Land utilization on the Crow Indian reservation
by Clarence S Runyan
A THESIS Submitted to the Graduate Committee in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
Degree of Master of Science in Agricultural Economics
Montana State University
© Copyright by Clarence S Runyan (1939)
Abstract:
This thesis is a brief summary of the known history of the Crow Indian Nation beginning with the
division of the tribe from the Gros Ventre Indians, hut more especially after they were placed on the
Reservation by the United States Government. In the first chapter a careful study is made of the
progress the tribe has made toward civilization. Most of the study is given to the agricultural pursuits
and the efforts of the tribe to become a self-supporting people after adopting the civilization of the
white man.
In chapter two a careful survey is made of the surface, the climate and the natural resources of the
Reservation. This includes the location, a survey of the topography, a study of geology and of drainage.
Charts and tables are given relative to climate, precipitation, temperature and length of the growing
season. A review of the natural resources is given including the vegetative covering, the water supply,
the possibilities of hydroelectric power and the potential mineral resources of the region.
The present administrative policy is carefully analyzed, followed by a discussion of the present welfare
of the people relative to living conditions, economic well being, land tenure and utilization, as well as
the employment of the people. This survey shows that there is a great need for an improvement of
living conditions. Also that something must be done to prevent the ownership of the land from being
broken down into so many minute heirship holdings.
Finally, a plan is presented for the complete rehabilitation of the Crow Reservation. This plan shows
how it is possible for the Indian people to become entirely self-supporting, to utilize their entire land
holdings, and in the due course of time to recover ownership of most of the alienated land within the
present boundaries of the Reservation. By the accomplishment of this goal it is shown that the living
conditions of the Crow Indians will be equal to that of their white neighbors. LAlID UTILIZATION ON THE CROW INDIAN RESERVATION
blr
CLARENCE S . RUNYAN
A THESIS
S u b m itte d t o t h e G ra d u a te C om m ittee
i n p a r t i a l f u l f i l l m e n t o f t h e r e q u ir e m e n ts
f o r t h e D e g r e e o f M a ste r o f S c i e n c e
i n A g r i c u l t u r a l E co n o m ics a t
M ontana S t a t e C o l l e g e
A p p roved ;
///.
In Charge o f Major Work
C h a ir ___ ,
n in g C om m ittee
^ /C h a ir m a n , U ra a u a a e C om m ittee
Boz eman, Montana
December, 1939
M A iM L i 3-
u s n
Iti
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS..................................................................................................
6
ABSTRACT...............................................................................................................................
8
CHAPTER I .
9X
EARLY HISTORY OF THE CROW INDIANS..............................................
O rigin and Customs o f the T rib e ...................................................................
9
Securing Food..................................................................................................
10
Friendship for th e White Man.............................................................................
12
Personal C h a r a c te r is tic s ....................................................................
13
Laws and T r e a tie s .....................................................................................................
13
/ <? - 2-»
Agency Reports as to S tatu s and Progress o f the
Crow In d ia n s.........................................................................................................
Summary o f Chapter One.....................................................................................
23
30
CHAPTER I I . SURFACE, CLIMATE, AND NATURAL RESOURCES OF THE
CROW INDIAN RESERVATION........................................................................................
31
Extent and Location
31
Surface and Geology
I
D rainage. . .
31
Climate
37
35
P r e c ip ita tio n ..............................................................................................
Temperature................................
Growing Season............................................................................................
Winds................................................................................................................
37
38
38
42
Natural R esources................................................................................................
42
V e g eta tio n .....................................................................................................
H y d r o -e le ctric Power...............................................................................
Water s u p p lie s ............................................................................................
M ineral R esources.....................................................................................
42
44
44
47
Summary of Chapter Two.......................................
47
123675
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KGEIST YELLv ..TAIL
F i r s t I n d i a n s u p e r i n t e n d e n t o f th e Crov/ R e s e r v a t i o n
-3 Page
CHAPTER I I I . LIVING CONDITIONS AND WELFARE OF THE CROW
INDIANS...................... .......... ........................................... ....................... ............
48
P o p u la tio n ......... ..................... .................................... ............ ..........................
48
A d m in istration ..................................................................................................
52
E x te n s io n ..................................................................... .......................................
52
F o r e str y .................................................................................................... ..
53
Land ................................... ............................................................ .....................
5 3 /'
F inance........................ ................................ ........................................................
53
Roads................................. .......................................... .........................................
55
I r r ig a t io n ................................. .........................................................................
55
Law and Order............................................. ......................... .....................
56
Emergency R e lie f A d m in istra tio n s...........................................................
56
Medical and H o s p ita liz a tio n ................................... ..................................
56
E ducation.............................................................................................................
58
Adult E ducation........... .................................... ................... ..............................
60
- S o c ie t ie s and R e lig io u s O rgan izatio n s...............................
Summary o f Chapter Three......... ...................................................................
CHAPTER IV. LAND TENURE AND PRESENT UTILIZATION OF THE
CROW INDIAN RESERVATION.. . . . . . . .............................................................
The H eirship Problem ....................................................................................
60
66
66 -x
C om plexities o f E q u i t ie s .......................................................... .................
■"
70
Examples o f S u b -D ivision o f E q u itie s ...................... ............................
70
Accumulation o f E q u itie s ............................................................................
74
A g r ic u ltu r e ........................................................... .............................................
75
Hay, C ereals, and B eets
The Garden P r o je c t.........
Grazing Land......... ..
79
79
79
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Page
L ea sin g ........... ..................... ......................... ......................... ...............
Types o f L ea ses......................................................................
82
86
In d iv id u a l Indian Money C o n tr o l....... ..................................................
86
Ir r ig a te d Lands..............................................................................................
87
Dry Land A reas................................................ ..................... ..
89
Property and F in a n c e .................................................................................
89
Property V alu es.................................................... .................
Indian Homes........................................................................................
C redit and Reimbursable................................. ............ ...................
R e lie f and Labor Income...................... ..................... .....................
89
96
96
100
Summary o f Chapter Four .............................................. ............................
103
CHAPTER V. THE FUTURE UTILIZATION OF THE CROW INDIAN
RESERVATION.......... ......................... ......................................................
104
C on solid ation o f Land H old in gs............... .............................................
106
P a r titio n o f Holdings by Land C l e r k . . . .................................
S p e c ific Bequests in W ills ........... ...............................................
T rib al Land Purchases.................. ....................................................
Purchase by One H e ir ............. ..........................................................
107
108
115
116
C a ttle Purchase............................................................. ....................... .. ...
116
The P la n ........................ .........................................................................
In d iv id u a l R e h a b ilit a t io n .
117
......... .........................................
121
Id e a l Family Set-U p.................................................... .....................
Id ea l R otation for Ir r ig a te d Lands................................. ........
The Operation o f Dry Farm L a n d ...................................... ......
Pastures in I r r ig a te d Farming A reas........... ............................
Spare Time Work..........................
Farm S h elter B e l t s .............................................................................
S u b sisten ce F a r m in g ........................
L ivestock A s s o c ia tio n ......................................................................
Repayment o f Loans.............................................................................
123
123
124
125
125
125
125
126
127
'
C iv ilia n C onservation Corps—Indian Department.................
128
Leasing
128
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Page
E ducation. ..............................
Future School Curriculum................................................................
Youth O rgan ization s........................
Adult E ducation........................................................
129
129
130
132
R e lig io u s O rgan ization s......... ........................................................
132
Summary o f Chapter F iv e .................................................... .......................
132
CHAPTER V I.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS..........................................
133
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. ...................
136
BIBLIOGRAPHY.....................
137
**6—
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Page
Figure I . —An Indian woman "jerking" b u ffa lo meat in order to
preserve i t for fu tu re u s e .................................................... ..
11
Figure 2 . —Character s tu d ie s o f ty p ic a l Crow In d ia n s......... ..
14
Figure 3 . —A nita Y e llo w ta il9 daugher o f Superintendent,
Robert Y e llo w t a il..........................................................................................
15
Figure 4 . —O rigin al Crow Indian R eservation recognized by th e
U nited S ta te s Government by tr e a ty in 1851, contain ing
3 8 ,5 3 1 ,1 7 4 a c r e s ........... .......................................................
17
Figure 5 . —Map o f Crow Indian R e se r v a tio n ...............................................
32
Figure 6 . —Population s ta tu s o f Crow Indians by sex and blood,
1938.................
49
Figure 7 .--A ge groups o f In d ian s, Grow Indian R eservation, 1938.
50
Figure 8 . —The ranges are under the c a r e fu l su p erv isio n o f the
U nited S ta te s Indian F orest S e r v ic e ......... .........................................
54
Figure 9 . —D is tr ib u tio n o f c h ild re n o f sch ool age. Crow Indian
R eservation , 1937........................................................
59
Figure 1 0 .- -Number o f Indians belonging to s o c i e t i e s , Grow .
Indian R eservation , 1937..........................
62
Figure 1 1 .—Part o f the parade a t the annual Crow F a ir ....................
