a l s in g in g s . C h ild ren grow up
unable to sing In d ia n songs. At th e c e l e b r a t i o n s , i t i s
not th e f l u t e s t h a t echo f o r t h love c a l l s b u t the d u a l-h o rn s
and r a d io s of autom obiles t h a t sc re e c h through the camp; i t
i s not the old w a r rio rs who go through th e camp sin g in g old
w ar-songs, b u t an e l e c t r i c sound-wagon t h a t ru sh es tlirough the
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camp p lay in g re c o rd in g s of cowboy songs; i t i s not a group
of c h i e f t a i n s who lead the p a ra d e s; b u t a C a r l i s l e tr a in e d
band p lay in g "Our D ire c to r" over and over a g a in .
Such i s the s i t u a t i o n now, and i t i s up to the
re a d e r to say whether th e change i s good or to th e c o n tra ry .
Games and S ports
In s p o r ts and games, the Crow In d ia n of y e s te rd a y
was superb. P h y sic a l f i t n e s s and supremacy was an a b s o lu te
i d e a l . From childhood th e young In d ia n was tr a in e d to be an
a t h l e t e . He was ta u g h t to swim, ru n , and w re s tle as a p a r t
o f h is m i l i t a r y t r a i n i n g , as w e ll as f o r a t h l e t i c t r a in i n g
i t s e l f . There v/ere s p o rts f o r b o th the w in te r and summer
seaso n s. Top-spinning on th e ic e and s o c ia l tobogganings
were the f a v o r i t e w in te r s p o r t s . In th e summer th e re were
ari ow -shooting games, s tic k -th ro w in g games, j a v e l i n throwing
c o n t e s t s , horse r a c e s , and v a rio u s a t h l e t i c s p o r t s , such as
f o o t r a c e s , hockey and w r e s tlin g . Gambling games were amusing
in t h e i r own way, such as the dice-gam e, and the hand-game.
With th e e x c e p tio n of a few, most of the old games
and s p o r ts are no lo n g e r p la y ed . These, plu s the modern
s p o r t s , such as b a s e b a l l , b a s k e tb a ll and rodeo s p o r t s , make
up th e s p o r ts and games of today. The ja v e li n throwing
game i s s t i l l a popular s p o rt of b o th th e old and th e young
men. I t i s played by two opposing team s, u s u a lly c o n s is tin g
of s e v e r a l men. The o b je c t of the game i s to throw the
62
ja v e lin s a t a t a r g e t . The winning team ta k e s th e s ta k e s .
Another gambling game of today i s the s o - c a lle d hand-game
or stick -g am e . Between the two teams i s a s ta c k of te n
(sometimes twenty) t a l l y - s t i c k s . The o b je c t o f the game i s
to win a l l th e s t i c k s by s u c c e s s fu lly h id in g a sm all o b je c t
i n clo sed hands as th e opposing team t r i e s to guess i n which
hand i s th e o b je c t. For every bad guess th e "hiding team"
g e ts a t a l l y - s t i c k . A fte r th e "guessing" team fin d s the
o b je c t i t i n t u r n hides and the o th e r team does the g u e ssin g .
There i s no doubt t h a t the amusements and r e c r e a t i o n
a l l i f e of th e Crows have d ecreased d e c id e d ly . The e f f e c t s
a re e a s i l y d is c e rn a b le in t h e i r s o c ia l l i f e of today.
People are prone to be u n s o c ia l, and i n d i v i d u a l i s t i c ; b u t,
perhaps th e o u tsta n d in g e f f e c t of t h i s change i s the p h y s ic a l
i n e r t i a and la x n e s s which i s ev id en t among the younger
g e n e ra tio n . A th le tic t r a i n i n g has ceased a l t o g e t h e r . I t
does not ta k e a p h y s ic a l a n th ro p o lo g is t to see the d if f e r e n c e
i n the p h y s ic a l appearance of th e old In d ian s and th e younger
ones. In s p i t e of t h e i r y e a r s , the old fe llo w s a re t a l l and
le a n , w hile th e younger men are s h o r te r and f l e s h i e r .
Chapter VI
military l if e
The c u l t u r e p a t t e r n of the Crow In d ia n s vfas
d e f i n i t e l y m i l i t a r i s t i c . M ilita ris m was held as e q u a lly
im p o rtan t as fo o d -g a th e rin g . The whole c u l t u r a l setup was
m i l i t a r i z e d : se a rc h fo r m i l i t a r y prowess le d to r e l i g i o u s
p u r s u i t s ; m i l i t a r y a c t i v i t i e s were the s p o r ts ; and the s ta n
dard of l i v i n g v/as to a g r e a t e x te n t measured by th e number
of enemy-horses c a p tu re d . War v/as thus the s o c i a l mind, the
t r i b a l i d e a l .
Before th e re a d e r jumps to c o n c lu sio n s , l e t him
f i r s t see th e I n d ia n ’s concept of war. To the Crow, war was
not f o r conquest; i t was not f o r im p e rialism . No t r i b a l
regim ent was k e p t f o r m i l i t a r y a g g re s sio n . War was a game of
w i t s , of c h iv a lr y , and of honor between t r i b e s . The f a c t
i s , i t could h a rd ly be c a lle d "w ar", i n th e sense i n which
we th in k of war to d ay . I t was only a dangerous game I
Under such concept of war i t was not any wonder,
th e n , t h a t enemy t r i b e s o f te n d e c la re d n e u t r a l i t y and en
joyed seasons of peace and fe llo w s h ip ; th a t women and c h i l
d re n were never i^ ^ p o s e ly k i l l e d ; t h a t c a p tiv e s (u s u a lly
women) were not made s la v e s , b u t were m arried or s e n t back
l a t e r .
The p la n on vfhich c h i e f t a i n s h i p was a t t a i n e d , i l l u s
t r a i s an o th er noble a s p e c t of th e m i l i t a r y i d e a l . I t was
64
a game i n i t s e l f ; each w a rrio r had a chance of becoming a
c h i e f t a i n . The req u irem en t was to r i s k o n e ’s l i f e fo u r
tim es on th e b a t t l e f i e l d , A Crow c h i e f t a i n was a s e l f -
made c h i e f t a i n . To him g lo ry and r e s p e c t were g iv en . He
deserved i t .
The f i r s t of th e four dangerous requirem ents th e
Crow ? /a rrio r had to f u l f i l l b efo re he a t ta i n e d c h i e f t a i n
sh ip was to sneak in to a w ell-g u ard ed camp and ca p tu re a
p riz e d h o rse t i e d i n a c o r r a l . Such p riz e d horses were
u s u a lly watched c a r e f u l l y and i t was no easy t r i c k to cap
tu r e one. Second, a w a rrio r must have had to h is c r e d i t a
hand-to-hand encounter w ith an enemy In which he took the
enemy’s weapon. T h ird , he must hold the d i s t i n c t i o n of
having been th e f i r s t to touch the body of the f i r s t enemy
f e l l e d . This in v o lv ed the r i s k o f exposing o n e’s s e l f to
the c lo s e range of th e enemy who would s u re ly tr y to p r o te c t
th e f a l l e n w a rrio r from being s c a lp e d . F o u rth , a f t e r having
f u l f i l l e d th e se tlire e , he had to f u l f i l l the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y
of le a d in g a w ar-p a rty and r e tu r n in g w ith su c c e ss. I f they
were p u rsu ed ,' he was under o b l i g a tio n to sta y behind h is men
and to d e t e r th e enemy, even i f he had to f i g h t alone to the
f i n i s h and give h is men th e chance to g e t away.
To have f u l f i l l e d such req u irem en ts and become a
c h ie f was th e h ig h e s t i d e a l to the Crow, The c h ie f was g lo r
i f i e d . His co u n c il was sought. He was asked to name c h i l -
65
d re n . Songs were sung about him; s t o r y - t e l l e r s renum erated
h is many brave f e a t s . Even a f t e r d e a th h is name was p e r
p e tu a te d , Those who had deeds to th e amount of two or th re e
were reg ard ed as noblemen. The non-deed man was a common
man, b u t inasmuch as he was a w a rrio r he was co n sid ered a
good man. The man who had never gone on the w a r-p a th was
c o n sid ered a "woman". His fellowmen p i t i e d him; women i g
nored him.
Such slo g an s as th e se were o f te n made by old war
r i o r s and le a d e r s ; "My son, when o th e rs r e t r e a t , l e t them
t u r n around to see you f ig h t i n g th e enemy a l l a lo n e " . "Let
i t be s a id of you, ’he i s a f r a i d of old a g e ’ ".
I n every phase of w arfare th e re was the elem ent of
g lo ry and s p le n d o rÎ An outgoing w a r-p a rty would r i d e through
the camp and sing songs, accompanied by t h e i r fem ale a d m ire rs.
J u s t b e fo re th e charge on the enemy. In d iv id u a l songs (medi
c in e songs) were sung. At the moment of a t ta c k ch eers and
m u sical whoops (war-whoops) were e m itte d . R eturning v i c
t o r i o u s l y , a v ic to r y dance was h e ld — women sang, tom-toms
r e v e r b e r a te d , and old men le d w a rrio rs around, sin g in g p r a is e s
of them.
Such was th e n a tu re of t r i b a l m ilita r is m . War was
the main th re a d of th e Crow c u l t u r a l scheme. From b i r t h to
d e a th , th e male c h ild was exposed to m i l i t a r y i d e a l s . Soon
a f t e r a b i r t h , a renowned c h i e f t a i n would give the c h ild a
name In commemoration o f one of h is own w ar-deeds. The c h ild
66
was th u s giv en a p ro p h e tic name t h a t he might grow up to f u l
f i l l i t . This no doubt c a r r ie d immense p sy c h o lo g ic a l s ig
n if ic a n c e to th e growing c h i l d . Up to adolescence he was
tr a in e d f o r m i l i t a r y l i f e . His g ra n d fa th e r to ld him T o ries
of b rav e w a r r i o r s . His games were m i l i t a r y games; he im i
ta te d noted w a r r i o r s . His u n c le s p rep ared him fo r the
m i l i t i a through a t h l e t i c s p o r t s , n a tu re stu d y , and war games.
At the age of e ig h te e n he was co n sid ered a man, and expected
to go on th e w a r-p a th . In se a rc h of supreme m i l i t a r y prowess
th e re were th o se who sought s u p e rn a tu ra l powers i n the
th in g s o f n a tu re which were regarded as p o sse ssin g s p i r i t s
or s o u ls (animism). The f a s t was th e approach and appeal
to th e se powers, which i n t u r n belonged to the G reat S p i r i t
or th e "Bax-ba". Another approach to th e Great Power was
th rough th e Sun-dance. F a s te r s and d an cers of th e Sun-dance
ceremony who had e v e n tu a lly become s u c c e s s fu l war c h ie f s were
reg ard ed as m edicine men. They were re s p e c te d and t h e i r pro
t e c t i o n was sought and even bought by a s p i r a n t s .
The s o c ia l l i f e was co lo re d w ith m i l i t a r y them es.
