5 Starter Facts About the Crow Religion

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

5 Starter Facts About the Crow Religion 5 Starter Facts About the Crow Religion 1. The Crow religion is the native practice of the Crow tribe. The Crow Tribe historically resided in the Great Plains in what is mostly now Montana. There are currently ~12,000 members of the tribe. 2. Not all Crow people practice their native religion; Christianity and other Native American revivalist movements are practiced in the population. 3. The Crow religion is monotheistic. Followers believe the universe is made of three realms– the physical world, the spiritual world, and the highest level that only the omnipresent, omnipotent deity inhabits. 4. Two of the most famous ceremonial rituals of the Crow faith are the Sun Dance and the vision quests. The Sun Dance involves physically exhausting oneself while praying in the hot sun to achieve a vision, good luck, or another purpose. The ​ vision quests are a rite of passage involving contact with the spiritual world to give a person Baaxpée, or “power transcending the ordinary.” ​ ​ ​ ​ 5. Intent is very important during ceremonies. It is called diakaashe (“he really did ​ it”). Learn more at: http://www.crow-nsn.gov/ http://tribalnations.mt.gov/crow These five points are not meant to be comprehensive or authoritative. We hope they will encourage you to explore this tradition more deeply and seek out members of this community to learn about their beliefs in action. It is our firm belief that in understanding our differences we will better understand our common humanity June 2018 2101 L St NW, STE:800 Washington, DC 20037-1657 TEL: 202-466-0567 FAX: 202-857-3977 WEB: interfaithalliance.org .
Recommended publications
  • The Symbolic Role of Animals in the Plains Indian Sun Dance Elizabeth
    17 The Symbolic Role of Animals in the Plains Indian Sun Dance 1 Elizabeth Atwood Lawrence TUFTS UNIVERSITY For many tribes of Plains Indians whose bison-hunting culture flourished during the 18th and 19th centuries, the sun dance was the major communal religious ceremony. Generally held in late spring or early summer, the rite celebrates renewal-the spiritual rebirth of participants and their relatives as well as the regeneration of the living earth with all its components. The sun dance reflects relationships with nature that are characteristic of the Plains ethos, and includes symbolic representations of various animal species, particularly the eagle and the buffalo, that once played vital roles in the lives of the people and are still endowed with sacredness and special powers. The ritual, involving sacrifice and supplication to insure harmony between all living beings, continues to be practiced by many contemporary native Americans. For many tribes of Plains Indians whose buffalo-hunting culture flowered during the 18th and 19th centuries, the sun dance was the major communal religious ceremony. Although details of the event differed in various groups, certain elements were common to most tribal traditions. Generally, the annual ceremony was held in late spring or early summer when people from different bands gathered together again following the dispersal that customarily took place in winter. The sun dance, a ritual of sacrifice performed by virtually all of the High Plains peoples, has been described among the Arapaho, Arikara, Assiniboin, Bannock, Blackfeet, Blood, Cheyenne, Plains Cree, Crow, Gros Ventre, Hidatsa, Kiowa, Mandans, Ojibway, Omaha, Ponca, Sarsi, Shoshone, Sioux (Dakota), and Ute (Spier, 1921, p.
    [Show full text]
  • The Pain Experience of Traditional Crow Indian by Norma Kay
    The pain experience of traditional Crow Indian by Norma Kay Krumwiede A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Nursing Montana State University © Copyright by Norma Kay Krumwiede (1996) Abstract: The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore the pain experience of the traditional Crow Indian people. An understanding of the Crow people's experience of pain is crucial in order to provide quality nursing care to members of this population. As nurse researchers gain understanding of these cultural gaps and report their findings, clinically based nurses will be better equipped to serve and meet the unique needs of the traditional Crow Indian. Ethnographic interviews were conducted with 15 traditional Crow Indians currently living on the reservation in southeastern Montana. The informants identified themselves as traditional utilizing Milligan's (1981) typology. Collection of data occurred through (a) spontaneous interviews, (b) observations, (c) written stories, (d) historical landmarks, and (e) field notes. Spradley's (1979) taxonomic analysis method was used to condense the large amount of data into a taxonomy of concepts. The taxonomy of Crow pain evolved into two indigenous categories of “Good Hurt” and “Bad Hurt”. The Crow view “good hurt” as being embedded in natural life events and ceremonies, rituals and healing. The Crow experience "bad hurt” as emanating from two sources: loss and hardship. The Crow believe that every person will experience both “good hurt” and “bad hurt” sometime during their lifetime. The Crow gain knowledge, wisdom and status as they experience, live through, and learn from painful events throughout their lifetime.