63
Figure 1 2 .—Land s ta tu s o f Crow Indian R eservation , 1 9 3 8 . . . . . . . .
69
Figure 1 3 .—Land u t i l i z a t i o n on Grow R eservation , 1 9 3 8 . . . . ...........
76
Figure 1 4 .--Land c l a s s i f i c a t i o n on Crow R eservation, 1938..............
78
Figure 1 5 .—T yp ical Crown Indian g a r d e n s . . . . . ........................ ...............
81
Figure 1 6 .—Value o f Indian owned liv e s to c k on Crow.Indian
R eserv a tio n . 1937
.................................................. ...................
83
^
Figure 17.--V a lu e o f farm products so ld by Crow Indian s, 1 9 3 7 ...
84
Figure 1 8 .—Source o f income o f Crow Indian R eservation, 1 9 3 7 ...
88
Figure 19 . --Range land on Grow R eserv a tio n ......... ......................... ...........
90
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Page
Figure 2 0 .—A ty p ic a l farming area on th e Crow Indian
R eserv a tio n ........................................................... .............................................
91
Figure 2 1 .—Value o f Indian owned liv e s to c k on Crow Indian
R eservation, 1937........... ....................................................
93
Figure 2 2 .—Value o f farm produce grown by Crow In d ian s, 1 9 3 7 ....
94
Figure 2 3 .—Indebtedness o f Crow In d ian s, 1934...................... ..
95
Figure 2 4 .—M aterial and number o f homes on Crow Indian
R eservation , 1 9 3 4 ............ ..............................................................................
- 97
Figure 2 5 .—T ypical Indian "shacks" near th e edge o f Crow Agency.
105
Figure 2 6 .—An Indian w i l l . ........... ........................................................
I ll
Figure 27 . —An Indian w i l l ............. ....................................................
113
Figure 2 8 .—Range land on th e Crow R e se r v a tio n ............ ...........................
119
Figure 2 9 .—An in exp en sive house b u ild fo r Mark R ealbird w ith th e
use o f Grow Reimbursable R evolving Fund..................................... ..
122
Figure 3 0 .--A group o f Indian 4-H Club members a tten d in g the
Club Camp................................... .. ^......... ............................................................
131
Figure 3 1 .—Two 4-H Club members w ith c a lv e s ....................................... ....
131
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LMD UTILIZATION ON THE CHOW INDIM RESERVATION
ABSTRACT
T his t h e s i s i s a b r i e f summary o f th e known h is t o r y o f the
Crow In d ian N a tio n b e g in n in g w ith th e d iv i s io n o f the t r ib e from the
Gros V entre I n d ia n s, hu t more e s p e c i a l l y a f t e r th ey were p la ced on
th e R e se rv a tio n by th e U n ited S t a t e s Government. In th e f i r s t chapter
a c a r e fu l stu d y i s made o f th e p ro g ress th e t r ib e has made toward
c i v i l i z a t i o n . Most o f th e stu d y i s g iv e n t o th e a g r ic u lt u r a l p u r s u its
and th e e f f o r t s o f th e t r ib e to become, a s e lf -s u p p o r tin g -p e o p le a f t e r
a d o p tin g th e c i v i l i z a t i o n o f th e w h ite man.
In ch ap ter two a c a r e fu l su rvey i s made o f th e s u r fa c e , the
c lim a te and th e n a tu r a l r e s o u r c e s o f th e R e se r v a tio n . T his in c lu d e s
th e lo c a t io n , a su rvey o f th e topography, a stu d y o f g e o lo g y and o f
d r a in a g e . C harts and t a b le s are g iv e n r e l a t i v e to c lim a te , p r e c ip i­
t a t i o n , tem perature and le n g th o f th e grow ing sea so n . A r ev iew o f th e
n a tu r a l r e s o u r c e s i s g iv e n in c lu d in g th e v e g e t a t iv e c o v e r in g , the
w ater su p p ly , th e p o s s i b i l i t i e s o f h y d r o e le c t r ic power and th e poten­
t i a l m in eral r e s o u r c e s o f th e r e g io n .
The p r e se n t a d m in is tr a tiv e p o lic y i s c a r e f u lly a n a ly z e d , fo llo w e d
by a d is c u s s io n o f th e p r e se n t w e lfa r e o f th e people r e l a t i v e to
l i v i n g c o n d it io n s , econom ic w e ll b e in g , la n d tenu re and u t i l i z a t i o n , as
w e ll as th e employment o f th e p e o p le . T his su rvey shows th a t th ere i s
a g r e a t need f o r an improvement o f l i v i n g c o n d itio n s . A ls o th a t some­
th in g must be done t o p reven t the ow nership o f th e la n d from b ein g
broken down in t o so many m inute h e ir s h ip h o ld in g s .
F i n a lly , a p lan i s p r e se n ted f o r the com plete r e h a b ilit a t io n o f
th e Crow R e se r v a tio n . T h is plan shows how i t i s p o s s ib le f o r the
In d ia n p eop le to become e n t i r e l y s e lf - s u p p o r t in g , to u t i l i z e t h e ir
e n t ir e la n d h o ld in g s , and in th e due co u rse o f tim e to r e c o v e r owner­
s h ip o f most o f th e a lie n a t e d lan d w ith in th e p re se n t b ou n d aries o f the
R e se r v a tio n . By th e accom plishm ent o f t h i s g o a l i t i s shown th a t th e
l i v i n g c o n d itio n s o f th e Crow In d ia n s w i l l be equal to th a t o f t h e ir
w h ite n e ig h b o r s.
I
-9 CHAPTER I .
EARLY HISTORY OF THE CROW IRDIAHS
O rigin and Customs o f th e Trihe
The Ahsaroka or Crow In d ian T ribe i s a d iv i s io n o f th e Gros
V e n tr e s -S io u z In d ia n s o f th e Great P la in s .
I t i s th ought by h is t o r ia n s
th a t the Crows se p a ra ted from th e Gros V en tres about th e tim e o f the
d is c o v e r y o f America by th e w h ite man.
The Absaroka band i s s a id to have
tak en t h e ir name from a now e x t in c t la r g e f o r k e d - t a il b ir d o f the hawk
fa m ily .
The w h ite man c a lle d them Crows b ecause o f a m is in t e r p r e ta tio n
o f th e In d ian name A bsaroka.
S h o r tly a f t e r s e p a r a tin g from th e Gros V en tres th e Crows again
d iv id e d in t o two d i s t i n c t bands; one was c a lle d th e R iv er Crows, w h ile
th e o th er was th e Mountain Crows.
The R iv er Crows claim ed th e reg io n
betw een th e M isso u ri R iver on th e n o rth and th e Y ello w sto n e on th e so u th .
The Mountain Crows claim ed th e r e g io n so u th o f the Y ello w sto n e R iver back
toward th e B ig Horn M ountains.
These two bands were alw ays a l l i e d in t h e ir
wars and th e r e was' c o n sta n t in ter m a r r ia g e and a v e r y c lo s e fr ie n d s h ip
betw een them a t a l l tim e s .
L ocated as th ey were in the h e a r t o f a g rea t w ild game r e g io n ,
th e Crows were in c o n sta n t w arfare w ith n e ig h b o rin g t r i b e s f o r p o s s e s s io n
o f th e c h o ic e h u n tin g grounds.
The S io u x , th e B la c k f e e t , and th e
F la th e a d t r ib e s were h e r e d ita r y en em ies, w h ile the Gros V en tres and th e
Rez Perce t r ib e s were u s u a lly c o n sid e re d f r ie n d s o f th e Crows.
—10—
S ecu rin g Food
Inasmuch as th e r e g io n occu p ied by th e Crow T ribe was w e ll
s u p p lie d w ith w ild game and f i s h , th e In d ia n s s u b s is te d m ainly from
th e h u n t.
Of c o u r se , th e b iso n or American b u ffa lo was th e main sou rce
o f fo o d .
T h is g r e a t anim al was u t i l i z e d f o r food and th e s k in was u sed
in making t e p e e s , w earin g a p p a r e l, ornam ents, and weapons.
B efore th e
days o f th e h orse and fir e a r m s , i t was a f e a t o f r e s o u r c e fu ln e s s and
b ra very t o su p p ly th e n eed s o f th e fa m ily w ith t h i s u s e f u l anim al.
ingenuous methods were u sed in k i l l i n g th e b is o n .
Many
One was t o stampede
the. herd over a sh e e r p r e c ip ic e th u s k i l l i n g the anim als or in j u r in g them
so' th a t th e y cou ld be s la u g h te r e d by th e h u n te r .
A nother way was fo r th e
In d ia n s t o cover th e m se lv e s w ith th e s k in s o f w o lv es and creep up on a
s t r a g g le r o f th e herd and k i l l i t w ith th e bow and arrow .
I t i s s a id th a t
an arrow co u ld be sh o t w ith such fo r c e th a t i t would c o m p le te ly p e n e tr a te
th e body o f th e b u f f a lo .
S m aller anim als and b ir d s were trapped or sn ared
t o com plete th e s u p p lie s o f m eat.
f o r fu tu r e u s e .