M il ita r y clu b s held numerous d e m o n stra tio n s, song f e s t s , and
d ances. There were w ar-dances and v ic to r y - d a n c e s | th e re
were open forums i n which old c h i e f t a i n s r e l a t e d sonorously
and proudly t h e i r m i l i t a r y deeds.
W ith the coming of th e w h ite s , t h i s p a r t i c u l a r a sp e c t
of th e Crow s o c ie ty changed c o n s id e ra b ly . In the f i r s t p la c e .
67
th e game concept of war developed in to m alice and im p e ria l
ism , As v a s t I n d ia n t e r r i t o r i e s were tak en by the w h ite s ,
w arring t r i b e s were herded to g e th e r on l a s t f r o n t i e r s and
th e re occurred some very d is a s te ro iis b a t t l e s among th e d i f
f e r e n t t r i b e s . The Sioux who were f i r s t crowded out o f I l l i
n o is and th e n o u t of the D akotas, f i l t e r e d in to the Crow
country w ith every i n t e n t i o n of tak in g th e la n d . Many bloody
b a t t l e s o c c u rre d , the most memorable being th e Arrow Creek
B a ttl e of 1864, i n which l e s s th a n f iv e hundred Crow w a rrio rs
w ith sto o d and even d e fe a te d a t r i p l e a l l i a n c e o f about te n
thousand w a rrio rs (Sioux, Cheyennes, and A rapahoes),
Under th e c irc u m sta n c e s, th e Crows very d ip lo m a tic a lly
o ffe re d t h e i r s e rv ic e s to th e United S ta te s tro o p s when they
came a f t e r th e r e b e l l i o u s t r i b e s . When th e d u s t , smoke and
war-whoops of t r i b a l wars suddenly ceased about 1885, the
Crows had th e d i s t i n c t i o n of having caused no tro u b le to th e
w h ite s . The sudden c e s s a t i o n o f war a c t i v i t i e s was a shock
to the Crow. They were j i l t e d s o c i a l l y , r e l i g i o u s l y , and other-
vfise, f o r war to them was th e i d e a l , the e x p re s s io n of t r i b a l
l i f e ! The Government to ld them to bury th e tomahawk. This
they d id e a s i l y enough, b u t when they were to ld to cease
th e Sun-dance, th e W ar-dance, and o th e r m i l i t a r i s t i c custom s,
i t was indeed a d i f f e r e n t th in g ! They were wounded c u l t u r a l l y .
Today th e honor system o f war i s no more. As a r e s u l t
much of th e i n t e r e s t i n t r i b a l honor and i n t e g r i t y i s l o s t .
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The I d e a ls to which men a s p ir e to are very lim i t e d . Since
th e passin g of th e r e a l c h i e f t a i n s , th e re a re no more c h i e f
t a i n s i n th e t r i b e . Songs and dances which were th e e x p re s s io n
of m i l i t a r y id e a lis m lik e w ise v an ish e d , and t r i b a l l i f e has
become r a t h e r d u l l .
A new sta n d a rd of honor has come i n to s ig n if ic a n c e i n
r e c e n t y e a rs . This i s th e "give-away" custom. A man’s, s o c ia l
s t a t u s and honor are measured by h is a b i l i t y to give away
p ro p e rty to fe llo w trib esm en and v i s i t o r s from o th e r t r i b e s .
In s te a d of war songs, "give-aw ay" songs a re now sung a t c e le
b r a t i o n s . The m ottoes now proclaim ed a re such as: "He i s
not a f r a i d to g iv e " ; " I t r y not to give my h o rses away, b u t
I f in d i t im p o ssib le ".
This custom i s econom ically sound, as w ell as unsound.
Through i t , w e a lth i s put i n t o continuous c i r c u l a t i o n and d i s
t r i b u t i o n . The needy a re provided f o r , and the hungry are
f e d . But on th e o th e r hand, the custom d e t e r s in d iv id u a l
g ains and accum ulation of w ea lth , such as the In d ia n Bureau
has been tr y in g to te a c h the In d ia n . I t i s not unusual to
f in d an In d ia n w ith o u t a team of h o rses because he had giv en
i t away to someone.
The In d ia n did not q u ic k ly f o r g e t h is m i l i t a r y i d e a l s .
There were th e s e id e a ls which were too deep ly interw oven in to
th e s o c i a l , economic, and r e l i g i o u s s t r u c t u r e s . Not so long
ago, sham b a t t l e s were o f t e n h e ld . Days were devoted to the
69
reenactm ent of the old m i l i t a r y a c t i v i t i e s , such as the
sin g in g o f songs the n ig h t b e fo re the d e p a rtu re of th e w ar-
p a r ty ; th e dancing of th e w ar-dance. A W ar-party would
le a v e a t n ig h t and r e t u r n th e next day supposedly v i c t o r i o u s .
The v i c t o r y dance was th e n h eld w ith as much re a lis m as were
the a c tu a l dances y e a rs b e f o r e . The day was f i l l e d w ith old
m i l i t a r y club and c la n dances and v a rio u s o th e r dem onstra
t i o n s . The supposed hero was p ra is e d w ith songs, d ances,
and f e a s t s . He would give many p re s e n ts to v i s i t o r s and to
th e needy. The sham b a t t l e has n o t been h eld i n re c e n t
y e a rs . The old w a rrio rs a re now too old to tak e an a c tiv e
p a r t , and th e young people a re not i n t e r e s t e d .
A ll i n a l l , the change from th e rig o ro u s m i l i t a r y
l i f e to a peaceable one was not sim ple. The trib esm en were
s o c i a l l y and r e l i g i o u s l y l o s t fo r aw h ile. They are now be
ginning to emerge from th e sudden tu rm o il, and are r a p id ly
make commendable ad ju stm e n ts.
C hapter V il
SPECIAL REORGANIZATION : TRIBAL COURT SYSTEM
Up to t h i s p o in t our study of the s o c i a l changes
has in clu d ed th o se t h a t have been g e n e ra l, g ra d u a l, and
q u ite n a t u r a l . From time to tim e m ention i s made of the
workings and e f f e c t s of c e r t a i n p o l i c i e s which th e Bureau
of In d ia n A f f a ir s has advocated. This c h a p te r i s devoted
e n t i r e l y to th e study of one major program o f th e In d ia n
Bureau, inasmuch as such a b ig and im p o rtan t program has
never been advocated i n such a manner b e f o r e . Among o th e r
New Deal p o l i c i e s which the p r e s e n t a d m in is tr a tio n has de
v is e d , was th e e s ta b lish m e n t of a R e se rv a tio n Court System.
B efore we analyze t h i s c o u rt system , i t i s p e r t i
nent t h a t we know something about th e I n d ia n ’ s own system
of laws and r e g u l a t i o n s , as w e ll as what p o l i c i e s th e Bureau
of In d ia n A ff a irs has pursued i n th e m a tte r of law and order
i n th e r e s e r v a tio n .
Other th in g s being e q u a l, i t may be sa id a t the
o u ts e t t h a t th e re was very l i t t l e crime i n th e Crow t r i b e
b e fo re th e coming of th e w hite man. Because of c o n s ta n t
wars th e t r i b e was s o l i d l y u n ita r y . The few r u l e s of s a f e
ty and s o l i d a r i t y were n a t u r a l l y obeyed, and when laws were
obeyed punishment was no lo n g e r n e c e ss a ry . I t i s the o p in io n
of In d ia n Agents and those i n a u t h o r it y on In d ia n s , t h a t th e
71
I n d ia n ’s own d e f i n i t i o n o f crime i s meager and sim ple i n
com parison w ith t h a t of th e w h ite man’s . This b rin g s I n
th e q u e s tio n of com parison between th e concepts of crime
which th e two peoples hold. N otw ithstanding the many d e f i
n i t i o n s , crime i n th e w hite man’s s o c ie ty may be worded
as th e v i o l a t i o n of those m oral, s o c ia l and economic p r i n c i
p le s which s o c ie ty has e s ta b li s h e d f o r i t s s a f e t y , peace,
and i n t e r n a l harmony. This concept im p lie s t h a t crime i s a
p ro d u ct of c i v i l i z a t i o n ; i t i s purposive a c t ; i t i s an i n
t e l l i g e n t and p r o f e s s io n a liz e d type o f a c t i v i t y , because
i t must n e c e s s a r ily work i n and a g a in s t a w e ll planned o rd e r
o f th in g s . Such a d e f i n i t i o n i s not r e a d i l y a p p lic a b le to
th e In d ia n crim e. The d if f e r e n c e i s w ide, as i t can be
sensed i n th e fo llo w in g d e f i n i t i o n of crime according to
th e In d ia n : crime i s t h a t which tends to f o s t e r p e rso n a l
a n im o sity , and a t th e same tim e endanger th e t r i b e . This
d e f i n i t i o n means t h a t crime i s an i r r a t i o n a l and i n c i d e n t a l
a c t , lim ite d i n i t s scope of a c t i v i t y because of the com
p a r a t iv e s i m p lic ity of th e c u l t u r e p a t t e r n of th e t r i b e .
In d ia n crime a t b e s t was nothing more th a n a t o r t .
In c lo s e c o n n e ctio n w ith t h i s d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n i s th e
q u e s tio n of crim e c o n tro l and punishm ent. To be s u re , th e
methods used by the tw^o groups are e n t i r e l y u n lik e . The
w hite man has developed along w ith o th e r c u l t u r a l compli
c a tio n s d e f i n i t e means of crim e c o n tro l and punishment and
72
th e In d ia n has n o t. In th e In d ia n s o c i e t y , o ffe n se s were
d e a l t w ith in fo rm a lly and e x c lu s iv e ly , t h a t i s , persons i n
volved i n a d isagreem ent or m isunderstanding would s e t t l e
th e m a tte r between th e m selv es. There w ere, however, a few
p u n itiv e m easures,
(MAJOR CRIMES)
According to th e d e f i n i t i o n s t a t e d above th e re are
suggested two c la s s e s of c rim in a l o f fe n s e s , t o r t and c i v i l
( t r i b a l ) . The major crim es of th e t r i b e c o n s titu t e d th o se
a c ts which tended to f o s t e r p erso n a l a n im o sity .
Murder
Murder, whether i t was a c c id e n ta l or n o t, was con
s id e re d th e w o rst crim e. The s e ttle m e n t and judgment of
such a case r e s te d n o t i n the hands of a ju d ic ia ry body,
b u t e n t i r e l y i n th e hands of th e p a r t i e s in v o lv e d . I t was
a p e rso n a l a f f a i r . In s p i t e of t h r e a t s to take th e mur
d e r e r ’s l i f e , th e u s u a l s e ttle m e n t was r e s t i t u t i o n . Armed
vengeance was never s u c c e s s f u lly r e s o r t e d t o , as th e keeper
of th e P eace-pipe would in te rc e d e and ask the- p a r t i e s to
smoke th e sacred pipe and i n v i t e peace. The P eace-pipe was
never re fu s e d as i t was taboo to re fu s e i t when o f f e re d .
N otw ithstanding th e loose system of crime laws and
c o n t r o l, th e murder r a t e i n th e old Crow t r i b e was v ery low.