    [Show full text]
  • Native Americans, the Earliest Interpreters: What Is Known About Their Legends and Stories of Yellowstone National Park and the Complexities of Interpreting Them
    Lee H. Whittlesey Native Americans, the Earliest Interpreters: What is Known About Their Legends and Stories of Yellowstone National Park and the Complexities of Interpreting Them The thermal wonders of the Park did not frighten the native peoples of the region. Euro-Americans originated this idea and it must be dispelled before we can understand the true nature of Yellowstone’s human past. —Joseph Weixelman, “The Power to Evoke Wonder” (1992) hat did the Indians say about Yellowstone? They must have told stories about its strange wonders, but what were those stories? His- torians have long wondered. Answers have been slow to appear. WNative Americans probably had many more tales, legends, and myths about the Yellowstone country than the few we currently know of, but thanks to Peter Nabokov and Larry Loendorf, we now know more than ever before about some of those early Yellowstone stories. Prior to the emergence of their manuscript American Indians and Yellowstone National Park: A Documentary Overview, his- torians trusted only one Indian legend relating to Yellowstone; that is, they knew of only one that appeared to be genuinely Indian rather than “white” (the Ralph Dixey story discussed below). Moreover, before the Nabokov book appeared, only small, unsatisfying tidbits of Yellowstone information were known to us in general about the Sheepeaters, Shoshones, Crows, Bannocks, Blackfeet, Flat- heads, Kiowas, Arapahoes, Nez Perce, Assinboines, Northern Cheyennes, Gros Ventres, Sioux, and other tribes who inhabited the upper Yellowstone country and its edges at various times prior to 1870. But now, because of that book, we know more than ever before about how these tribes related to Yellowstone.
    [Show full text]
  • The Apsaalooke, Or Crow, People Arrived in Southeastern Montana
    ‘EVERYTHING GOOD IS THERE’: EXPLORING THE MATERIAL CULTURE AND HISTORIC LANDSCAPES AT CHIEF PLENTY COUPS STATE PARK Jessica G. Reeves A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in History with an Emphasis in Public History Middle Tennessee State University May 2017 Thesis Committee: Dr. Carroll Van West, chair Dr. Ashley Riley Sousa ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Rob, without whose love and support this would not have been possible. Thank you for pushing me when I thought I couldn’t go on. Holly, who was always there to commiserate and who had an uncanny ability to know when I was procrastinating. My friends in Montana, who introduced me to Crow culture and showed me so much kindness and generosity while we worked together: Wendy Red Star, Kaneeta Red Star Harris, Virgil Buffalo, Bernadette Smith, Doug Habermann, Michael Hunsaker, Michael Norton, Ruth Ferris, Miriam Smith, Angela Russell, Jonathan and Raylene Pretty On Top, Tim Bernardis, and Jon Ille. And those friends I haven’t even met in person, but who have provided me invaluable information about the collection, Aaron Kind and Chris Dantic. I would’ve been lost without you! And of course, Dr. Van West and Dr. Ashley Riley Sousa, who both provided guidance, wisdom, and boundless amounts of patience. I feel incredibly honored to have worked with both of you over the past four years, and am more grateful to you than you could possibly know. ii ABSTRACT Alaxchiiaahush, Plenty Coups, was the final chief of the Crow people. His spiritual vision quest as a young man showed him that cooperation with the coming White settlers was the only way to survive, and he led the Crow people through the assimilation of the reservation period.