(S ee fig u r e l )
Any su r p lu s meat was alw ays p reserv ed
The f a v o r it e method was by je r k in g or d ry in g in th e su n .
The meat was cut in t o t h in s t r i p s , and hung in th e sun
and d r ie d u n t i l i t was hard as a ro ck .
When in t h i s c o n d itio n i t was
e a s i l y c a r r ie d and cou ld be kept i n d e f i n i t e l y .
The b u ffa lo h id e s were
c a r e f u lly d r ie d or tanned and u t i l i z e d in many d i f f e r e n t ways.
The Crows a ls o made u se o f th e many d if f e r e n t k in d s o f w ild b e r r ie s
and f r u i t s th a t grew so abundantly in t h i s r e g io n .
These f r u i t s were
e i t h e r e a te n f r 6 sh or were d r ie d fo r u se du rin g th e w in te r se a so n .
One
F i g u r e I . — An I n d i a n woman " j e r k i n g ” b u f f a l o m e a t i n o r d e r t o
p reserv e i t fo r fu tu re use.
-12-
o f th e f a v o r it e means o f p r e se r v in g th e f r u i t s and b e r r ie s was t o crush
them w ith s to n e s and th en make them in t o " p a ttie s" and dry them in t h e .
sun u n t i l th e y were alm ost as hard as s t o n e s .
tu r n ip was e x t e n s iv e ly u s e d .
The In d ia n tu rn ip or w ild
T his v e g e ta b le was cut in t o s t r i p s , b ra id ed
in t o lo n g str a n d s and hung in th e te p e e s u n t i l n eed ed .
barks o f v a r io u s t r e e s were a ls o u sed in tim es o f n eed .
The r o o ts and
Much o f th e common
v e g e t a t io n th a t th e w h ite man c o n s id e r s w o r th le s s or n o x io u s was u sed by
th e I n d ia n s .
For in s ta n c e th e ro o t o f th e common Sp anish B ayonet, or
y u c c a , th a t i s found grow ing on a l l th e h i l l s i d e s , was made in t o soap
by th e I n d ia n s .
Many o th e r s , such as th e b i t t e r r o o t , w ild c e le r y , w ild
o n io n s , w ild c a r r o t, w ild p o t a to , b u f f a lo b e r r ie s , sand dr ground c h e r r ie s ,
camas, w ild p a r s n ip , and barks o f v a r io u s t r e e s were u sed fo r fo o d , f o r
m e d ic in e , f o r ta n n in g s k in s , or in c o u n t le s s o th er w ays.
F r ie n d sh ip f o r ' th e Whi t e Man
The f i r s t c o n ta c ts th a t th e Crows had w ith th e w h ite man were
w ith th e French tr a p p er s and e x p lo r e r s .
Among the e a r l i e s t reco rd s th a t
can be found o f th e Grows are th o se o f th e Lewis and C lark e x p e d itio n soon
a f t e r th e L o u isia n a Purchase was made.
Because th e y were hard p r e sse d
by t h e i r In d ia n e n e m ie s, th e Crow In d ia n s were alw ays v e r y f r ie n d ly t o
th e w h ite man and h era ld ed them as t h e i r d e liv e r e r s from th e
The
Crow T ribe has alw ays rem ained f r ie n d l y t o th e U n ited S t a t e s Government,
and th e r e ,is no p la c e in h is t o r y w here, as a t r i b e , th e y have fought a g a in ­
s t th e army o f th e U n ited S t a t e s .
» \'
-13-
•
P e r so n a l C h a r a c te r is tic s
The e a r ly e x p lo r e r s alw ays spoke o f the w onderful physique o f
th is tr ih e •
In S an d ers, " H isto ry o f Montana", w r itte n about I 89O, th e
Crows are spoken o f as fo llo w s :
The Crows, A bsaroka, or Beaux Honunes , were i n the
e a r ly days a n a tio n renowned f o r p h y s ic a l b ea u ty and moral
i n t e g r i t y . Though th ey are s t i l l th e most, populous tr ib e
in Southern Montana, th e y have d eg en era ted in number and
in p h y siq u e . F i f t y y e a rs ago th e y were e stim a te d to
number 5 ,0 0 0 s o u ls , in I 8 8 7 , th e y had d ecrea sed to 2456." _l/
F ather He Sm et, a C a th o lic m iss io n a r y , v i s i t e d th e Crows in I 84O, and
rep o rted them v e ry an xiou s to r e c e iv e o th e r m is s io n a r ie s to t h e ir c o u n try .
A v is u a l c h a r a c te r stu d y o f t y p i c a l Grow In d ia n s i s made in fig u r e
2 , w hich shows two o f th e Crow le a d e r s , Tellowbrow or S tron g Wellknown
and B u ll over th e H i l l .
The stu d y o f Tellowbrow was r e c e n t ly taken n ea r
h i s home in Lodge G rass, Montana.
The lik e n e s s o f A n ita T e llo w t a il i s
shown in fig u r e 3 , as she p o r tr a y s th e younger g e n e r a tio n o f th e Crow
I n d ia n s .
Laws and T r e a tie s
S in ce th e a c q u is it io n o f th e t e r r i t o r y in th e L o u isia n a Purchase
in 1 803, i t has been n e c e s s a r y f o r th e U n ited S ta te s to make s e v e r a l
t r e a t i e s w ith th e Crow In d ia n s and t o "enact numerous law s r e g u la tin g
In d ia n a f f a i r s ."
,
.-,^v I .
The f i r s t , r e c o g n iz e d t r e a t y 2 / between th e Crow In d ia n T ribe
l / S a n d ers, H elen F it z g e r a ld , H is to r y o f Montana, Volume I ,
The Lewis P u b lis h in g Company, Chicago and Hew Tork, 1 9 1 3 , page I 6 3 .
2 / H app ier, C harles J . , In d ia n A f f a ir s Laws and T r e a t ie s , V o l. I I
U. S. Government P r in tin g O f f ic e , W ashington, D. C ., 1 9 0 4 , page 244.
-1 4 -
Firnire 2
— C h a r a c te r s t u d i e s o f t y p i c a l Crow I n d ia n s
_________ _____________________ I____ M
-15-
F ic u r e 3 . - - A n i t a Y e l l o v v t a i l , d a u g h te r o f s u p e r in t e n d e n t R o b e r t
Y e llo w ta il.
a
—16—
a.nd th e U n ited S t a t e s Government was made in 182$«
T h is t r e a t y was m erely
a r e c o g n it io n "by th e tri'B r-oi^fche^supremaey o f th e I f a it e ^ J i t a t e s .
It
gave lic e n s e d tr a d e r s a r ig h t to do b u s in e s s w ith th e In d ia n s and
g u aran teed th e t r ib e p r o te c tio n from t h e i r en em ies.
2.
The n e x t t r e a t y o f im portance was th e T rea ty o f Fort Laramie
in 18$1j _3/ betw een th e U n ited S t a t e s and r e p r e s e n t a t iv e s o f the v a r io u s
t r i b e s o f th e Great P la in s r e g io n s .
The purpose o f t h i s t r e a t y was t o
arrange a passagew ay fo r th e w h ite men through th e P la in s to th e c o a st
and t o th e m ining f i e l d s o f th e W est.
I t f ix e d th e b ou n d aries o f th e
Crow N a tio n and p rovid ed in d e m n itie s fo r any damages s u ffe r e d by th e t r i b e .
Two c la u s e s o f th e t r e a t y are as f o llo w s :
" A r tic le $.
The t e r r i t o r y o f the Crow N a tio n commencing a t the
mouth o f th e Powder E iv e r on th e Y e llo w sto n e , th en ce up
Powder E iv e r t o i t s so u rce; th en ce a lo n g th e main range o f
w a ters o f th e Y ellow ston e E iv e r ; th en ce down th e Y ellow ston e
E iv e r t o th e mouth o f T w enty-F ive Yard C reek, th en ce to the
Headwaters o f th e M uscle S h e ll E iv e r , th en ce down th e Muscle
S h e ll t o i t s mouth th en ce t o th e headw aters o f B ig Dry Creek
and th en ce t o i t s mouth,"
The s i z e o f t h i s t e r r i t o r y in com parison to th e s t a t e o f Montana
i s shown in fig u r e 4«
T h is v a s t area co n ta in ed what i s now Park,
S w e e tg r a ss, S t i l l w a t e r , Carbon, Y e llo w sto n e , B ig Horn, T rea su re, E osebud,
most o f Powder E iv e r , C u ste r, and G a r fie ld C o u n tie s, b e s id e s a la r g e
a rea o f Wyoming
" A r tic le 7 .