There was not much in c e n tiv e f o r murder. Because o f the sm all
s iz e of th e t r i b e , people a l l knew each o th e r and th e re was
n o t much room f o r m isunderstanding which would le a d to murder.
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S te a lin g
S te a lin g was another major o ffe n s e . I t involved
in d iv id u a ls i n u n p le a sa n t c irc u m sta n c e s , and t h a t i s the
im p o rta n t th i n g . When a p erso n found a l o s t a r t i c l e of h is
i n th e p o s s e s s io n of an o th er p e rso n , he would stra ig h tw ay
accuse him and re c o v e r th e a r t i c l e ; th e n he would l e t th e
c u l p r i t go or p u n ish him by flo g g in g him and c o n f is c a tin g
h i s p r o p e rty .
Very l i t t l e s te a l i n g p r e v a ile d . T rib a l g re g a rio u s
ness was such t h a t the in d iv id u a l would r i s k nothing t h a t
would arouse p u b lic enmity a g a in s t him. There could not be
any o ffe n se s committed a g a in s t th e t r i b e , f o r th e re was no
t r i b a l p ro p e r ty . As a m a tte r of f a c t , th e re was not much
to s t e a l anyway.
A dultery
A d u lte ry , unlaw ful elopem ent, and any a l i e n a t i o n
of a f f e c t i o n s which led to th e d i s s o l u t i o n of a m a rriag e ,
was co n sid ered very bad. A dultery on th e p a r t o f th e w ife
Vvas th e g r a v e s t of th e s e . In t h i s case the in -law s would
pu n ish h er and her lo v e r by flo g g in g or o th e rw ise , as w ell
as c o n f is c a te th e household of th e i n t r u d e r . In v a ria b ly
p u b lic condemnation would f a l l upon them.
S lander
The in d iv id u a l Crow would not stan d up f o r a moment
a g a in s t an ad v erse p u b lic or even p r i v a t e o p in io n of him.
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To belong to th e t r i b e was th e i d e a l and a man would not r i s k
e x p u lsio n ; th e r e f o r e i t was not s u r p r is in g t h a t in d iv id u a ls
r e b e l l e d v ig o ro u sly a g a in s t any remarks t h a t would tend to
i n j u r e t h e i r s t a t u s i n the t r i b e .
Slander in v a r ia b ly brought persons in to c o n f l i c t ,
A p erso n being sla n d e re d would be j u s t as enraged as i f h is
beloved was k i l l e d . He would im m ediately r e t a l i a t e v e r b a lly
and would even vow to k i l l , the o ffe n d e r. Many an offended
p erso n had to be approached w ith th e sacred p ip e , l e s t he
i n j u r e th e o ffe n d e r. A sla n d e r was not e a s i l y f o r g o t t e n nor
fo rg iv e n . The Crows were very s e n s i t i v e about t h e i r fam ily
hon o r, and any sla n d e r d ir e c te d towards o n e ’s fam ily was
indeed grave.
Aside from th e se major crim e s, th e re were o th e r
of fe n se s which were not so #%ve nor c o n s e q u e n tia l. I f a man
committed a major crim e people would say , "he d id something
b a d ", b u t i f h is o ffe n s e were a minor one, people would say,
" h is a c t i s u n fo rtu n a te and u n p le a s a n t" . In the minor o f
fe n s e s we f in d r e l i g i o u s taboos i n c lo s e r e l a t i o n s h i p w ith
p u re ly s o c i a l r u l e s . There were a number of m i l i t a r y r u l e s ,
b u t no economic r u l e s . At b e s t th e se o ffe n se s were g e n e ra lly
u n d ersto o d to be p re c a u tio n s and ex p ed ien ts and were adhered
to r a t h e r i n s t i n c t i v e l y ,
(THE PROCESS OF CIVILIZING INDIANS)
The Crows assumed r e s e r v a t i o n l i f e i n 1872. The
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fo llo w in g t h i r t y y e a r s , th e Government made no s in c e re
atte m p t to d r a f t any system of law and order t h a t would be
p r a c t i c a l to th e ways and customs of th e In d ian s as they
assumed c i v i l i a n l i f e . The p e rs o n a l a t t i t u d e s and d e c is io n s
o f th e Agent were th e law s.
To be s u r e , th e In d ia n s u f fe re d u n to ld h a rd sh ip s
and m isu n d ersta n d in g s, under such a system of management.
The Agents were not always sy m p a th etic; they executed t h e i r
ta s k o f c i v i l i z i n g th e t r i b e w ith cold and m i l i t a r y p r e c i
s io n . They decreed outrageous and numerous law s. No d o u b t,
they had good i n t e n t i o n s b u t t h e i r very methods re ta rd e d
and o b s tr u c te d th e ends to which they were employed.
I t was not u n t i l 1904 t h a t th e Government e s ta b li s h e d
a system of law and o rd er i n the r e s e r v a t i o n , known as th e
1904 r e g u l a t i o n s . The iro n y of i t was th a t t r i b a l customs
and t r a d i t i o n s were f u r t h e r p r o h ib ite d . I t s p ro v is io n s were
p l a i n e d i c t s . S e c tio n 4 provided: "The Sun-dance and a l l
o th e r s im ila r dances and s o - c a lle d r e l i g i o u s cerem onies,
s h a l l be co n sid ered " In d ia n o f f e n s e s " , and any In d ia n found
g u i l t y of being a p a r t i c i p a n t i n any one or more of th e se
o ffe n s e s s h a l l be p u n ish ed ". S e c tio n 6 says: "The u s u a l
p r a c t i c e o f s o - c a lle d m edicine men s h a l l be co n sid ered
In d ian o f f e n s e s " . P ro v is io n No. 586, i n a word, means t h a t
In d ian s s h a l l not make v i s i t a t i o n s to o th e r r e s e r v a t i o n s .
I t does n o t ta k e a seasoned p s y c h o lo g is t to see
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th e f a l l a c i e s of such d i r e c t e d i c t s . They d e f e a t t h e i r
very purpose. B efore long the 1904 r e g u la tio n s became ob
s o l e t e and hindersom e. I n th e fa c e of new c o n d itio n s , and
new In d ia n s . For one th in g , th e system was one s id e d , so
to speak; i t fo rb a d e b u t d id not p r o t e c t . Lav/ meant to
th e In d ian s a r r e s t and im prisonm ent.
(1934 LAW AND ORDER REGULATIONS)
As has been em phasized, the 1904 r e g u la tio n s was
s h o rt liv e d and was of no p r a c t i c a l use d u rin g most of the
y e a rs of i t s e x i s te n c e . The 1936 Law and Order could not
have come a t any b e t t e r time th an i t d i d . In com parison
w ith th e old system i t took th e form of a d e f i n i t e j u r i s
pru d en ce, whereas th e form er system was i n the form o f
a u t o c r a t i c d e c re e s . I t s main purpose i s "to provide ade
quate machinery of law enforcem ent f o r th o se In d ia n t r i b e s
i n which t r a d i t i o n a l ag en cie s fo r th e enforcem ent of t r i b a l
law and custom have been broken down and f o r which no ade
quate s u b s t i t u t e has been provided under F e d e ra l or S ta te
Law". ^
The unique th in g about t h i s setu p i s i t s c lo s e r e
l a t i o n s h i p w ith th e s t a t e j u r i s d i c t i o n , co n c u rre n t r a t h e r
th a n e x c lu s iv e . This means t h a t b o th th e F ed eral or S ta te
C ourts have j u r i s d i c t i o n over th e same o ffe n s e s enumerated
f o r th e In d ia n C o u rts. The im p o rtan t th in g , as f a r as the
^1936 Law and Order R e g u latio n s (110240), Bureau of In d ia n
A f f a i r s , Washington, D.C. p. 1.
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Crows a re concerned, i s t h a t a d e f i n i t e and com plete l e g a l
system has been e s ta b lis h e d w ith th e c o u rt as th e n u cleu s.
R egular c o u rt pro ced u res a re d e f in e d . Whereas- th e re was no
ju ry system a t a l l under th e 1904 r e g u l a t i o n s , the new system
d e f i n i t e l y p ro v id es f o r t r i a l by jury p ro c e d u re s , The a p p o in t
ment, term , and g e n e ra l d u tie s of judges and o th e r o f f i c i a l s
a re a ls o p r e s c r ib e d . The o ffe n s e s enumerated a re a p p ro p ria te
and i n c l u s i v e , t h a t i s , they a re c a r e f u l l y c o d ifie d and made
a p p lic a b le to th e p e c u lia r and common c i i a r a c t e r i s t i c s of
th e In d ia n . The o ffe n s e s a re not haphazardly l i s t e d j u s t
because they are commonly reco g n ized as wrongs and crim es.
I t i s u n fo rtu n a te t h a t a crime r a t e curve cannot be
made by comparing th e re c o rd s of a d ju d ic a tio n s under th e
two under th e two systems of law and o rd e r. There a re no
o f f i c i a l rec o rd s a,vailable under th e 1904 regim e. One th in g ,
however, i s obvious. By th e v ery n a tu re of th e two system s,
th e re i s , and should b e , a d e f i n i t e in c re a s e of crime com
m ittm ents shown under the 1936 s e tu p . In th e f i r s t p la c e ,
i t c o n ta in s t h i r t y - s i x d i f f e r e n t o f fe n s e s , w hile th e re were
only a dozen enumerated in th e old system . Secondly, th e
re c o rd in g o f committments, as w e ll as a d ju d ic a tio n s , was
haphazard under th e f i r s t system of law. Both th e Agent
and th e U nited S ta te s M arshall d e a l t w ith o ffe n d e rs i n t h e i r
own way. The new law system has been very e f f i c i e n t i n i t s
re c o r d in g s .
78
This seem ingly in c re a s e d crime r a t e i s f u r th e r
augmented by a p e c u lia r developm ent. Although i t concerns
th e In d ia n s d i r e c t l y , i t does not mean t h a t they have a c t u a l l y
become c r i m i n a l i s t i c . I t means t h a t th e Crows have sud
denly become law c o n sc io u s. This "law c o n sc io u sn e ss” has
been q u ite an epidem ic. For every l i t t l e co n tro v e rsy and
m isunderstanding a com plaint i s im m ediately f i l e d . The
magnitude of com plaints f i l e d and th e number of l e g a l b a t t l e s
b rought to c o u rt a re d i r e c t l y due to th e f a c t t h a t many of
th e o ffe n s e s l i s t e d i n th e Law and Order R eg u latio n s are
of such n a tu re t h a t th e In d ia n i s a b le to magnify them.
H ith e rto common and le g i t i m a t e n a tiv e customs a re e a s i l y
c o n stru ed to the temper of crim e s, and consequently an ab
normal s i t u a t i o n i s b ro u g h t about.