    [Show full text]
  • Amicus Brief of Timothy P. Mccleary
    No. 17-532 In the Supreme Court of the United States ––––––––––––––– CLAYVIN HERRERA, PETITIONER, v. WYOMING, RESPONDENT. ––––––––––––––– On Writ of Certiorari to the District Court of Wyoming, Sheridan County ––––––––––––––– BRIEF FOR TIMOTHY P. MCCLEARY, JANINE PEASE, ELIZABETH SWANK, ESTHER WYNNE, SARA BENJAMIN-NEELON, CAITLIN BORGMANN, MEGAN SINGER, AND SAMUEL ENEMY-HUNTER AS AMICI CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF PETITIONER ––––––––––––––– ALEX RATE ASHLEY C. PARRISH ACLU OF MONTANA Counsel of Record Post Office Box 9138 JEREMY M. BYLUND KING & SPALDING LLP Missoula, MT 59807 1700 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Washington, DC 20006 [email protected] (202) 737-0500 Counsel for Amici Curiae September 11, 2018 i TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF AUTHORITIES ....................................... ii INTEREST OF AMICI CURIAE................................. 1 SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT ..................................... 4 ARGUMENT ................................................................ 5 I. The Crow Tribe’s Right To Hunt Is Protected In Treaties With The United States. ................................................................... 5 II. Retracting The Right To Hunt Threatens Public Health On The Crow Reservation. ......... 11 CONCLUSION .......................................................... 20 APPENDIX Appendix A Dry Meat Stew Recipe Card ............................... 1a Appendix B Elk Sausage Recipe Card ................................... 2a Appendix C Choke Cherry X-masballs Recipe Card .............. 3a Appendix D Elk Soup Recipe Card ......................................... 4a ii TABLE OF AUTHORITIES Cases Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation v. Maison, 262 F. Supp. 871 (D. Or. 1966)........................... 10 Crow Tribe of Indians v. Repsis, 866 F. Supp. 520 (D. Wyo. 1994), aff’d 73 F.3d 982 (10th Cir. 1995) ........ 8, 9, 10, 11 Holcomb v. Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation, 382 F.2d 1013 (9th Cir. 1967) ............................ 10 Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians v. Minnesota, 124 F.3d 904 (8th Cir.
    [Show full text]
  • Apsáalooke Nation
    Apsáalooke Nation Commercial Wind Development Project Crow Indian Reservation, Montana Greetings from the Tribe From the great Apsáalooke Nation of Crow Country in Montana, we would like to extend a heartfelt welcome. We are pleased to offer an opportunity to develop com- mercial wind on our tribal lands. On the following pages, you will learn about our history, our people, and our commitment to create economic sustainability for future generations. Promising preliminary studies for commercial wind de- velopment within Crow Country is revealed in some de- tail. As we continue to study and develop our resources, we look forward to meeting with you and your organiza- tion to discuss potential business arrangements. Thank you for taking an interest in our community. Sincerely, Cedric Black Eagle Cedric Black Eagle Chairman Apsáalooke Nation Business Advantages 225,267 acres of tribally-owned land available for commercial wind development Wind resource of class 3-7 Local anemometer towers actively recording data Close proximity to transmission lines Renewable portfolio standards in Montana and nearby states History of successful business endeavors Introduction The Apsáalooke Nation or Crow Tribe is proud to pre- sent this overview of wind energy potential on Crow lands. The Crow are seeking a company to form a joint venture to develop wind farms on the reservation. While The Crow Tribe strives to uphold Indian tradition and heritage, we are also known for our successful busi- ness endeavors. The tribe continues to actively pursue business opportunities that ultimately provide us diverse and sustainable economic development. Ongoing proj- ects include: • The Many Stars Project (coal-to-liquids plant): our unique identity as well as our sovereignty.
    [Show full text]
  • Climate Change, the Crow Tribe and Indigenous Knowledge
    Research for Resilience: Climate Change, the Crow Tribe and Indigenous Knowledge: Part 1 By Linda Moon Stumpff1 Photography by Aaron Teasdale2 Abstract. This case illustrates how resilience can emerge from the interaction between different knowledge systems that make ecosystems and communities more resilient while facing the negative effects of climate change. Long-term cultural knowledge about adaptation and restoration is often missing from agency viewpoints that would lead to a protective shield of resilience for both environments and cultures. A fictional character, Veronica Stevens, a Native scientist who serves in dual capacities as a researcher with forestry experience and as a tribal relationship professional, narrates the case. She faces the challenge of opening up the communication channels for Indigenous knowledge to become a major component of agency planning and practice through the development of a framework that incorporates some of the knowledge and experience of the Crow Nation whose historic lands form the template for understanding ecological practices and principles. Part I chronicles the challenges an indigenous researcher faces when trying to communicate indigenous knowledge research into the understanding of government policy and land management. 1 Copyright 2020 Linda Moon Stumpff PhD (San Carlos Apache) is an emerita faculty in the graduate programs for Tribal Governance, which she founded, and for Environmental Studies. She completed doctoral work in Natural Resource Policy at USC and served as Director of the Master of Public Administration Program while developing the Tribal Governance track. Before joining Evergreen she served as a Chief Ranger in the NPS and in Ecosystem Planning in the Forest Service.