"In c o n s id e r a tio n o f t r e a t y s t i p u l a t i o n s , and fo r the
3 / K appler, op. c i t . , p. $9 $
MO N T A N A
SCOBEY
t OOLE
S H E R ID A N
L IB E R TY
• CHINOOK
HAVRE *
CHESTER
N
E
EVELT
• MALTA
P H I L L I P S
• CONRAD
A
WOLF POINT
• GLASGOW
U
R I C H L A N D /
T
E
*1
s s o u r i R iver
LEW
F A L LS
and
L
SCAOE
J UDI TH
• MISSOULA
D
CIRCLE •
DAWSON
RGUS
STANFORD
miSSOULA
SlDNEw •
M C C O
•
• WIBAUX
l e w is t q w n
WINNETT
bas i n
WI BAUX
MEAG HER
MUSSELSHEL
WHITE SUL Fh j Q
NILES CITY
ROUNDUP
BOULDER
WH EATL AND
ryegate
Ravalli
ts'JTTE
Si l v e r
T 8Ow
YELLOWS! '
I J E F F E RSON
L
xi
TREASURE
ROSEBUD
CUSTER
SWEET GRASS
GAL L ATI N
TtG TH
■WATER
Tn g s t j n
ARK
Tc c l u n b u s
p o w d e r
CARBON
LODGE
Powder R iver
F ig u r e 4 . - - O r i g i n a l Crow I n d in n R e s e r v a t i o n r e c o g n iz e
U n it e d S t a t e s G overnm ent b y t r e a t y in 1851
7 8 ,5 3 1 ,1 7 4 a c r e s .
BAKER •
F A L L O N
horn
Ri
-1 8 -
damages w hich may have or may occu r hy rea so n th e r e o f to the
In d ia n n a t io n s , p a r t ie s h e r e t o , and fo r t h e i r m aintenance and
th e improvement o f t h e i r moral and s o c i a l custom s, th e U n ited
S t a t e s hind th em se lv e s to d e liv e r to th e s a id In d ia n n a tio n s
th e sum o f f i f t y thousand d o lla r s per annum f o r th e term o f
te n y e a r s , w ith th e r ig h t t o co n tin u e the same a t th e d is c r e ­
t io n o f th e P r e sid e n t o f th e U n ited S ta te s f o r a p erio d o f not
e x c e e d in g f i v e y e a r s t h e r e a f t e r , in p r o v is io n s , m erch andise,
d o m estic a n im a ls, and a g r ic u lt u r a l im plem ents, in such p roP o h tio n s as may he deemed h e s t adapted to t h e i r c o n d itio n hy
th e P r e sid e n t o f th e U n ited S t a t e s , to he d is t r ib u t e d in pro­
p o r tio n t o th e p o p u la tio n o f th e a fo r e s a id In d ia n n a tio n s ."
U n t il th e t e r r i t o r y was t h ic k ly enough s e t t l e d hy th e w hite p eo p le
th e e n t ir e cou n try was under a m il it a r y governm ent.
t h i s a u th o r ity was le n ie n t and j u s t .
As a g e n e r a l th in g
E v ery th in g p o s s ib le was done to
ind uce th e t r i b e s t o l i v e to g e th e r in p e a c e , and to work and he s e l f ­
su p p o r tin g .
In 1866, ITewton Edmunds, as G eneral S u p erin ten d en t o f
In d ia n A f f a i r s , f o r th e Montana T e r r ito r y , rep o rted as f o l l o w s s 4/
"These t r i b e s , Crows and Gros V e n tr e s, e x p r e sse d a w ish
t o s e t t l e a t th e same p o in t on th e l e f t bank o f th e r iv e r
im m ed iately above th e mouth o f M ilk B iv e r in Montana T e r r ito r y ——■
I would recommend th a t th e y be a llo w ed an a g e n t, and th a t
agency b u ild in g s be provided f o r them at th e p o in t s e le c t e d
by them f o r a home. They w i l l do l i t t l e or n o th in g a t p resen t
in th e way o f c u lt i v a t in g th e s o i l . "
In th e e a r ly days e v e r y th in g p o s s ib le was done t o keep the d i f f e r ­
e n t t r i b e s from w andering from p la c e to p la c e as th e y had been in th e
hab it' o f d o in g , th u s ca u sin g a n x ie ty and f e a r among th e s e t t l e r s .
The
g r e a t amount o f game on th e p la in s a t th a t tim e alw ays gave th e t r ib e s
an ex cu se t o le a v e t h e i r s e le c t e d agency t o hunt,
were c o n s ta n tly coming in c o n ta c t w ith th e w h ite s .
Eor t h i s reason th e y
In ord er to r id
th em se lv e s o f t h i s c o n sta n t menace o f th e In d ia n in c u r s io n s , the s e t t l e r s
1 7 R eport o f Commissioner o f In d ia n A f f a ir s to th e S e c r e ta r y o f
th e I n t e r i o r , U. S . Government P r in tin g O f f ic e , W ashington, D. C ., 1866,
page 1-79.
-19-
and th e s o l d i e r s a t th e army p o s ts s e t about a s y s te m a tic campaign to k i l l
o f f a l l b u f f a lo and o th e r game on th e p l a i n s .
T his campaign was h ig h ly
s u c c e s s f u l , and in a few y e a r s th e r e was but l i t t l e w ild game l e f t on th e
p la in s .
T h is worked an u n to ld h ard sh ip on th e In d ia n s and reduced them
alm ost to th e s t a r v a t io n p o in t .
From t h i s tim e forw ard th e y were more or
l e s s under th e care o f th e F ed eral Government and depended on i t fo r t h e i r
s u b s is t e n c e .
On th e o th e r hand th e w h ite p eo p le were en cro a ch in g v ery much on
t e r r i t o r y th a t had been s e t a sid e f o r th e I n d ia n s.
M in ers, tr a p p e r s ,
s e t t l e r s , and ad ven tu rers were b rea k in g e v e r y t r e a t y p r o v is io n th a t had
been r e c o g n iz e d by th e F ed eral Government and the In d ia n s were becoming
very h o s t ile .
T h e r e fo r e , in 1868, an o th er g r e a t co n feren ce was c a lle d
a t Fort Laram ie.
The arrangem ents were v e r y s a t i s f a c t o r y to th e Crow
T ribe and a t r e a t y was drawn up f o r th e s ig n a tu r e o f th e c h ie f s and th e
app roval o f C on gress.
T h is T reaty p ro v id ed fo r :
a . The a llo tm e n t o f not more than 320 a c r e s o f la n d to the
In d ia n head o f th e fa m ily who w ished to b eg in farm in g.
•'A r tic le 6 . J?/ I f any in d iv id u a l b e lo n g in g t o s a id t r ib e o f
In d ia n s or l e g a l l y in c o r p o r a te d w ith them, b e in g th e head
o f a f a m ily , s h a l l d e s ir e to commence farm in g, he s h a ll have
th e p r iv ile g e to s e l e c t , in th e p resen ce and w ith th e
a s s is t a n c e o f th e agent th en in ch a rg e, a t r a c t o f land w ith in
s a id r e s e r v a t io n , not e x c e e d in g th r e e hundred and tw enty a c r e s
in e x t e n t , which t r a c t when so s e l e c t e d , c e r t i f i e d , and recorded
in th e "land book," as h e r e in d ir e c t e d , s h a ll c ea se t o be h e ld
in common, but th e same may be occu p ied and h e ld in the e x c lu s iv e
p o s s e s s io n o f th e person s e l e c t i n g i t , and h is f a m ily , so lo n g
as he or th e y may con tin u e to c u lt i v a t e i t . "
b . The a llo tm e n t o f 80 a c r e s o f la n d to any o th er In d ian
over 18 who w ished to farm:
. : "Any p erson over e ig h te e n y e a r s o f a g e , not b e in g th e
Jj/ , E appler , o p . ' e i t . , page 1008.
‘
=
—20—
head o f a fa m ily , may in l i k e manner s e l e c t and cause t o
""be c e r t i f i e d t o him or h e r , f o r pu rp oses o f c u l t i v a t i o n ,
a q u a n tity o f land not e x c e e d in g e ig h t y a c r e s in e x t e n t ,
and th ereupon he e n t i t l e d t o th e e x c lu s iv e p o s s e s s io n o f
same as d ir e c t e d ."
c . ' For any In d ia n who w ished t o farm , a id in th e form o f
s e e d , im p lem en ts, one good cow, a yoke o f oxen, and a bonus
o f $100 .the f i r s t year w ith $25 a n n u a lly f o r th e th re e
fo llo w in g y e a r s .
d . C lo th in g and monetary a s s is t a n c e to be g iv e n f o r te n
y e a r s t o a l l In d ia n s engaged in a g r ic u lt u r e .
e . P r o v is io n f o r a b la ck sm ith and n e c e s s a r y r e p a ir s fo r
farm m achinery.
f.
Food r a t io n s fo r a l l In d ia n s ov er fo u r y e a r s o f a g e.
g . A p r iz e o f $500 a n n u a lly f o r th r e e y e a rs to te n person s
o f th e t r ib e grow ing the most v a lu a b le crops f o r th e .
r e s p e c t iv e y e a r , .
h . The b u ild in g o f a sc h o o l house and th e e sta b lish m e n t
o f a sc h o o l f o r e v e r y t h i r t y c h ild r e n o f sc h o o l a g e .
3.
made.