Whether th e p re s e n t g e n e ra tio n of Crows i s becoming
more c r i m i n a l i s t i c or n o t, i t i s tr u e t h a t the Crow i s more
exposed to c rim in a l avenues to d ay . He i s prone to be r e
moved from h is n a tiv e laws of i n t e g r i t y and honor, and con
se q u e n tly has l i t t l e r e s t r a i n t . The o ld e r In d ian s have
p a s s iv e ly accepted th e laws of w hite men and have remained
s i l e n t , b u t th e younger ones a re r e a c tio n a r y . They are
n ot a f r a i d o f w hite men nor t h e i r law s. Some d e l i b e r a t e l y
c o u rt th e law i n o rd er to prove to them selves and t h e i r
fe llo w trib esm en t h a t they are "e d u cated ” and can e a s i l y
b e a t the law . But t h e i r meager e d u c a tio n i s n e ith e r ample
nor w e ll-b a la n c e d enough to give them success i n t h e i r
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n e fa rio u s schemes, nor to keep them e n t i r e l y out of tr o u b le .
O ften th ey f a l l in to th e hands of w hite men whose r e l a t i o n
sh ip w ith them i s not always on th e l e v e l of decency and
r ig h te o u s n e s s .
Be t h a t as i t may, th e re a re d e f i n i t e i n d ic a t io n s
t h a t w hile th e Crow In d ia n of today i s more c rim in a l th a n
th e In d ia n of the o ld e r g e n e ra tio n , he i s as y e t f a r l e s s
c rim in a l th a n h is p a le -fa c e d b r o th e r .
Chapter V l l l
CONCEPTS OF THE W ORLD AND UNIVERSE
The pre-G aucaslon Crow was not a p h ilo s o p h e r. He
was a pragm atic o p p o r tu n is t. That i s to sa y , i f th e th in g s
he p reeeiv ed worked, they are t r u e . He d id not q u e s tio n
th e why of th in g s i n n a tu re nor i n th e m etap h y sical realm .
While th e r e was a la c k of pure p h ilo s o p h ie s , th e re
a re today legends and myths from which we may draw mere i n
f e re n c e s of th e world and u n iv e rs e concepts which th e old
Crows h e ld . According to le g e n d s, b efo re th e re was a world
th e re was nothing b u t w a te r, ^ F irst-m ak er" made stro n g
m edicine and c r e a te d th e world from a m outhful of mud which
was brought from th e bottom of th e w ater by a lu c k . F i r s t -
maker made n ex t r i v e r s , t r e e s , p l a n t s , and m ountains. Before
he even c r e a te d any anim als and men, a coyote howled. I t
was a lre a d y i n e x is te n c e . F irs t-m a k e r was s t a r t l e d , b u t
was not too s u r p r i s e d , as he rem arked, "That i s a power of
I t s e l f , He w i l l always b e " , (The coyote i s a famous
leg en d ary c h a ra c te r d e s c rib e d as an in c a r n a tio n ; i t s human
form i s c a lle d Old-man c o y o te, and i t s anim al c h a ra c te r is
" s h e - la - p a " , th e c o y o te .) F irs t-m a k e r incu b ated the f i r s t
men i n a hollow lo g . As they crawled o u t, Old-man coyote
was th e re to a d m in is te r unto them. He opened t h e i r eyes fo r
them and ta u g h t them a few th in g s .
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There are a number of myths about an "above w orld",
A g i r l clim bed a t r e e a f t e r a porcupine and a t l a s t ascended
unto th e Above V/orld, She e v e n tu a lly m arried th e c h ie f of
the Above P eople, th e Sun, and was l a t e r retu rn ed to the
e a r t h f o r v i o l a t i n g a ta b o o . Two m ischievous boys were
abducted by Chief Long-arms of th e Above World, because
they d e s tro y e d many e v i l anim als which th e c h ie f had placed
on t h i s w orld. R e so rtin g to pow erful magic the two boys made
t h e i r escape dov/n to e a r t h r id in g on th e grove of a magic
arrov/. Long-arms sought to r e t r i e v e them, b u t as he was
about to grab them w ith h is l e f t hand, th e boys s tr u c k h is
hand w ith a magic to r c h and burned the f o r e f in g e r o f f . Today
a group of s t a r s (P le ia d e s ) a re i d e n t i f i e d as th e l e f t hand
of Long-arms, w ith th e f o r e f in g e r m issin g .
There i s a ls o an o th er myth about a group of s t a r s
c a lle d th e Seven S ta r s (G reat D ip p e r), These were p e rso n
i f i e d as seven b r o th e r s who had once liv e d i n t h i s w orld,
b u t had transform ed them selves in t o s t a r s . B esides th e se
two groups o f s t a r s o th e r prom inent s t a r s , liz^e th e North
S ta r and Mars, a re re co g n ize d . The Sun was p e r s o n if ie d as
" f a th e r " and " g r a n d f a th e r" . The moon v^as regarded as a
symbol of grow th.
Now what are th e v/orld and th e u n iv e rs e b e l i e f s of
th e In d ia n s to d a y , a f t e r th e s e many y e a rs of exposure to
W estern id e a s ? I t was tr u e t h a t th e In d ia n v ery r e a d i l y
accep ted th e modern d e v ic e s which th e w hite men b ro u g h t, b u t
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he was not e q u a lly anxious to acce p t the id e a s and b e l i e f s
which th e w hite men a ls o b ro u g h t, Vfhenever he was fo rc e d
to conform to W estern mores he d id so , b u t f o r th e most p a r t
he never f o rg o t h is own concepts of s o c i a l and r e l i g i o u s
e t h i c s . By no means, however, was th e In d ian in v u ln e ra b le
i n t h i s r e s p e c t . The o u t r i g h t d e s t r u c t i o n of h i s m a te r ia l
c u l tu r e by th e in v a d e rs sooner or l a t e r a f f e c te d h is p u rely
e t h i c a l , r e l i g i o u s , and p h ilo s o p h ic a l d o c t r in e s ; and, con
s e q u e n tly , he e i t h e r accep ted t o t a l l y W estern id e a s and more
to h is u n d e rsta n d in g , or e l s e h is s k e p t i c a l l y accep ted a
h y b rid iz e d s e t of p h ilo s o p h ie s , which were u s u a lly bad.
I t would be f o l l y to tak e tn e word of m is s io n a rie s
t h a t th e Crows are now a l l C h r i s t i a n s , j u s t as i t would be
f o l l y to w holly agree w ith newspaper e th n o lo g is ts who would
d e s c r ib e p re s e n t In d ia n s as s t i l l v ery p r i m i t i v e , p r a c t ic in g
w eird and stra n g e r i t u a l s . I t i s not easy to say t h a t a
t r i b e i s d e f i n i t e l y t h i s or t h a t . N otw ithstanding i t s sm all
s i z e , th e Crow t r i b e i s very d i v e r s i f i e d i n i t s forms of
r e l i g i o n and p h ilo s o p h ie s . Some In d ia n s b e lie v e t h a t th e
h e r e a f t e r i s j u s t an o th er p la c e where a l l the dead convene;
some c rin g e w ith f e a r t h a t th e re i s b e s id e s th e happy-hunting
ground, a bad p la c e which th e m is s io n a rie s c a l l " h e l l " .
While some u n d ersta n d and a p p r e c ia te the s c i e n t i f i c ex plana
tio n s of th e cosmos i n terms of th e Nebular and th e P l a n e t e s i -
mal t h e o r i e s . Quantum th e o ry . C o n serv atio n of energy, e t c . ,
th e re a re some who have profound f a i t h i n the old id e a s . Then
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th e re are th o se who do not know vvhat to b e l i e v e , and f u r t h e r
more do n o t c a re at a ll.
Be t h a t as i t may, we s h a l l not a tte m p t to l i n k th e se
r e l l g i o u s and p h ilo s o p h ic a l b e l i e f s , thoughts and d o c trin e s
to the a c t u a l l i f e of th e Crows today; nor s h a l l we i n f e r ,
much l e s s a ttem p t to show, t h a t th e s e th e se th in g s are b a s ic
to the s o - c a lle d In d ia n problem s. However r i c h a f i e l d i t
i s f o r th e s o c i a l p h ilo s o p h e r, i t seems f u t i l e to expend
o n e ’s time and energy on such a q u e s tio n a t t h i s tim e.
PART I I I
RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHIES
Chapter IX
THE NATURE OF LIFE
The world i n which th e old Crow trib esm en wandered
p a l p i t a t e d w ith l i f e . There was a v i t a l p r i n c i p l e p re s e n t
in Inanim ate o b j e c t s , in p l a n t s , and i n anim als t h a t was
conceived to be d iv in e ly more pow erful than human f a c u l t i e s .
Of a l l th e s e forms o f l i f e th e Crow was wont to th in k th a t
he h im s e lf (human b ein g s) ""was not b le s s e d w ith in h e re n t
s u p e rn a tu r a l powers. C onsequently, he sought to a l i g n him
s e l f w ith th o se p la n ts and anim als t h a t p o ssessed m agical
powers.
Inanim ate o b je c ts
The o r i g i n of rocks and sto n e s was f a n t a s t i c a l l y
leg en d ary to the Crow trib e sm e n . However, they had no o th e r
concepts and were not p a r t i c u l a r l y w orried about such a
la c k of u n d e rsta n d in g . According to th e le g en d , the o r i g i n a l
rock was a v ery la rg e one, p e r f e c t l y round. I t was i n v i n c i
b le to a l l th e an im als, as i t could r o l l over them and c ru sh
them. I t met i t s f a t e one day. A l i t t l e b ir d flew over i t
and w ith m agical power blew i t in to fragm ents which s c a tte r e d
a l l over th e w orld.
Rocks and sto n e s were o f te n th e o b je c ts of f e tis h is m ,
e s p e c i a lly th o se of unusual ap p e aran c es, which were b e lie v e d
to be a l i v e . As a m a tte r of f a c t , th e re was nothing t h a t
85
was e n t i r e l y devoid of l i f e or t h a t could n o t become a n i-
msited. Even a prom inent m ountain v/as p e r s o n if ie d and given
a p e rso n a l name, and i t was not unusual t h a t a man would
d e i f y a p a r t i c u l a r peak. A supposedly la rg e b la c k b ir d w ith
only tw^o to e s , alth o u g h never seen a c t u a l l y , was regarded
as th e maker of lig h t n in g and th u n d e r. Under u n u su al c i r
cum stances th e b u f fa lo s k u l l was - sometimes reg ard ed w ith
d iv in e esteem . Such was the case of E a rth e n -lo d g e . When
h is h o rse stumbled over a h a l f b u rie d s k u l l he heard i t
u t t e r a word. A fterw ards he worshipped i t as h is totem .
As has been mentioned a lre a d y , the moon, sun, and some
prom inent s t a r s were accorded proper r e s p e c t and v e n e ra tio n .
P la n ts
To th e Crow a l l th in g s t h a t grow from the s o i l were
endowed w ith some "B ax-be", the G reat Power. Man could know
and u t i l i z e such fo rc e s not by i n t e l l e c t b u t only th rough
d iv in e r e v e l a t i o n . Wot a l l could re c e iv e r e v e l a t i o n ; nor
were a l l v i s i t e d by sacred an im als. To th e o rd in a ry man,
th e herbs held no s p e c ia l s i g n i f i c a n c e . To th e m edicine
man, who re c e iv e d d iv in e r e v e l a t i o n , c e r t a i n p la n ts became
very s a c re d . He knew how to p rep are such herbs to remedy
i l l s , as w ell as how to use them f o r o th e r p u rp o ses.
