s a tribe, the Crow Indians have had known origins as far back as the 1300s from the Mississippi headwaters to Canada. The first entered Montana in the 1600s. In the beginning, they were part of the Hidatsa, who were a more agricultural tribe like those on the Western Pacific coast. As the Crow Indians turned more to hunting, they centered their lives more on the buffalo and became nomadic.

The Crow Indians have always had more amiable relationships to the white invaders than many other tribes, such as the Beothuk and the Huron. They first encountered the white man in the 1700's but did not permit any missionaries until nearly the 1900s when Chief Plenty Coups, a major negotiator and leader insisted the Bureau of Indian Affairs provide education to his people. Unlike many other tribes, the Crow have kept their traditions and language intact, while...