In 1882, a t h ir d t r e a t y o f g r e a t im portance to th e t r ib e was
T h is p rovid ed f o r th e s a le t o th e U n ited S t a t e s o f th e p o r tio n
o f th e Crow E e s e r v a tio n w est o f C la rk ’ s Fork E iv er f o r c e r t a in v a lu a b le
c o n s id e r a t io n s .
Some o f th e s e c o n s id e r a tio n s w ere: 6/
„ a . The payment o f $ 3 0 ,0 0 0 a n n u a lly fo r th e n ex t tw e n ty -fiv e
y e a r s . T h is sum w a s .to be expended fo r th e e r e c t io n o f
h o u s e s , f o r th e improvement o f a l l a llo t m e n ts , f o r the pur­
ch a sin g o f a g r ic u lt u r a l s e e d , farm ing im plem ents and l i v e ­
s t o c k , and f o r payment in cash as th e P r e sid e n t o f th e U n ited
S t a t e s sh ou ld d i r e c t .
b . The rem ainder o f th e r e s e r v a t io n should be surveyed and
d iv id e d among th e Grows in s e v e r a lt y — not more th an 160 a c re s .
o f farm ing land and 160 a c r e s o f g r a z in g land t o e a c h . The
g r a z in g lan d was to be h e ld in t r u s t fo r 25 y e a r s .
6 / . E a p p ler, C harles J . , In d ia n A f f a ir s Laws and T r e a t ie s ,
U. S . Government P r in tin g O f f ic e , W ashington, D. C ., Volume I , 1904?
page 195.
-21-
4.
On J u ly 1 0 , .1882, 7 / an a c t was r a t i f i e d and a ccep ted b y th e
Crow T r ib e , p r o v id in g f o r th e s a le o f a r ig h t o f way to th e N orthern
\
P a c i f i c E a ilr o a d to tr a v e r s e the r e s e r v a tio n and t o i n s t a l l n e c e ssa r y
' '
j'
te le g r a p h l i n e s and o th er appurtenances o f th e r a ilr o a d . The Grows r e ­
c e iv e d $25*000 in c o n s id e r a tio n .
5*
On December 8 , 1890, 8/ th e Crows agreed to s e l l t o th e U n ited
S t a t e s Government f o r th e sum o f $9 4 6 ,0 0 0 a l l th e lan d from C la rk 's
Pork E iv e r t o th e base o f th e West Pryor M ountains.
The money was to
be u sed as f o llo w s :
a.
$ 2 0 0 ,0 0 0 to c o n str u c t an i r r i g a t i o n system on th e L i t t l e
Horn and th e B ig Horn E iv e r s . As much as p o s s ib le o f th e
work was to be g iv e n t o th e I n d ia n s ,
b.
$2 5 ,0 0 0 t o construct* th r e e f lo u r m i l l s .
c.
$ 4 5 ,0 0 0 t o purchase a T r ib a l herd o f c a t t l e .
d.
$ 1 0 ,0 0 0 t o be u sed in r e p a ir in g In d ian h o u se s,
e.
$ 5 5 2 ,0 0 0 t o be s e t a s id e a s a cash a n n u ity fund to be p aid
a t th e r a te o f $12 to each In d ia n a n n u a lly f o r th e n ext tw en ty
years.
f.
Any b alan ce was t o be expended f o r th e b e n e f it o f the Crows
as deemed n e c e s s a r y by th e S e c r e ta r y o f th e I n t e r io r .
6.
In 1893, 9/ th e Grow In d ia n s gra n ted th e N orthern P a c if i c
E a ilr o a d th e r ig h t o f way from a p o in t on t h e i r e x i s t i n g r a ilr o a d to
th e B ig Horn B iv e r — th en ce up th e L i t t l e Horn V a lle y to th e south li n e
o f th e E e s e r v a tio n .
T h is road i s known as th e B u r lin g to n E aiIw ay.
I/
Kappler , V o l. I , op. c i t page 203.7
8/
I b id , page 432.
2/
I "bid, page 479«
-22-
7.
In A p r il 1904, 1 0 / th e Crow T ribe agreed t o s e l l to th e U n ite d
S t a t e s Government a p o r tio n o f th e R e se r v a tio n n orth w est o f th e Fort
C u ster H iI ita r y ^ R e s e r v a tio n .
The c o n s id e r a tio n o f $ 1 ,1 5 0 ,0 0 0 was to
be u se d fo r th e b e n e f it o f th e Crows in th e b u ild in g o f ir r i g a t i o n
s y ste m s, th e purchase o f l i v e s t o c k , th e b u ild in g o f hom es, and fo r cash
b e n e f it s t o be p aid in a n n u it ie s .
8.
The ’Crow Act o f June 1920, l l / was a v e r y im portant one, fo r
th e p r e se n t a d m in is tr a tio n o f th e R e se r v a tio n i s gu id ed in la r g e measure
by i t s te r m s.
A few o f th e im portant p r o v is io n s are as fo llo w s :
a . A com m ission sh ou ld be a p p o in ted by th e In d ia n O ffic e t o
determ ine th e competency o f th e Grow I n d ia n s. The in d iv id u a l
In d ia n would make a p p lic a tio n t o t h i s com m ission f o r the r ig h t
t o tr a n s a c t h is own b u s in e s s w ith o u t the a s s is t a n c e o f the
Government. The com m ission e i t h e r approved th e r eq u e st or
d isap p roved i t .
I f th e a p p lic a t io n was approved i t gave th e
in d iv id u a l th e r ig h t to le a s e h i s own lan d and th a t o f h is
minor c h ild r e n w ith ou t O ffic e s u p e r v is io n .
b . The com petent In d ia n was g iv e n th e r ig h t t o ap p ly fo r a
fe e p a ten t on one h a l f o f h i s own a llo tm e n t. But as soon as
th e c h ild r e n became o f age or reach ed the age o f tw enty-one,,
th e c h i l d ' s land r e v e r te d t o th e s u p e r v is io n o f th e In d ian
O ffic e .
0 . A r e v o lv in g fund was s e t up from funds in th e In d ian
O ffic e t o th e c r e d it o f th e Crow T ribe fo r th e b e n e f it o f
th e s e In d ia n s th a t needed a g r ic u lt u r a l a s s is t a n c e . -This
fund cou ld be u sed to purchase s e e d , a n im a ls, m achinery,
t o o l s , im plem ents and o th er equipment to th e amount o f
f i f t y thousand d o l l a r s . T h is fund could be lo a n ed w ith out
in t e r e s t t o th o se d e se r v in g and n eed in g a s s i s t a n c e , and
sh ou ld be rep a id by th e borrower as soon as p o s s ib le and th en
loan ed t o some o th er In d ian n eed in g h e lp .
1 0 / K ap p ler, C harles J . , In d ia n A f f a ir s Laws and T reaties",
Volume I I I , U. 8 . Government P r in tin g O f f ic e , W ashington, D. C ., 1913
page 8 7 .
l l / K ap p ler, C harles J . , In d ia n A f f a ir s Laws and T r e a t ie s ,
Volume IV , U. S. Government P r in tin g O f f ic e , W ashington, D. C ., 1929,
page 7 5 5 .
I
-23-
d . Any Indian-ow ned land th a t was not needed "by th e In d ia n s
co u ld he le a s e d to w h ite l e s s e e s f f o r a p e r io d n o t t o exceed
f i v e y e a r s at a tim e .
v
e . S e c tio n s s ix t e e n and t h i r t y - s i x , or such p a r ts o f such
s e c t io n s as may he n on -m in eral or n o n -tim h ered , were to he
g iv e n t o th e S ta te o f Montana f o r common sc h o o l p u rp o ses.
The Grow In d ia n c h ild r e n were t o he p erm itted to a tte n d th e
p u b lic s c h o o ls o f s a id S ta te on th e same c o n d itio n s as the
c h ild r e n o f w h ite c i t i z e n s .
The purpose o f t h i s a c t was t o g iv e th e In d ia n a chance to oper­
a te h is own a f f a i r s w ith o u t O ffic e s u p e r v is io n .in order th a t he should
le a r n hy d o in g , hut s t i l l n ot t o g iv e him th e r ig h t t o d is p o s e o f h is
t r u s t la n d .
Four hundred and tw e n ty -n in e o f th e Crow In d ia n s were adjudged
com petent and g iv e n th e r ig h t t o make l e a s e s and t o tr a n s a c t t h e ir own
b u s in e s s f r e e from Government s u p e r v is io n .
A ll lan d s were a l l o t t e d
e x c e p t th e unsurveyed m ountainous la n d s in th e B ig Horn and Pryor
M ountains.
T h is u n a llo t t e d land c o n s is t e d o f 2 7 2 ,6 4 0 a c r e s o f very
good g r a z in g la n d s .
