Lifeways

Both groups of Crow gave up the village life of their Hidatsa kinsmen. They stopped farming for food, growing only tobacco crops; they no longer constructed earthlodges; and they ceased making pottery. The Crow chose the life of the High Plains instead. They lived in hide tipis in camps which they moved often, following the herds of buffalo and other game, and they ate wild plant foods. Horses, when they acquired them in the 1700s, revolutionized hunting and warfare, allowing PLAINS INDIANS to travel faster and farther than before.

The Crow, like many Plains tribes, participated in the Sun Dance and the Vision Quest. They also had their own special societies, such as the Crow Tobacco Society, with rituals surrounding their one crop.

Crow rattle used in Tobacco Society ceremony

The Crow had elaborate rules governing the behavior of adults toward children. For example, fathers sponsored feasts where they made speeches about their children’s future success. Fathers also taught their sons survival skills, such as archery, lavishing praise on them whenever they showed improvement. On returning from his first war party, a boy would be surrounded by the aas-sahke, members of his father’s clans, who would sing praise songs and offer prayers. One of these relatives, usually a cousin, would be the “joking relative,” who offered ridicule in a friendly way if the boy’s behavior called for it. Mothers would give great care to their daughters’ upbringing, preparing them in the maternal and domestic skills essential to the survival of the tribe, such as preparing food and making clothing.

The Crow were also known for their striking appearance. Their hair sometimes reached all the way to the ground with the help of added interwoven strands. Their elegantly crafted clothes were dyed in bright colors with intricate quillwork, and later beadwork, forming geometric and flower designs. And they crafted beautiful blankets, pouches, saddles, and bridles also with quillwork and bead-work. Some traders called the Crow the “Long-haired Indians.” George Catlin, the frontier painter who lived among many different Plains peoples in the 1830s, painted many stunning portraits of tribal members.

The Crow were longtime enemies of the other powerful tribes on the northern plains—the SIOUX (DAKOTA, LAKOTA, NAKOTA) and the BLACKFEET—fighting for horses, hunting grounds, and fame. To achieve glory in battle, Crow and other Plains Indians used the coup stick to touch their enemies and prove bravery.