Over and above th e im portance o f in d iv id u a l p la n t -
to te m s, th e re was a t r i b a l p la n t-g o d , " I - c h i - j a " , comiEonly
c a lle d to b a cco by m is ta k e . I t was supposed to have b een
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g iv en to th e t r i b e as a p r o te c to r and b e n e fa c to r by. the
Seven S t a r s . Every sp rin g the ceremony o f p la n tin g th e
"I-c h i-g a " " w a s h e ld .
Animal L ife
The b e a s ts t h a t liv e d on th e ground, in th e a i r ,
and i n th e w ater were lik e w ise c r e d i te d as p o sse ssin g t a l i s -
manic e f f i c a c y . The Crow never e x p lo ite d them; he thought
of them as h is b r o th e r s and h e lp e r s . He sought to a l i g n
h im s e lf w ith them.
As to th e o r i g i n of th e anim als i t was a l l le g e n d a ry .
F irs t-m a k e r c re a te d some, and C hief Long-arms of th e Above
World a ls o p laced some on t h i s w o rld . N e v e rth e le s s, anim als
were reg ard ed as m a g ic a lly c r e a te d by some Magic Person;
t h e r e f o r e , they a ls o possessed m agic. They were regarded
as more pow erful th a n men. They could l i v e w ith o u t f i r e ,
w ith o u t c l o th e s , and a lo n e .
The anim als were regarded as devoid of s p i r i t s
(so u ls) a f t e r d e a th ; only w hile they liv e d did they possess
Bax-be. The a lb in o b is o n viras s a c re d . I t had more Bax-be
th a n th e o rd in a ry b is o n , and was u s u a lly s l a i n and o ffe re d
to th e sun as a s a c r i f i c e . The horned toad h eld more s i g
n if ic a n c e to th e Crows th an any o th e r anim al. The l i t t l e
r e p t i l e v/as reg ard ed as a"good m e d icin e", and was never
abused. In t h i s case we see th e n e a r e s t th in g to a t r i b a l
totem .
Human l i f e 87
The old Grow sages had no p h ilo s o p h ic a l ex p lan a
t i o n as to th e b i o l o g i c a l e v o lu tio n o f man. T ales i n t h e i r
w ild e s t c o n n o ta tio n s i n f e r w ith p o e t i c a l metaphor t h a t man
was d iv in e ly c r e a te d . He was made to be bo rn i n a hollow
lo g ; he was a beaver b e fo re he wandered away from th e r i v e r
and became a man.
Concerning h is p h y s ic a l body, he knew and had a
name f o r a l l th e im p o rta n t o rg an s. B ut, as might be ex
p e c te d , h is id e a s as to th e f u n c tio n of c e r t a i n i n t e r n a l
organs were not e x a c tly i n l i n e w ith th e l a t e s t s c i e n t i f i c
books. To th e Crow, the h e a r t was not only th e r e c e p ta c le
o f th e em otions, b u t a ls o of th e w i l l and re aso n . The word
" h e a rt" was synonymously used w ith th e i n t e l l e c t u a l pro
c e s s e s . The man w ith a f l i g h t of id e a s was d e s c rib e d as a
man whose " h e a r t never ru n s i n a s t r a i g h t c o u rse ". The man
w ith s e t id e a s was r e f e r r e d to as one w hose"heart i s h a rd " .
The r a t i o n a l man, th e i n t e l l e c t u a l , was d e s c rib e d as having
a "pow erful h e a r t " .
The b r a i n was not a s s o c ia te d w ith re a s o n in g . The
m en tally d e f i c i e n t were thought of as charmed by e v i l
s p i r i t s , or as v ic tim iz e d by s o r c e r e r s . However, when a gen
e r a t i o n of a fam ily had numerous cases of i n s a n i t y , i t was
regarded i n th e ca te g o ry of a co n tag io u s a f f l i c t i o n t h a t
was h e r e d i t a r y . Though ig n o ra n t of th e p ro cesses of p ro
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c r e a t i o n and th e workings of h e r e d i ty , th e Crows d e f i n i t e l y
b e lie v e d i n th e tra n s m u ta tio n o f t r a i t s . Inasmuch as l i k e
b e g e ts l i k e . Even th e t e n t h g e n e ra tio n was mentioned i n
th e d ia g n o sin g of o n e ’s genealogy.
Not a l l sic k n e ss e s and i l l s were a t t r i b u t e d to su p e r
n a t u r a l c a u s e s , such as s o r c e ry , v i o l a t i o n of ta b o o s, e t c . .
V arious d is e a s e s were re c o g n iz e d , and rem edies were not
always in th e form of w eird in c a n ta tio n s and dancing ab o u t.
The pneumonic’s b lo o d - c lo tte d lung was d ra in e d and k e p t open
through minor s u rg e ry . Acute i n d i g e s t i o n was q u ic k ly r e
lie v e d . To be s u r e , th e r e were a ls o some wrong id e a s . For
example, t u b e r c u lo s is was th o u g h t to be a sour and r o t t e n
c o n d itio n of th e stomach. The one whose system was i n a
poisonous c o n d itio n because o f sp le e n tr o u b le or something
e l s e , was made to bleed h e a v ily . The s y p h i l i t i c woman was
p rev en ted from b ea rin g c h i l d r e n , tiirough a b o r tio n .
No m a tte r how p r im itiv e a group may be i t always
has some s o c i a l p h ilo s o p h ie s , e i t h e r i n th e form of c o n c re te
customs or i n th e form of vague p r i n c i p l e s which go to make
th e group a going concern, conscious of i t s e l f , and anxious
to p e rp e tu a te i t s e l f . Many customs have been d e s c rib e d , b u t
to s t a t e th e Crow’s s o c i a l n a tu re i n a word, i t i s h is d e s ir e
to rem ain a member of th e t r i b e . His l i f e was f o r th e t r i b e ,
which was th e im portant t h in g . In c lo s e co n n e ctio n w ith h is
s o c ia l n a tu re was h i s h ig h ly r e l i g i o u s moral n a tu re . He
89
aimed to l i v e i n such a way as to deserve benevolence of
th e powers t h a t b e. His system was sim ple— to “ l i v e as c lo se
to n a tu re as p o s s i b l e . He was i n harmony w ith i t more than
be was n o t. In b o th t h i s s o c i a l and r e l i g i o u s o u tlo o k ,
d e te rm in a tio n was p r e s e n t. The g r e a t p a r t of h is b e h a v io r,
o v e rt or c o v e rt, was to him p re-d ete rm in ed by th e G reat
Power and the l i t t l e powers.
The a n c ie n t Crow had d e f i n i t e id e a s as to what he
reg ard ed as h is s p i r i t u a l l i f e . He b e lie v e d t h a t w hile he
liv e d on t h i s e a r t h he was devoid of a s u p e r n a tu r a l, i n ta n
g i b l e , and s p i r i t u a l d o u b le, b u t t h a t as soon as he d ie d he
assumed an o th er e x is te n c e , t h a t of a s p i r i t or s o u l. This
so u l was tran sc en d ed in to an e t h e r e a l realm i n which camped
a l l th e dead Crov/s. Before th e s p i r i t made i t s f i n a l t r a n
scendence i t would s ta y near i t s former s e l f ’s grave f o r some
tim e . No doubt im a g in a tio n s and dreams of the Beyond gave
r i s e to such c o n c e p ts .
Such th in g s as a re now c a lle d i n t u i t i o n , f o r e s i g h t ,
subconscious id e a s , e t c e t e r a , were f i n e l y developed in to
pragm atic use by th e In d ia n . Perhaps i t i s tr u e t h a t the
In d ia n had no a b s t r a c t terms f o r such e n t i t i e s , n e v e r th e le s s ,
he had a m e tap h y sical awareness of them. His s p i r i t u a l l i f e
was so stro n g t h a t i t was o f te n and alm ost always more im
p o r ta n t th an h is f l e s h l y l i f e . He by no means, however, was
a s c e t i c ; he d id n o t meet l i f e p a s s iv e l y , b u t a c t i v e l y . He
90
sought to go alo n g , so to speak, where n a tu re was going,
which was by ho means à g e n tly way of l i f e . He v/ould say,
"V/hile I l i v e I c a rry on", meaning t h a t t h i s l i f e in th e
f l e s h was' i n c i d e n t a l to a n o th er l i f e h e r e a f t e r , where the
s p i r i t people were p a r t i c u l a r about th e r e p u t a t i o n newcomers
b ro u g h t. The coward who d id not d ie on th e b a t t l e f i e l d was
an o u tc a s t t h e r e , b u t the newcomer who had le d an a c tiv e l i f e
on the e a r t h and died w hile f i g h t i n g was ?;elcorned.
To d iagnose and e v a lu a te th e se old p r im itiv e con
c e p ts p h ilo s o p h ic a lly and p s y c h o lo g ic a lly would be i n t e r e s t i n g ,
b u t such i s n o t our ta s k i n t h i s p a p e r. Our i n t e r e s t i s to
see them f o r what they a re and to p o in t out the changes of
th e se co n cep ts s in c e th e coming of the w h ite s , w ithout
a ttem p tin g to d e s c rib e any new methods of d e a lin g w ith th e
In d ia n and h is problem s. While i t i s com paratively easy
to make c e r t a i n in fe re n c e s concerning the. changes i n th e
realm of th e economic and s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e s , t h a t i s not so
i n the f i e l d s of philosophy and r e l i g i o n .
N e v e rth e le s s , i t may be s a id i n c l o s i n g - t h i s c h a p te r
t h a t th e In d ia n i s s t i l l groping about i n a fog of co n fu sin g
and i n d i f f u s a b l e b e l i e f s , r e l i g i o u s id e a s , and p h ilo s o p h ie s .
To be su re he has n e i th e r d is c a rd e d nor adapted w estern
b e l i e f s t o t a l l y . I t must be remembered t h a t a t l e a s t h a l f
of the trib e s m e n today a re i l l i t e r a t e and t h a t they have no
ac ce ss to th e s o - c a lle d advanced id e a s of th e w hite man.
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T h ere fo re , th e y know only the t r a d i t i o n a l i d e a s , and they
make no weak e f f o r t to in c u l c a t e t h e i r b e l i e f s in to the minds
of th e growing g e n e r a tio n th ro u g h legends and s t o r i e s .
As f a r , a s th e p h ilo s o p h ic a l ou tlo o k i s concerned,
th e educated In d ia n ( i . e . , he who can re a d , w r i t e , and speak
E nglish) has no advantage over h is fe llo w trib esm en who are
known as un ed u cated . In th e f i r s t p la c e , he does not have
enough e d u c a tio n to f u l l y u n d e rsta n d As own p sy c h o lo g ic a l
and b i o l o g i c a l p ro c e sse s to l i f e and th e r e f o r e cannot f u l l y
enjoy a l i f e t h a t i s e n lig h te n in g , ex p an siv e, in te g r a te d and
r e a l . Along th e same l i n e of thought i s h is i n a b i l i t y to
in s p e c t and e v a lu a te p ro p e rly th e th in g s he i s to ld by h is
w hite f r i e n d s , m is s io n a r ie s , government o f f i c i a l s , and school
te a c h e r s . The r e s u l t i s t h a t h is l i f e i s c o n tr a d ic to r y and
somewhat c h a o tic ; h is p e r s o n a lity e a s ily warped and delu d ed .