    [Show full text]
  • Follow the Story
    FOLLOW THE STORY What is history, if not a collection of stories told through different perspectives? In Southeast Montana, natural beauty blends with the rich history of the Old West, along with the TRACE HISTORY IN SOUTHEAST MONTANA traditions of the Crow and Northern Cheyenne tribes, to transport you to storied days gone by. Walk over the battlefields where brave warriors and soldiers laid down their lives. Follow the courageous footsteps of Lewis and Clark. Or, experience the dynamics that ranching and railroad brought to these rolling prairies. 8 Frontier Gateway Museum There is no doubt that the individuals, families and native peoples who made Southeast Montana Glendive 14 Pierre Wibaux Museum their home were a hardy bunch. As you peruse the many museums, heritage centers and historic MAKOSHIKA STATE PARK sites across Southeast Montana, put yourself in their shoes, read their stories and understand their 253 journeys. That is what makes history. Wibaux 94 For, without history, we have no story. Write yours Out Here. 34 Miles to Theodore Terry Roosevelt MUSEUM, VISITOR CENTER OR HISTORICAL SOCIETY Fallon National Park Prairie County Museum Preserving the past of Southeast Montana 11 and Evelyn Cameron Gallery 7 NATIONAL MONUMENT OR STATE PARK 87 11 Evelyn Cameron Heritage A landscape of historical treasures Visitor Information Center 12 Melstone Ingomar 94 Montana State Park PIROGUE Ismay ISLAND 9 O’Fallon Historical Museum 12 12 Plevna Harlowton Miles City Baker 1 Range Riders Museum Roundup 12 89 12 Treasure County Rosebud County
    [Show full text]
  • A Curriculum Guide to Learning About American Indians. INSTITUTION Montana State Dept
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 366 473 RC 019 434 AUTHOR McCluskey, Murton L. TITLE A Curriculum Guide to Learning about American Indians. INSTITUTION Montana State Dept. of Public Instruction, Helena. PUB DATE [92] NOTE 81p. PUB TYPE Guides Classroom Use Teaching Guides (For Teacher) (052) Reference Materials Bibliographies (131) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC04 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *American Indian Culture; American Indian Education; American Indian History; American Indians; *American Indian Studies; Class Activities; *Cultural Activities; Cultural Education; Elementary Secondary Education; *Resource Materials IDENTIFIERS American Indian Contributions; American Indian Day; Montana ABSTRACT This guide provides information and suggestions for teachers planning an American Indian study unit or American Indian Day activities. The first section lists contributions of American Indians in the form of foods, words, art, music, law, government, and traditional values. The second section provides ideas for classroom discussions concerning historical facts about American Indian tribes and their way of life. The third section includes ideas for classroom activities in the subject areas of social studies, science, mathematics, language arts, art, home economics, music, and physical education. Also included are recommended activities for observance of American Indian Day. The fourth section contains a bibliography of over 350 books pertaining to Native Americans, including resources available through the Montana Indian Resource Directory, resources related to selecting books for and about Native Americans, children's books, fiction, and reference books. The last section includes an overview of American Indian history, a summary of major events in Montana Indian education from 1972 to 1990, and maps illustrating Montana's tribal distribution and reservation areas. (LP) *********************************************************k************* Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made ftom the original document.