Agency R eports as t o S ta tu s and P r o g r ess o f the Grow In d ia n s
The f i r s t r ep o rt o f any farm ing done by th e Crows was made by
L ieu ten a n t Camp in 1 8 7 0 ,. th a t a f u ll- b lo o d e d In d ia n , W olf Bow, w ith
th e a id o f th r e e w iv e s and e ig h t c h ild r e n c u lt iv a t e d about seven a c re s
o f lan d and produced a .-fa ir crop . 1 2 /
Wolf Bow had been th e second Grow
In d ia n to s ig n th e T reaty o f Fort Laramie in 1868,
In th e r ep o rt o f Agent F. D. P ease to th e Commissioner o f In d ia n
12/
E a p p ler , V o l. I , op. c i t . , page 4 3 2 .
—2 4 -
A f f a ir s in 1 871, th e r e i s a record o f th e U n ited S t a t e s n ot k eep in g
i t s t r e a t y o b li g a t io n s . 1 3 /
There were com p lain ts from th e In d ia n s who
were t r y in g t o farm th a t th e y had n o t r e c e iv e d th e "%ood American cow
and one yoke o f w e ll-b r o k e n American o x e n ."
Mr. P ease r ec o r d s a popu­
l a t i o n o f 4 ,1 0 0 p erso n s and r e p o r ts a g r e a t s c a r c it y o f game fo r fo o d .
.
"iW 'He s u g g e sts - th a t .the^Crows be armed t o b e t t e r p r o te c t th em se lv e s a g a in s t
th e S io u x .
S even ty—f i v e a c r e s o f la n d were broken, f o r t y were t i l l e d
and th r e e a c r e s were u sed fo r garden.
Mr. Pease remarks th a t the o ld
In d ia n s were v e r y much opposed to la b o r fo r th ey co n sid e re d i t d eg ra d in g .
I -1
.
In th e Agency Report fo r 1872, 1 4 / t h e ' s i z e o f t h e i r r e s e r v a tio n
was g iv e n as 6 , 2 6 3 ,0 0 0 a c r e s , o f which one hundred a c r e s was farmed by
th e I n d ia n s .
Three hundred b u sh e ls o f w h ea t, 1 ,0 0 0 b u sh e ls o f corn , $00
b u sh e ls o f o a t s , 2 ,0 0 0 b u sh e ls o f p o ta to e s and 8 ,0 0 0 pounds o f v e g e t a b le s
were produced.
Twenty thousand d o lla r s w orth o f fu r s were s o ld .
The
agent r e p o r ts th a t th r e e frame h ou ses and t h i r t y lo g h o u ses were occu p ied
by th e I n d ia n s .
The r ep o rt fo r 1875, 1 5 / i s in a d if f e r e n t to n e .
a tta c k e d by th e S iou x and d r iv e n from th e R e se r v a tio n .
The Crows were
The agent s a y s:
"The e f f e c t upon th e Crows i s d e tr im e n ta l and te n d s to p a ra ly ze
th e e f f o r t s and th e e x p e n d itu r e s o f th e Government upon t h e ir
c iv iliz a tio n ."
A gain in 1 8 7 6 , 1 6 / because o f th e In d ia n wars th e r e was no fa rm in g .
~
13/
R eport o f Commissioner o f In d ia n A f f a i r s , 1871, p . T lT I
14/
Report o f Commissioner o f In d ia n
A f f a i r s , 1873, p . 406.
15/
R eport o f Commissioner o f In d ia n
A f f a i r s , 1875, page 302.
16/
Report of Commissioner of Indian
Affairs, I8 7 6 ,page 87. •
’
-25-
There were a number o f com p lain ts about w hiskey and w h ite h u n ters b e in g
on th e R e s e r v a tio n .
The agent rep o rted th a t th ere were s i x Grow In d ia n s
w earin g c i t i z e n s ' d r e s s , but th er e were no hou ses occu p ied by the
I n d ia n s .
There was one sc h o o l house and th e r e were f o r t y —fo u r m ales
and t h i r t y —fo u r fem a les a tte n d in g s c h o o l.
E n g lis h .
Twelve In d ia n s cou ld read
There were 2 0 ,0 0 0 Indian-ow ned h o r s e s .
In 1880, 1 7 / th e a g e n t's r ep o rt s t a t e d th a t th e Grows were " e sse n ­
t i a l l y a nomadic r a c e — happy in th e ch a se."
They had l i t t l e
sen se o f th e
v a lu e o f money, as a t r ib e th e y were n o t o r io u s ly im p ro v id e n t.
them wore " c it iz e n s '" c lo t h e s .
d a n cin g , and h orse r a c in g .
T h eir amusements c o n s is t e d o f s in g in g ,
They lik e d t o e n jo y th e f r u i t s o f c i v i l i z a t i o n ,
but would l i k e th e w h ite man t o do th e Work.
camp was done by th e women.
th e Government.
Most o f th e work around th e
The Crows p r o fe s se d to be g r e a t fr ie n d s o f
They would s a y , "White man and Crow l i k e one."
g e n e r a l h e a lth was good.
Most o f
The
T h eir c a p a c ity fo r e d u c a tio n was v ery good;
" in penmanship and drawing th e y e x c e l th e w h ite c h ild r e n ."
Table I shows
th a t in 1880 th e Grows had c u lt iv a t e d fo r ty -o n e a c r e s and th a t tw enty-one
f a m ilie s were a c t u a ll y farm in g.
o n ly 800 head o f c a t t l e .
h o u ses were o c cu p ie d .
They owned 1 3 ,4 0 0 head o f h o r s e s , but
T w en ty -fiv e c h ild r e n a tten d ed sc h o o l and e ig h t
They s o ld $ 2 7 ,7 0 0 o f f u r s .
In 1 8 9 0 , 1 8 / th e agent rep o rted , a v e ry hard yea r in Montana
b ecause o f a se v e r e d rou gh t.
"
T his reco rd showed th a t th e In d ia n s were
IT?
Report o f Commissioner o f In d ia n A f f a i r s , 1880, page 107.
18/
R eport o f Commissioner o f In d ia n A f f a i r s , I 89O, page 115.
TABLE I . AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS
CROW INDIAN RESERVATION, MONTANA*
ear
870
Year
1880
Year
1890
Year
1900
Year
1911
Year
1915
Year
1920
Year
1932
Year
1937
2 .3 1 3
2 .3 1 3
2 .1 2 3
2 .3 1 3
3 .5 4 0
2 .3 1 3
4 .7 1 2
6 .6 2 4
Area o f R e se rv a tio n 6 . 624
in m illio n a c r e s
2 ,8 3 8
1,1111 ; 2?438
4 ,1 2 5
4 ,1 2 5
670
976
No. o f A llo tm en ts
18,400
1
7
,0
0
0
9 ,4 5 6
4 ,0 0 0
16,2 3 4
8 ,3 1 7
1 ,3 9 9
A cres C u ltiv a te d
41
F a m ilie s a c t u a lly
280
. 184
226
1253
21
119
279
27
c u l t i v a t i n g la n d s
1*572
2 ,1 7 1
250 12 ,8 7 6 1 3 ,6 5 4 11,867
57
Wheat P la n ted A cres
22
No Records
27
. 250
A cres o f Corn
Pounds o f v e g e t a b le s
6 8 ,8 6 0 158,000 1 4 3 ,3 3 3 215,156 188. 0 8 9 ' 282, 0 01\ 386.921
produced
3 ,7 6 1
No Records
2 ,0 0 0
700
3 ,4 5 1
Tons o f hay cut
4
,7
0
0
7 ,0 0 0
1 ,9 5 8
1 ,6 5 0
5 ,2 1 0
2 ,2 2 4
6 ,1 2 3
H orses Owned
24, 000 1 3 ,4 0 0
2 ,6 4 8
3 ,8 3 0
3»830 15,861
3 ,2 0 0
3 ,5 0 0
2 ,7 3 7
8 ,0 0 0
10
C a ttle Owned
120
68
M ilk Cows Owned
192
170
Swine
1 ,646
2 ,3 0 0
Sheep
1
,2
6
8
6
,0 0 0
1 ,1 7 8
700
550
410
1 ,2 3 5
P o u ltr y
In d ia n s engaged in
220
220
265
237
No Records
s to c k r a is i n g
V alue o f L iv e sto c k
$30,000 436,2 5 6 4 0 ,1 7 5 4 4 ,8 5 0
No Records
s o ld
V alue o f a l l Crops
7 0 ,2 3 0
.No Records
Produced
Income a l l so u r ce s in
570
682
150
550
230
1 ,457
729
thousands o f d o lla r s 234
* Source: Records Crow In d ian O ff ic e -
I
M
ON
I
-27-
muoh opposed t o th e B u r lin g to n R a ilr o a d .
In t h e i r c o u n c ils th ey s a id th a t
th e y "did not want more s ta k e s s e t in t h e i r ground."
The r e p o r t showed th a t th e number o f a cres c u lt iv a t e d had in c r e a s e d
to 1399 a c r e s w h ile 1 0 ,6 0 0 a c re s were under f e n c e .
were a c t u a ll y c u l t i v a t i n g th e s o i l .
T w enty-seven f a m ilie s
The Indian-ow ned h o r s e s had d e c re a sed
t o 5 ,2 1 0 head w h ile th e number o f c a t t l e had in c r e a s e d t o 3 ,5 0 0 .