Even e d u c a tio n i t s e l f i s r e t a r d e d .
Chapter X
RELIGION
The Crow r e l i g i o n was devoid of e t h i c s . I t was a
system of cerem onies i n which th e g races of th e G reat Mystery
were c o u rte d . The d e i t i e s , immanent of the G reat Power,
were not fe a re d b u t were sought w ith awe and a d o r a tio n .
The Crow sought to a l i g n h im s e lf w ith the d e i t i e s i n order
to g a in .a n i n s i g h t o f l i f e and to s a t i s f y h is sense of i n s u f f i
c ie n cy .
Such a r e l i g i o n was f a r removed from moral codes.
The common man and th e holy man were equal as f a r as the
moral, p r i n c i p l e s were concerned. As a t r i b e , th e Crows
never have had a u n if ie d r e l i g i o n i n which they vmrshipped
anom nipotent god (m ontheism ). R e lig io n was i n the form of
in d iv id u a l c u l t s i n which one of th e many gods was w orshipped.
The G reat S p i r i t concept
According to th e concept of the Grow, b e fo re th e re
were t r e e s , h i l l s , an im als, and even a w ûrld, th e r e was i n
th e b eginning Bax-be, th e power. Assuming a human form,
t h i s power c re a te d a l l l iv i n g t h i n g s , and i n s o f a r as he
c re a te d them he s u re ly must have bestovmd on them a c e r t a i n
amount o f h is pow erful magic. Man, h im self f e e l in g i n s u f f i
c i e n t , sought th e benevolence of th e s e th in g s t h a t possessed
power. He sought power i n in a n im ate o b j e c t s , p l a n t s , an im als.
9 3
and i n th e heavenly b o d ie s . I n due tim e, to h is p r im itiv e
th in k in g , th e s e n a t u r a l forms of l i f e became i n them selves
a l l- p o w e r f u l. He worshipped them d i r e c t l y . But i n tim es
of profound c r i s i s i n which h is p e rs o n a l god f a i l e d , he
c r ie d o u t, "Oh, f i r s t - m a k e r ! "
The d e i t i e s
Inasmuch a s th e a n c ie n t Crow was a c r e a tu r e of
psychology j u s t l i k e a l l o th e r groups of men, h is wrhole r e
l i g i o u s l i f e was r i c h l y im pregnated w ith psychology. His
manner o f approach to th e d e i t i e s , and h is manner of vf or ship
were based on psychology. There i s no doubt b u t t h a t th e
c h ild of n a tu re was a genius a t fin d in g gods. Through
r a t i o n a l i z a t i o n , p e rh a p s , he i d e n t i f i e d a c e r t a i n power in
something and would succeed i n o b ta in in g the same power v ia
th e m y stic approach. However we may e v a lu a te th e old I n d ia n ’s
r e l i g i o n , i t was v ery r e a l to him, and we must r e s p e c t h is
p o s i t i o n and d e s c r ib e h is r e l i g i o n as i t was.
In th e realm of th e in a n im a te , ro ck s and sto n e s t h a t
resem bled th e f e a t u r e s of anim als were reg ard ed as p o sse ssin g
sa cred and m agical p o te n c ie s c a lle d Bax-be. These sto n e s
were o f t e n f o s s i l i z e d m ussels and o th e r sp e c ie s of s h e lle d
an im a ls. The amount of v e n e ra tio n accorded such o b je c ts
was not very profound. I f they were found under o rd in a ry
circu m sta n ces they were regarded as good luck charms; b u t
i f found under u n u su al and m y s tic a l c irc u m sta n c e s , deeper
94
rev e re n c e was g iv en to them, and many were even regarded
as f u l l - f l e d g e d totem s.
The p la n ts were not i n them selves reco g n ized as th e
r e c e p ta c le s o f p o te n c ie s ; u n le s s a queer ex p erien ce was
had of them, th ey were d is r e g a rd e d . During th e f a s t , dreams
were c o n sid e red more th a n o r d in a r y , and they were b e lie v e d
as t r u e . I f a f a s t e r had seen i n h is dream a man using a
c e r t a i n herb to cure a d is e a s e he would do tiie same, and
would be very devoted to th e h erb . These dreams were o f te n
c a lle d v is i o n s and r e v e l a t i o n s ; w ith o u t them no one could
be a genuine m edicine man.
One p la n t was held as d iv in e ly p o te n t i n i t s e l f . I t
was supposed to have been bestowed upon th e t r i b e by the
Seven S t a r s . A b ig ceremony was h eld every sp rin g a t which
tim e th e sacred seeds were p la n te d w ith due pomp. The seeds
were not d i r e c t l y used as m id ic in a l h e rb s, b u t were reg ard ed
as a t r i b a l totem which brought good lu c k and p r o s p e r ity .
Only members of th e s o c ie ty , sometimes c a lle d th e Tobacco
S o c ie ty , had ac c e ss to the sa cred se ed s.
The v^^orship of anim als was tne r e l i g i o n proper of
th e Grow. I t was b a s ic to th e w orship of th e sto n e s and
p l a n t s . As i t has been s a i d , each p erso n sought h is own p r i
v a te r e l i t l o u s s a t i s f a c t i o n . He was not concerned w ith a
t r i b a l god, f o r th e r e was none. Inasmuch as anim als were be
lie v e d to have p o ssessed w onderful magic and powers, th e Crow
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sought t h e i r a i d . The b e a r was a popular totem . Those
whose " f a th e r s " were b e a rs (fo r they say such anim als
adopted them) in v a r ia b ly i d e n t i f i e d them selves as p o sse ssin g
th e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of b e a r s . Those adopted by th e coyote
were re p u te d ly s ly and cunning. The ea g le was a n o th er
popular d e i t y . B eav ers, m u sk rats, a n te lo p e s , b u f f a lo e s ,
o t t e r s , sn a k es, hawks, and even in s e c t s were reg ard ed as
d e i t i e s . The a lb in o b u f f a lo was reg ard ed as sacred by a l l
p e rs o n s , alth o u g h th e r e was no t r i b a l r e l i g i o n c e n te r in g
around th e w hite b is o n . I n v a ria b ly i t was s l a i n and o ffe re d
to th e sun as a s a c r i f i c e .
As to th e heavenly b o d ie s , the Sun was th e most
s a c re d . I t was p e r s o n if ie d as a c h ie f and was ad d ressed as
" f a t h e r " , " g r a n d f a th e r" , and "old man". Though i t was not
a t r i b a l god, i t occupied a h ig h e r p o s i t i o n th a n th e o rd in ary
anim al and p la n t gods. In th e s e a rc h f o r r e v e l a t i o n ( f a s t ) ,
the f i r s t p ro cess was to invoke tiie "old man" and o f f e r a
f in g e r t i p . B efore and a f t e r th e f a s t , the f a s t e r p u r if i e d
h im s e lf w ith a sweat or vapor b a th , i n the name of th e sun.
In th ew o w o f honesty and i n t e n t i o n the sun was c a lle d upon
to vtfitness the s ta te m e n t. Though v ery im p o rta n t th e sun was
never s p e c i f i c a l l y claim ed as a p e rs o n a l d e i ty by any man;
nor was i t re v e re d above th e o th e r powers.
The moon was not giv en much a t t e n t i o n , b u t only
m ild re v e re n c e . Inasmuch as i t seem ingly grows and d im in ish e s.
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i t was a symbol of growth. Small c h ild r e n were made to
o f f e r in v o c a tio n s to th e moon a t nevf moon.
The Morning S ta r occupied th e c a te g o ry of the a n i
m als. S e v e ral men claim ed i t as t h e i r f a t h e r , and were
supposed to have had th e power to make storm s and to sto p
sto rm s. The Seven S t a r s , as i t has been s a i d , were re v e re d .
The holy men
There were no o rg an ized o rd e rs of holy men. Not
w ith sta n d in g th e two d i s t i n c t c l a s s e s , th e h e a le r s and th e
v i s i o n a r i e s , each one i n i t s e l f was not organized in to a
c u l t of any k i n d . Each i n d iv i d u a l m edicine man had h is own
b e l i e f s and ob serv an ces. Though s e v e r a l persons may have had
th e same " f a t h e r " , they would not rec o g n ize each o th e r as
a s s o c i a t e s . There was, however, a common p r a c t ic e t h a t had
th e earm arks of s e c ta ria n is m . This was th e p r a c t i c e of th e
m edicine man to " b a p tiz e " , so to speak, an a s p ir a n t i n the
name of h is " f a th e r " and endow him w ith necrom antic a r t i s t r y .
In t h i s a f f a i r th e m ystic a t t i t u d e and co n cep ts were p r o je c te d
upon th e holy man h im s e lf, and th e source of h is power faded
in to th e background.
The h e a le r s were many. There were s p e c i a l i s t s of
a l l k in d s . The v/ound-doctor occupied a h ig h e r s t a t u s th a n
the o t h e r s , inasmuch as h is d u tie s were more s e r io u s . His
a c tu a l m i n i s t r a t i o n s were cerem onial i n n a tu r e , e la b o r a te as
they were lo n g . There were days of sin g in g and. of b e a tin g
97
th e drums. The whole populace was made to p a r t i c i p a t e .
In case of s e rio u s s ic k n e s s e s , th e "wound ceremony" was
used a l s o . O rd in a r ily common a ilm e n ts were a tte n d e d to by
s p e c i a l i s t s . The h e a le r s were th e only wage e a rn e rs of the
t r i b e . T heir s e r v ic e s brought them h o rs e s , b la n k e ts and
o th e r v a lu a b le s .
The v i s i o n a r i e s occupied more or l e s s and i n t e l l e c t u a l
and d i g n i f i e d s t a t u s . In v a r ia b ly they were w a r-c h ie fs and,
i f no longer a c t i v e , s p i r i t u a l a d v is o rs i n m i l i t a r y o p e ra tio n s,
Many high-powered s t o r i e s were t o ld of the f e a t s of th e se men.
By making " stro n g m edicine" they could t e l l where the enemy
was, how many te p e e s th e camp c o n ta in e d , what t r i b e i t was,
and now many h o rse s they would c a p tu r e . They never f a i l e d .
When hard p re sse d under adverse c irc u m sta n c e s, they could
make magic and escape dan g er. I t v/as o f te n a f a v o r i t e t r i c k
f o r a m edicine man to induce t e r r i f i c storm and in c a p a c i
t a t e pursuing enem ies. A c e r t a i n medicine man and a fe llo w
trib e sm an were com pletely surrounded by th e Sioux. By
w onderful magic they passed through the Sioux l i n e w ithout
being d is c o v e re d . They made no .tra c k s a t a l l .
T heir powers were not lim ite d to w arfa re o n ly . They
were e q u a lly p o te n t i n e v e ry th in g . They could p ro g n o s tic a te
f u t u r e e v e n ts . I f circu m stan ces w arranted i t , they could
e a s i l y assume th e r o l e of a h e a le r and do d o c to r in g . In
tim es of g r e a t p e s t i l e n c e th ey være the ones t h a t did wonders.