    [Show full text]
  • Radical Hope Ethics in the Face of Cultural Devastation By: Jonathan Lear
    Radical Hope Ethics In The Face Of Cultural Devastation By: Jonathan Lear Chapter 3: Critique of Abysmal Reasoning Submitted by Paul Lussier ‘Recommended Readings’ for the Aspen/Yale Conference 2007 The following is an excerpt from: Jonathan Lear, Radical Hope: Ethics in the Face of Cultural Devastation, Harvard University Press (2006), pp.118-154 1 Radical Hope: Ethics in the Face of Cultural Devastation By: Jonathan Lear Chapter 3: Critique of Abysmal Reasoning Courage and Hope Thus far I have argued that Plenty Coups's dream tracked reality at two levels. First, it picked up the anxiety of the tribe and responded to it. Second, insofar as the tribe's anxiety was justified--that it was a response to a menacing yet uncertain future--the dream addressed this real-life challenge at one remove. But the case for imaginative excellence can be made stronger than that. At a time of radical historical change, the concept of courage will itself require new forms. This is the reality that needs to be faced--the call for concepts--and it would seem that if one were to face up to such a challenge well it would have to be done imaginatively. Courage, as a state of character, is constituted in part by certain ideals--ideals of what it is to live well, to live courageously. These ideals are alive in the community, but they also take hold in a courageous person's soul. As we saw in the preceding chapter, these ideals come to constitute a courageous person's ego-idea22 In traditional times, it was in terms of such an ideal that a courageous warrior would "face up to reality"-that is, decide what to do in the face of changing circumstances.
    [Show full text]
  • Snite Father Lindesmith Part 1
    HISTORY INTO ART AND ANTHROPOLOGY HISTORY INTO ART AND ANTHROPOLOGY Published in 2012 by the Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame 2 3 4 5 Map: Base Map modified from Mark H. Brown and W.K. Felton,The Frontier Years: L. A. Huffman, Photographer of the Plains, 1955, front piece. 6 7 CONTENTS 11 Director’s Acknowledgments 12 Curator’s Acknowledgments 15 Foreword JOANNE M. MACK 21 Preface JOANNE M. MACK 26 The Father Lindesmith Collection: History, Anthropology, and Art JOANNE M. MACK 36 The Relationship between Myth, Native American and Western Material Culture, and American Identity in Father Lindesmith’s Collection BETHANY MONTAGANO 54 The White Swan Muslin: Deeds of Honor CANDACE S. GREENE 68 Father Lindesmith, Fort Keogh, and the Native Americans of Montana JOANNE M. MACK 85 Native American Objects in the Exhibition 132 Bibliography 136 Index 8 9 DIRECTOR’S ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am deeply grateful to Curator of Native American Art and Associate Professor of Anthropology Joanne Mack for organizing this exhibition and publication. Shortly after arriving at the University of Notre Dame in 1997, Dr. Mack became fascinated by the Father Lindesmith collection of Native American art at the university’s Snite Museum of Art. Since that time, she has been indefatigable in researching Lindesmith, his collecting, the documentation accompanying his 1899 gifts to Notre Dame, and the subsequent distribution of portions of the collection to a private individual. I marvel at what Dr. Mack and her undergraduate students have discovered about the man and his collection, and what the information they have found tells us about nineteenth-century Native Americans and Euro-Americans vis-à-vis the myth of the American West.
    [Show full text]
  • 1876–77 Great Sioux War 1879 Edison Patents Long-Lasting Light
    FIGURE 11.1: Reservation Scene, by William Standing, ca. 1930 1879 1883–84 1895 Edison patents 1883 Starvation Winter Blackfeet cede land that long-lasting Northern Pacifi c becomes Glacier National Park 1904 light bulb Railroad completes 1887 Crow cede northern 1876–77 transcontinental Northern reservation strip of reservation Great Sioux War route reduced by 17 million acres 1875 1880 1885 1890 1895 1900 1905 1881 1889 Sitting Bull surrenders to the U.S. Army 1887 1896 1887 Montana becomes a state Dawes Act 1883 Great Northern Assiniboine and Gros Ventre 1880–1934 Fewer than 200 bison Railway enters cede part of the 208 Indian boarding school era remain on the Plains Montana Little Rocky Mountains READ TO FIND OUT: n How Indians survived without the bison n How the U.S. government tried to destroy Indian culture n What Indian people did to keep their cultural traditions alive n Why non-Indians own so much land on some Indian reservations The Big Picture After the bison were destroyed, Montana’s Indians went through a period of tremendous change. These were years of great hardship for Indian people as they learned to live a new way. Their strength and adaptability helped them survive and pass on their cultural traditions. In the late 1800s Montana’s Indians entered a period of tremendous upheaval. The bison—once the center of life here— teetered on the brink of extinction. The expanding United States had overwhelmed the tribes’ economic and military power and confi ned the native people to reservations (land that tribes reserved for their own use through treaties).
    [Show full text]