410 head o f p o u ltr y were owned.
Only
The acreage o f th e R e se r v a tio n had
.
' d e c re a sed to 4 , 7 1 2 ,9 6 0 a c r e s , and 670 d if f e r e n t a llo tm e n ts had been made.
There were 8 0 ^ ch ild rd n a tte n d in g s c h o o ls "out o f a p o p u la tio n o f 2 ,4 3 6
p e o p le ."
One hundred and f i f t y In d ia n s co u ld speak th e E n g lis h language
and 140 c o u ld .r e a d i t .
Three hundred tw e n ty -fo u r h o u ses were occu p ied ;
as v e r y few o f th e t r ib e li v e d in t e n t s or t e p e e s .
1 ,0 0 0
The agent had r e c e iv e d
head o f h e i f e r s and 50 b u lls w hich he added to th e t r i b a l herd
in s te a d o f is s u i n g them to th e in d iv id u a l In d ia n s b ecause he thought th e
c a t t l e would r e c e iv e b e t t e r care in th e h erd .
In 1900, much a t t e n t io n was g iv e n to l i v e s t o c k . ' The S u p erin ten ­
dent w rote 1 9 / t o th e Commissioner o f In d ia n A f f a ir s as f o llo w s :
"The r e s u l t s from th e c a t t l e , c o n sid e r in g th e p resen t
s i z e o f th e h e r d , was v e r y s a t i s f a c t o r y , and from t h e ir
shipm ents and i s s u e s , $ 5 6 ,0 0 0 were r e a li z e d . The horse
q u e s tio n appeared a most s e r io u s o n e , as some 3 5 ,0 0 0 to
4 0 ,0 0 0 head o f in b red In d ia n p o n ie s were running on the
range e a t in g and g r a s s from th e c a t t l e . During th e past
y ea r some 1 2 ,0 0 0 head have been d isp o se d o f , b r in g in g
good p r ic e s c o n s id e r in g th e q u a l i t y . Five d o ll a r s fo r
y e a r lin g s and from $5 to $10 f o r th e b a la n c e ."
j
j
j
He fu r th e r s t a t e s th a t
" P r a c tic a l e x p e rie n c e has proved beyond doubt th e
19/
Report of Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 1900, page 267.
j
I
-2 8 -
ad v i s a M l i t y o f a l l o t t i n g in s e v e r a lt y as a p p lie d in
t h i s t r i h e . There are in each o f th e f i v e farm d i s ­
t r i c t s o f t h i s r e s e r v a tio n community farms worked in
common by th o se t o whom no a llo tm e n t o f land has y e t
been made and t h e i r work p ro v es th a t each in d iv id u a l
sh ou ld have h i s own lan d ."
At t h i s tim e th e r e were 4 ,0 0 0 a c r e s c u lt iv a t e d and 119 d if f e r e n t
In d ia n f a m ilie s were a c t u a lly farm in g.
shown in ta b le I .
The crop y i e l d s were f a i r as
The t o t a l income was $ 1 0 5 ,866 from a l l r e s o u r c e s .
Two
hundred and f i f t y f a m ilie s liv e d in frame or lo g h ou ses and two hundred
t h ir t y - t h r e e c h ild r e n were a tte n d in g th e v a r io u s Government s c h o o ls ,
both on and o f f th e E e s e r v a tio n .
and to read E n g lis h .
More o f th e In d ia n s were ab le to speak
The same r ep o rt in d ic a t e s th a t th e " h ea lth o f th e
t r ib e has been f a i r though tu b e r c u la r tr o u b le s o f s e r io u s forms are
fr e q u e n tly met w ith ."
In 1 9 1 0 , 20/ th e Commissioner w rote th a t $4 1 , 6 8 8 .8 5 had been e x ­
pended fo r i r r i g a t i o n and o f t h a t , $2 6 ,4 8 0 had been p a id th e In d ian la b o r
and team s, as agreed in th e t r e a t y o f I 89O.
6 9 ,3 4 0 a c r e s were i r r i g a b l e .
I t was e stim a te d th a t
T his y ea r s e a le d b id s fo r g r a z in g land on
th e Crow R e se r v a tio n in c r e a s e d the amount p a id about fo u r tim e s , th a t i s ,
from $ 3 3 ,0 0 1 .2 7 t o $1 4 0 , 2 5 2 . 0 0 .
1911, th e s t a t i s t i c a l t a b le s 2 l / show th a t 1 ,7 2 5 Crows were
a l l o t t e d w h ile 225 were n o t .
Ho f a m ilie s were l i v i n g in te p e e s o f
t e n t s , but a l l li v e d in h ou ses w ith good f l o o r s .
in s c h o o l had in c r e a s e d .
as in 1900.
The number o f c h ild r e n
The t o t a l revenue was about -f i v e tim es as g r e a t
The number o f c a t t l e and p o u ltr y had in c r e a s e d .
The t o t a l
20/
Report o f Commissioner o f In d ia n A f f a i r s , 1 9 1 0 , page 7 2 . '
21/
Report of Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 1 9 1 1 . .
—29™’
v a lu e
o f t h e I n d i a n ' s i n d i v i d u a l p r o p e r t y w a s e s t i m a t e d t o "be $ 4 , 9 8 8 , 4 9 2 . 2 3 .
In 1 9 1 8 , 2 2 / th e
p o p u la tio n had d e c r e a s e d s l i g h t l y
o n e - h a l f t h i s num ber w e r e a b l e t o
th e t r ib e
had in c r e a s e d t o $ 9 3 0 ,7 1 4 .
p rod uced ,
liv e s to c k
la n d s a l e s ,
A bout
an d v o t e r s .
T he t o t a l in c o m e o f
T h i s in c o m e w a s d e r i v e d fr o m c r o p s
tim b e r s a l e s ,
I n d i a n m on eys', e t c .
1713.
s p e a k E n g l i s h an d t o r e a d an d w r i t e .
N i n e t y - s e v e n o f t h e C row s w e r e c i t i z e n s
s o ld ,
to
w ages e a r n e d , in d iv id u a l l e a s e s ,
T here w ere 231 I n d ia n f a m i l i e s
and o p e r a t in g 1 9 ,2 0 0 a c r e s o f la n d .
I t w as e s t im a te d t h a t
fa r m in g
514 I n d ia n s
w e r e e n g a g e d i n p r o d u c in g l i v e s t o c k , w h i c h ' t h e y g r a z e d o n a b o u t 3 0 0 ,0 0 0
a c r e s o f ran ge la n d ,
1 ,8 5 0 ,0 0 0
At th e
same t im e t h e r e w e r e 2 , 0 0 0
le a s e s
c o v e r in g
a c r e s o f g r a z in g la n d .
In 1 9 3 0 , th e t o t a l p o p u la tio n had in c r e a s e d t o
r e s id in g a t th e
R e s e r v a tio n .
436 w ere i n
ju r is d ic tio n
563
Of th e
1 9 6 6 , w ith 1720
an d 2 2 4 l i v i n g e l s e w h e r e t h a n on t h e
c h ild r e n b e tw e e n th e a g e s o f 6 and 18 y e a r s ,
s c h o o l.
The 1 9 3 2 r e p o r t
I n d ia n A f f a ir s
o f t h e S u p e r i n t e n d e n t t o t h e C o m m is s io n e r o f
sh o w s t h a t t h e num ber o f r a n g e c a t t l e
t i o n had d e c r e a s e d t o 2 ,7 3 7 h e a d .
a c r e s o f w h e a t, 1 ,7 3 9
hundred f i f t y - s e v e n
on t h e R e s e r v a ­
The I n d i a n f a r m e r s h a d h a r v e s t e d 2 , 1 7 1
acres o f a lfa lfa ,
2 ,7 0 0 a c r e s o f w ild h a y .
t h o u s a n d f o u r h u n d r e d an d on e p o u n d s o f v e g e t a b l e s
h a d b e e n s t o r e d fr o m t h e
2 2 5 home g a r d e n s .
The l i v e s t o c k
d i f f e r e n t f a r m e r s i n c l u d e d w ork h o r s e s , m i l k c o w s , h o g s ,
ow ned b y t h e
s h e e p an d p o u l t r y .
/
22/
Two
Report of Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 1918.
Summary
Thus i s shown th e t r a n s it io n o f th e Crow T ribe from 1742 a t th e
tim e o f f i r s t v i s i t a t i o n o f th e w h ite e x p lo r e r s and a d v e n tu r e r s, when th e
t r ib e was a w a r lik e nomadic people w ith o u t any permanent home, to the
p r e se n t tim e when th e y are p e a c e fu l law a b id in g c i t i z e n s o f the U n ited
S ta te s.
I t was shown th a t b e fo r e t h e i r c o n ta c t w ith th e w h ite man th e y
were s e l f s u f f i c i n g in a c i v i l i z a t i o n e n t i r e l y d i f f e r e n t from th a t o f the
p r e se n t tim e .
They liv e d from th e b e n e f it s o f th e hunt and the chase
and th e v e g e t a tio n o f th a t r e g io n .