98
A c e r t a i n man immunized th e r e s t of the t r i b e from a scourge
of sm allpox by g iv in g each p erso n a s ip of sacred w ater,
which he o b ta in e d in s id e a h i l l . The sm all cup of w ater
was not consumed, though drunk by many p e rso n s.
I t was th e b e l i e f t h a t th e m edicine men not only
p o ssessed imminent knowledge of d iv in e powers of t h e i r gods,
b u t they even had v /ith in them selves organic p o r tio n s of
f e a t u r e s of t h e i r r e s p e c tiv e gods. Under deep em otionalism ,
such as th e b reak in g of th e taboos and th e sin g in g of th e
B ear-dance song, t h i s organism would p ro tru d e out of th e
mouth and go back a f t e r in cen se fumes were blown upon the
m edicine man’s f a c e . A ll v a r i e t i e s of p la n t and animal
f e a t u r e s , as w e ll as inanim ate o b je c ts were shown by m y stic s.
A man whose " f a th e r " was a g r i z z l y b ear would develop f i e r c e
b e a r ’s fangs i n th e p la c e o f h is own t e e t h . The "son" of a
b eaver would show a b e a v e r ’s t a i l , e t c . .
To give a p h ilo s o p h ic a l e v a lu a tio n of th e c u l t of
h oly men would be a len g th y e n t e r p r i s e and perhaps a waste
of tim e. In b r i e f l e t i t be sa id t h a t th e p o s i t i o n of the
m edicine men was in d is p e n s ib le to the old Crow l i f e . The
v i s i o n a r i e s , i n p a r t i c u l a r , had much to do w ith the e q u i l i
brium of th e t r i b e . They p rev en ted em otionalism ; they i n
v ig o ra te d t r i b a l l i f e . C ontrary to popular o p in io n , th e
holy men d id n o t e x p lo it t h e i r fellow m en. Inasmuch as they
were them selves i n a lle g ia n c e w ith th e powers, they dared
99
n o t o v er-u se nor misuse th e power giv en them. When a man
used h is g iv e n power i n t,.e p r a c t i c e of s o r c e ry , i t was
u nderstood t h a t he would sooner o r . l a t e r be punished.
Not a l l th e m edicine men .were paid f e e s . The v i s i o n a r i e s
and p ro p h e ts demanded no com pensation. The h e a le r s , however,
were p a id according to th e a p p r e c ia tio n of t h e i r p a tro n s ,
but some good d o c to rs ask t h e i r own p r i c e . Although th e re
were always some f a k e s , th e holy men were in d is p e n s ib le to
the t r i b e .
In 1904^ the In d ia n Bureau sa id i n g i s t , t h a t the
u s u a l p r a c t i c e of s o - c a lle d m edicine men s h a l l be co n sid ered
a c rim in a l o f fe n s e . N e v e rth e le s s , the h e a le r s did t h e i r work
c l a n d e s tin e l y .
Other f a c t o r s being e q u a l, such as C h r i s t i a n i z a t i o n ,
e d u c a tio n , w ithdraw al from th e in tim a c ie s of n a tu re , th e
e lim in a tio n o f th e s e old m edicine men by d e a th was th e b a s ic
cause of th e sudden s h o rta g e of medicine men i n th e r e s e r v a
t i o n . The young In d ia n today simply cannot assume m ysticism
i n a world t h a t i s dynam ically m a t e r i a l i s t i c and co n fu sin g .
There i s not a complete la c k of holyism , however. A few s t i l l
p o ssess th e "m edicine b u n d les" (totem symbols) which were
handed down to them by p re v io u s owners, and w i l l use them i f
they s t i l l work. One woman, who died r e c e n t l y , p r a c tic e d
1 1904 Law and Order R e g u la tio n s , Bureau of I n d ia n A f f a i r s ,
W ashington, D. C.
100
d iv in e h e a lin g th ro u g h th e Four Square Gospel f a i t h . A
middle aged man i s now a f a i t h d o c to r, being a devout
C h r i s t i a n , Perhaps th e s tr o n g e s t h e a lin g s e c t now i s the
peyote c u l t , c a lle d th e American In d ia n church. I n the
t r i b e th e re a r e s e v e r a l shamans who o f f i c i a t e a t peyote
m e e tin g s. In th e name of th e sacred herb they a d m in iste r
th e s ic k .
In th e l a s t a n a l y s i s , the in flu e n c e of th e holy
men i s p r a c t i c a l l y n i l today. The p re s e n t In d ia n would
sooner go to th e h o s p i t a l now th a n he would te n y e a rs ago.
Ceremonials
The r e l i g i o n of th e Crow In d ia n was a system of
cerem onials and r i t u a l s . Such were e x p re s sio n s o f d e v o tio n
and re v e re n c e ; th ro u g h them th e g races of th e gods were
so u g h t. The elem ent of appeasing th e w rath of th e gods
was not e v id e n t i n c e re m o n ia ls; in s te a d th e re was a reach in g
and se a rch in g p ro c e s s — not p a s s iv e . P a s s i v i t y meant dread
and f e a r . An in d iv i d u a l m ystic might have had c e r t a i n taboos
and o b se rv a n ces, b u t o u ts id e of h is r e l i g i o u s l i f e he was
f r e e and le d a normal l i f e . The a n c ie n t Crow lif e .v /a s not
cramped by f e a r . Though he was a c r e a tu r e of a d e te r m in is
t i c p h ilo so p h y , he was a f t e r a l l the c h i e f t a i n of h is l i f e
and v/ould fa c e ca la m ity b ra v e ly . He had no f e a r of d e a th ;
to him d e a th had no s t i n g . There was no moral d e a th . The
only s tin g i n d e a th was the shame of dying a n a t u r a l d e a th
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and n o t meeting d e a th on th e b a t t l e f i e l d w hile i n an a c t
of h eroism .
To be s u re , t h e r e were very many cerem onials and
r i t u a l s of v ary in g d eg rees of im p o rta n ce, There were i n d i
v id u a l and p u b lic r i t u a l s . Ceremonials i n t h e i r i n i t i a l
s ta g e were mere mannerisms w ith very l i t t l e d iv in e s i g n i f i
cance. The many s o - c a lle d s u p e r s t i t u t i o n s were of t h i s
s o r t . For example, no v /h is tlin g was done a f t e r d a rk , l e s t
g h o sts be a t t r a c t e d . F o o lis h u tte r a n c e s were not g r o s s ly
made l e s t th e same come t r u e . In smoking, the pipe-stern was
p o in te d up toward th e sky where r e s id e th e , Seven S ta rs
b e fo re smoke was blown. At new moon c h i ld r e n jumped up and
dov/n exclaim ing "Tomorrow I s h a l l be t h i s t a l l ; the n e x t,
t h i s t a l l ; and th e n e x t, tiiis t a l l " , as they jumped as h ig h
as they co u ld .
The r e g u la r and supreme forms of cerem onials i n which
a d e i ty was held in h ig h d e v o tio n and giv en d i r e c t t r i b u t e
were lim ite d i n number. The o th e r seem ingly im p o rta n t r i t u a l s
were o f t e n a u x i l i a r i e s and p r e ro g a tiv e s of th e main ones.
Then th e r e were o th e r r i t u a l s t h a t seem to have lo s t, t h e i r
r e l i g i o u s s ig n if ic a n c e and to have become p u rely s o c i a l
f e s t i v a l s , s t i l l r e t a i n i n g , however, a c e r t a i n mount of
m eaningless r o u t i n e . One of th e s e i s th e "B a-shu-sua"
(s o a k in g ). O rig in a lly t h i s was a very sa cred and r i t u a l i s
t i c ceremony, but now i t i s nothing more th a n a dance and
102
sin g in g a f f a i r . The B a-shu-sua was a p r e r o g a tiv e o f the
Tobacco S o c ie ty , th ro u g h which new members of th e s o e ie ty
were i n i t i a t e d .
The vapor or steam b a th was once v ery cerem onious.
I t v/as used as a p la ce of p u r i f i c a t i o n preced in g the f a s t
or a n o th er im p o rta n t ceremony. I t was a ls o used to h ea l th e
wounded and to d o c to r a p erso n gored by a b u f f a lo . In r e c e n t
tim es i t s r e l i g i o u s s ig n if ic a n c e has d isa p p e a re d and now i t
i s used f o r a b l u tio n purposes o n ly .
Ceremonial l i k e o th e r c u l t u r e item s appeared and
d isa p p e a re d from tim e to tim e. In r e c e n t tim e s , say th e
l a s t cen tu ry and a h a l f , fo u r prom inent and im p o rtan t c e re
monies were p r a c t ic e d ; th e B ear-song Dance, the Sun-dance,
th e T o b acco-planting ceremony, and th e W ound-healing c e re -
money. The Sacred pipe dance was a ls o very im p o rta n t and
r i t u a l i s t i c . I t was th e core of a s o c ie ty c a lle d th e Owners-
o f -th e -P ip e and of t h e i r r e s p e c tiv e c h a p te r s . The clim ax of
tiie Sacred Pipe f e s t i v i t i e s was the i n i t i a t i o n ceremony.
A fte r fo u r days of r i t u a l s , th e in d u c tio n cerem onial was
climaxed w ith th e Sacred Pipe dance. I n c i d e n t a l l y , the
Sacred Pipe i s th e s o - c a lle d Peace P ip e , v/hich th e f la g of
tr u c e was among th e P la in s t r i b e s . W ithin th e t r i b e i t was
used to b rin g d is p u t a n ts to p ea ce ab le term s.
The Bear-song dance was im p o rtan t in s o f a r as th e re
was a mass show o f magic wares by a l l th e h o ly persons of
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the camp. W ithout much ro u tin e d procedure the s in g e r s would
march i n s in g le f i l e to the p la c e o f th e ceremony, A pole
was p o sted on which a tanned b e a rs k in was f a s t e n e d . . At the
sin g in g of th e b e a r-s o n g , a l l th e ,m e d ic in e men of th e camp
were i r r e s i s t a b l y drawn to th e p la c e . As they approached the
p o le they were em o tio n a lly e lic ite d , and when they rubbed
t h e i r f a c e s a g a in s t th e b ear s k in , th ey im m ediately went in to
a tr a n c e a t which tim e a f e a t u r e of t h e i r totem s (which were
b e lie v e d to dw ell in s i d e of tnem) extended out and p ro tru d e d
from t h e i r mouths. A tte n d an ts burned incense and blew smoke
on t h e i r fa c e s and re v iv e d them as th e organism (b a -c h i-lu p a )
re c e d e d . The ceremony was of no p a r t i c u l a r t r i b u t e to the
b ear as a totem , however.
The " r e c a l l of th e g h o s ts " , was s im ila r to th e B ear-
song Dance, i n t h a t a number of g n o sts were supposed to have
been drawn to g e th e r . The ceremony was h eld a t n ig h t and o f
f i c i a t e d i n by a m edicine man whose " f a t h e r s " were th e ghosts
(no p a r t i c u l a r g h o s t ) . There was no r e g u la r procedure o th e r
th a n what th e m edicine man h im se lf m ight do; and a f t e r a
s e r i e s o f sin g in g s and i n c a n t a t i o n s , p e c u lia r and u n n a tu ra l
v o ic e s were heard i n th e e t h e r e a l e n v iro n s . The m edicine man
would th e n i n t e r p r e t them and make p ro p h e c ie s . This r i t e
was o f t e n used to f in d l o s t a r t i c l e s , h o rs e s , and l o s t p e rso n s.
The Tobacco P la n tin g ceremony and the Sun Dance were
th e most im p o rta n t and sa cred of th e r i t u a l s . They inv o lv ed .
104
many p erso n s and r e q u ir e d days of a c t i v i t i e s . I t i s d i f
f i c u l t to enumerate a l l th e many observances and symbolism
involved i n th e Tobacco P la n tin g o c c a sio n . The f a c t i s , i t -
was an i n s t i t u t i o n r a t h e r th a n a p e r io d ic a l ceremony. I t
was n o t s in g u la r i n p l o t , but inv o lv ed th e whole t r i b a l
r e p e r t o i r e of r e l i g i o u s o r d e r s , b e l i e f s , and p h ilo s o p h ie s .
The i n s t i t u t i o n was i n th re e d iv i s i o n s : th e i n i t i a t i o n , the
sp rin g p la n tin g , and h a r v e s t.
As has been m entioned, th e B a-shu-sua was a p rero g a
t i v e to th e p la n tin g ceremony. The word B a-shu-sua l i t e r a l l y
means ^soaking^, and i n t h i s sense i t was used f i g u r a t i v e l y
to d en o te t h a t new members were p rep ared f o r e n tra n c e in to
th e o r d e r , j u s t as th e a c tu a l seeds were soaked i n a mud
s o l u t i o n f o r p la n tin g . The i n i t i a t i o n p ro cess was le n g th y ,
u s u a lly s e v e r a l months lo n g . The f i n a l p ro cess was known as
^ p u ttin g up th e te p e e * , an a t t r a c t i v e ceremony i n i t s e l f .
When th e i n i t i a t e had been f u l l y en d o rse d , he was th e n given
h is *medicine bag*, which contained some Tobacco seed (not
r e a l to b a c c o , b u t a d i f f e r e n t p la n t a l t o g e t h e r , c a lle d
I - c h i - j a ) . .The ownership of th e m edicine bag meant good luck
and p r o s p e r i t y .
The re g u la r p la n tin g ceremony was e l a b o r a te . I t took
a whole day to com plete th e p ro c e s s io n to th e g ard en . Four
s to p s were made a t which four songs were sung and a t which
women of th e v a r io u s o rd e rs danced. On reac h in g th e garden
105
each o rd e r assumed some r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r the p la n tin g .
The h a r v e s t was accompanied by no b e a tin g of drums,
c h a n ts , and d a n c in g . When th e tim e came, a s p e c ia l h a r v e s te r
and h is a s s o c i a t e s would q u i e t l y e n te r th e garden and g ath er
th e d r ie d seeds from t h e i r c a r p e l s .
The Sun Dance
The s o - c a lle d Sun Dance was c a lle d *making a l i t t l e
tepee* by th e Crows. I t was th e acme of t r i b a l c e re m o n ia ls,
b o th f o r i t s grandeur and fo r i t s s a c re d n e s s . The id ea was
h i s t o r i c a l l y c r e d i te d to a man who saw th e ceremony i n a
v is i o n a r y dream w h ile f a s t i n g . L a te r he p u t up a tepee
acco rd in g to th e v i s i o n he saw and p ro g n o s tic a te d t h a t an
enemy w a rrio r would come th e re and be k i l l e d . The prophecy
developed tr u e on two o c c a sio n s. Thus from t h i s c o n c lu sio n ,
th e * making of a l i t t l e tepee* v/as performed when a p erso n
planned vengeance on th e enemy t r i b e fo r a s l a i n kinsm an.
This vengeance elem ent was th e main theme of th e ceremony
and not th e w orship of th e sun. True the sun was given
r e c o g n itio n here and th e re th ro u g h th e ceremony, b u t the same
was a ls o tr u e i n o th e r c e re m o n ia ls. The p r i n c i p a l p a r t i c i
p a n ts of th e ceremony were th e mourner (th e g rie v e d one)
and th e owner of th e Sacred D o ll. The mourner or th e Dancer
would gaze c o n tin u o u sly a t the Sacred D oll which was hung a t
th e top of a p o le , and would dance to th e b e a tin g of th e
tom-toms f o r s e v e r a l days w ith o u t food and w a te r. However,
1 0 5
I f the Dancer had f a l l e n i n e x h a u stio n and had re c e iv e d
d iv in e r e v e l a t i o n d u rin g th e coma, the ceremony was d e c la re d
f u l f i l l e d .
The Sun Dance was not a p e r io d ic a l e v e n t. I t was
held only when a mourner was enraged enough to d e c la re
vengeance i n such a sa c red manner. Should an enemy be k i l l e d
d u rin g th e d an ce, th e dance would be d ism isse d w ith the
s a t i s f a c t i o n t h a t i t had reach ed i t s f u l f i l l m e n t . Inasmuch
as th e ceremony was to r tu r o u s and sacred th e whole t r i b a l
mind and em otions were c a p tiv a te d by i t . The audience would
p a r t i c i p a t e i n s p i r i t .
W ithin th e l a s t tw enty y e a rs a nevf b u t very I n d ia n -
i s t i c cerem onial or c u l t has found i t e x p re s s io n among th e
Crows, I t was in tro d u ce d i n to the r e s e r v a t i o n by Oklahoma
In d ia n s . The Crows c a lle d I t th e "c actu s ea tin g * c u l t . As
ex p lain ed by i t s members, i t i s th e In dian*s way of w orship
ping the w hite man’s God. As the l a s t remnant of th e p re
vious p la n t gods, peyote was supposed to have been p r e s c rib e d
f o r th e I n d ia n by God h im s e lf . The e a tin g of th e peyote i s
regarded .by members of th e c u l t as e q u iv a le n t to the e a tin g
of tiie * b read ” by C h r i s t i a n s , The ceremony or the s e rv ic e
i t s e l f i s very sym bolic, m a n ife stin g b o th C h r is t ia n and
In d ia n r i t e s . Each member r a t t l e s and sin g s fo u r songs, w hile
h is fe llo w -w o rsh ip p er to h is l e f t b e a ts the drum f o r him.
The te p e e i s e n te re d a t sun-dovm and abandoned a t s u n r is e .
106
w ith an in te r m is s i o n a t m idnight.
P o l i t i c a l l y i t has been r e f e r r e d to as th e American
In d ia n Church and f o r t h a t re a so n i t s d efen d e rs have been
s u c c e s s f u l i n r e p u d ia tin g c o n s ta n t a t t a c k s . S c i e n t i s t s ’
as y e t have not condemned the peyote (Anhalonium Lewinic)
as a d e f i n i t e n a r c o t i c .
The s t a t u s of -the cerem onials today i s t h a t of the
m edicine men—very few and not so s i g n i f i c a n t . Because
of i t s m i l i t a r y n a tu re th e Sun Dance d is s o lv e d a t th e c lo s e
of th e war day s; fu rth e rm o re , i t was condemned by the Govern
ment i n 1904 d uring th e d e t r i b a l i z a t i o n rampage. The
Tobacco P la n tin g ceremony i s s t i l l h e ld , b u t much of i t s
c o lo r and r e l i g i o u s s ig n i f ic a n c e are gone. The o ld e r
p a r t i c i p a n t s are s e r io u s about i t , no d o u b t, but th e young
people and the audience look on th e ceremony w ith c u r i o s i t y
and e n te r ta in m e n t. The same i s tr u e o f the B a-shu-sua and
the S acred -p ip e danc .
N otw ithstanding th e p assin g s ig n i f ic a n c e of th e c e re
m onials i n th e m selv es, th e r e i s an u n d en iab le p e r s is te n c e
of th e b a s ic m ystic concepts which have developed i n t o p ro
blems because of th e la c k of proper e x p re s s io n . Some of
th e old w a r rio rs and m y stics made s u c c e s s f u l a d justm ent to
th e C h r i s t i a n s e c t , inasmuch as th ey were r e l i g i o u s l y - r e
c e p tiv e . C h r i s t i a n i t y came a t an opportune tim e. When
th e Government fo rb ad e the p r a c t i c e s of th e s e m edicine men
107
as w e ll as th e p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n v a rio u s ce re m o n ia ls, th e
In d ia n s were indeed a t a l o s s . They g la d ly found sublim a
t i o n i n th e C h r is t ia n f a i t h . Some m edicine men, as v/ell
as o th e r r e l i g i o u s I n d ia n s , have never abandoned t h e i r
c o n v ic tio n s to t h i s day; and i t would seem th a t they are
b e t t e r o f f th a n th o se who fo rso o k t h e i r n a tiv e r e l i g i o u s
f a i t h s and became g ro s s ly m a la d ju ste d . The p re s e n t g en e ra
t i o n of Crows cannot be sa id to have become com pletely f r e e
from th e t r a d i t i o n a l b e l i e f s of th e t r i b e and to have a t
l a s t found th e p le a s u r e s of c i v i l i z e d l i f e . No m a tte r how
f u l l y a Crow may u n d ersta n d th e w hite man’s world and adapt
h im s e lf to i t , he w i l l never fin d the r e a l n a tu re of i t .
U n til the In d ia n i s ’com pletely a s s im ila te d i n t o th e
w hite man’ s w orld, he w i l l co ntinue to have h is problem s.
His problem i s a human problem and not a ra c e problem . For
th e most p a r t h is problems have been c r e a te d f o r him by
th e s e lf - a p p o in te d g u a rd ia n s , which a ls o must n e c e s s a r ily
in c u r th e ta s k of remedying more problem s. Knowing only
h is own s i d e , the In d ia n has n e v e rth e le s s been very d i l i g e n t
about a d ju s tin g h im se lf to the e v e r l a s t i n g changes t h a t
c o n fro n t him. He knows t h a t h is h i s t o r y was w r i t t e n i n h is
own b lo o d , b u t he has f o r g o t t e n t h a t long ago. He asks f o r
no le n ie n c y , b u t wants a chance to show t h a t he i s capable
of making good a t the w hite man’s own game.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
110
A. G O V ER N M E N T REPORTS
V ia ll,J C A . ’’M ountain Crows*’ , R eport o f Com m issioner ’ o f
In d ia n A f f a i r s ,1 8 7 1 ,p . 4 1 4 .
Y e llo w ta il,R # *Crow-.Indian R eserv a tio n * ', Annual R eport on
Crovf R eserv a tio n > 1 9 3 7 , Crow A gency, Montana.
Bi, O TH ER SOURCES
a . P er so n a l o b se r v a tio n s o f th e author
b . P e r so n a l e x p e r ie n c e s o f th e author
c . P er so n a l in te r v ie w s o f th e author
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Medicine-Crow, Joseph
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Core Title
The effects of European culture contacts upon the economic, social, and religious life of the Crow Indians
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