T h eir h ou ses or t e p e e s , t h e ir c lo t h in g
t h e i r w eapons, were a l l handmade from th e m a te r ia l th a t was found on
th e la n d .
I t has been found th a t a f t e r th e coming o f th e w h ite man th e Crow
In d ia n s gave up t h e i r wandering l i f e and s e le c t e d t h e i r p r e se n t lo c a t io n
t o l i v e under th e p r o te c tio n o f th e U n ited S ta te s Government.
T heir
p h ilo s o p h y , r e l i g i o n , and in f a c t most o f t h e i r c i v i l i z a t i o n was d is ­
carded and th a t o f th e w h ite men ad op ted .
The t r e a t i e s and agency r e p o r ts showed th a t o f the. more than
s i x m illio n a c r e s o f th e o r ig in a l r e s e r v a t io n , about tw o -th ir d s o f the
la n d has been ceded t o th e governm ent, in exchange f o r improvements and
a n n u it ie s , or t o be h e ld as parks or s o ld to th e r a ilr o a d companies or
s o ld t o w h ite s e t t l e r s by in d iv id u a l In d ia n s a f t e r b e in g a llo t e d to them .
The lan d s o l d .t o th e r a ilr o a d s was used by th e s e companies as
r ig h t o f way f o r t r a c k s , te le g r a p h l i n e s and o th er ap p u rten an ces, th u s
-31-
g iv in g th e !R eservation two l i n e s o f tr a n s p o r ta tio n and communication
tr a v e r s in g th e e n t ir e r e g io n .
The improvements p rovid ed "by th e government in c lu d e d the i r r i g a - '
t i o n sy ste m , h y d r o - e le c t r ic p la n t s , f lo u r m i l l s , h o s p it a l and m edical
s e r v i c e , s c h o o ls , and a d m in is tr a tio n o f r e s e r v a tio n a f f a i r s .
The problem now i s how can th e In d ia n s use th e s e improvements
and th e rem ainder o f t h e i r land to th e b e s t advantage o f th em selv es and
o f th e n a tio n as a w h o le.
CHAPTER I I .
SURFACE, CLIMATE, AND RESOURCES OF
THE CROW INDIAN RESERVATION
E xten t and L o ca tio n
To u n derstan d th o ro u g h ly th e econom ic p o s s i b i l i t i e s o f th e Grow
In d ia n R e se r v a tio n , i t i s n e c e s s a r y t o be fa m ilia r w ith th e g e o lo g ic a l
fe a tu r e s and th e n a tu r a l r e s o u r c e s th a t ser v e to make t h i s one o f th e
most fa v o red R e se r v a tio n s in Montana.
The p resen t Crow In d ia n R eserva­
t i o n c o n ta in s about 3 ,0 0 0 square m ile s and in c lu d e s 112 tow nships or
p a r ts o f tow n sh ip s w ith in Townships I t o 9 South L a titu d e , Ranges 25 t o
3 8 , E ast L o n g itu d e.
Most o f th e R e se r v a tio n l i e s w ith iji^ th e lim it s
o f B ig Horn County, but some o f th e n orth w estern tow n sh ip s are in
Y ello w sto n e County.
A map o f th e R e se r v a tio n i s shown in fig u r e 5»
S u rface and G eology
Su rface a l t i t u d e s w ith in th e a r e a , 2 3 / range from about 2 ,1 5 0 f e e t
2 3 / G eology o f B ig Horn County and th e Crow In d ia n R eserv a tio n
Montana. G e o lo g ic a l Survey B u lle t in 8 5 6 , U. S. Government P r in tin g O f f ic e ,
W ashington, D. C ., 1935.
^ i r u r e 5 . — LIap o f t h e Crow I n d i a n Iv e s e rv e tio * :
-33-
above sea l e v e l in th e B ig Horn V a lle y near Hardin to 4 ,1 0 0 f e e t on
Pine R id ge, and from 5 ,6 0 0 f e e t in the Rosebud M ountains t o more than
8 ,0 0 0 f e e t in th e Pryor M ountains, v .h ile th e h ig h e s t e le v a t io n in the
B ig Horn M ountains ex ten d s 9 ,2 5 0 f e e t above sea l e v e l .
i s , t h e r e f o r e , about 6 ,5 0 0 f e e t .
The mean r e l i e f
The r e l i e f o f th e se m ountains i s
a c ce n tu a te d by t h e i r abrupt r i s e o f more than 6 ,0 0 0 f e e t above the
g e n e r a l l e v e l o f th e p la i n s .
Long narrow r id g e s , c a lle d h ogb ack s, from
t h e i r fa n c ie d resem blance to the ra zo r back hog, p a r a lle l th e mountains
and mark th e t r a n s it io n from the p la i n s .
These hogbacks were formed by
hard t i l t e d la y e r s o f rock th a t r e s i s t e d th e e r o s io n which removed the
s o f t e r la y e r s above and below .
The p la in s th e m se lv e s, though m o stly l e s s than 4 ,0 0 0 f e e t above
( Iat
se a l e v e l are by no means f b .lt .
Smooth n e a r ly f l a t t r a c t s are not un­
common in th e in te r s tr e a m a r e a s , but th e r e l i e f in some p a r ts i s 500 to
600 f e e t .
A lthough o n ly the main stream s o f th e Crow In d ia n R eserv a tio n are
p e r e n n ia l, th e volume o f w ater c a r r ie d a t c e r ta in tim es o f th e year i s
la r g e and i t s e r o s iv e power i s g r e a t .
Most o f the stream v a lle y s are
d e e p ly cut below the g e n e r a l l e v e l o f th e co u n try .
In th e mountains
th e r iv e r s have cut narrow canyons more than 1 ,0 0 0 f e e t d eep .
Of the
la r g e number o f b e a u t if u l canyons in or near the B ig Horn M ountains,
th r e e d eserv e m ention.
Canyons.
They are th e B ig Horn, L i t t l e Horn, and Black
The B ig Horn Canyon i s th e l a r g e s t . 2 4 /
I t i s more than 1 ,0 0 0
2 4 / G eology o f B ig Horn County and the Crow In d ia n R eserv a tio n
Montana, op. c i t .
— 34—
f e e t d eep .
The r iv e r f i l l s th e bottom so c o m p le te ly th a t not even
s u f f i c i e n t space i s l e f t on e it h e r s id e f o r a fo o tp a th .
B lack Canyon,
w hich i s a t r ib u t a r y o f the B ig Horn Canyon, i s 1 ,2 0 0 to 1 ,5 0 0 f e e t d eep .
L i t t l e Hrrn Canyon has b r i l l i a n t l y c o lo r e d w a lls th a t r i s e 1 ,5 0 0 to
2 ,0 0 0 f e e t above th e canyon f l o o r .
I
In th e p l a i n s , th e w idth and depth o f the v a lle y s d i f f e r w ith th e
k in d o f rock s t r u c t u r e .
V a lle y s cut in s h a le are w id er than th o se cut
in sa n d sto n e , but n e a r ly a l l have f l a t bottom s w ith s t r i p s o f a llu v iu m ,
and s id e s th a t r i s e s t e e p ly t o th e l e v e l o f th e surrounding upland.
T erra ces are c o n sp ic u o u sly d ev elo p ed a lo n g th e B ig Horn E iv e r ,
where th e y are l o c a l l y c a lle d b en ch es.
The term bench i s a ls o used
l o c a l l y t o d e s c r ib e a n e a r ly f l a t a rea r e s u lt in g from th e e r o s io n o f
s o f t s h a le from a n e a r ly h o r iz o n ta l- h ard er and more r e s i s t a n t u n d e rly in g
b ed .
The g r a v e lly - t e r r a c e s or benches l e v e l the t i l t e d s h a le and sand­
sto n e w ith o u t r e s p e c t to d if f e r e n c e s in h a r d n ess.
The depth o f th e
g r a v e l ranges from a few in c h e s to t h i r t y - f i v e or f o r t y f e e t .
In a
few p la c e s i t i s more than f i f t y f e e t , . but u s u a lly i t i s l e s s than tw e n ty fiv e f e e t ,
The t e r r a c e s owe t h e i r p r e s e r v a tio n at th e p r e se n t l e v e l s to
th e f a c t th a t a su r fa c e covered by g r a v e l r e s i s t s e r o s io n , because w ater
f a l l i n g on i t q u ic k ly p e r c o la t e s through th e g r a v e l and d r a in s out s lo w ly ,
e i t h e r as s p r in g s or as seepage a lo n g th e s i d e s .
E ro sio n i s most a c t iv e
where a sm a ll stream i s working headward in a t e r r a c e , or where a la r g e r
stream i s u n d e r c u ttin g th e te r r a c e by l a t e r a l p la t a t io n .
-35-
D rainage
The r a in th a t f a l l s upon th e p la in s flo w s o f f r a p id ly he cause o f
th e s p a r se n e ss o f the v e g e t a t io n , th e w e ll—d evelop ed drain age system ,
and th e v io le n t n atu re o f many o f th e r a in sto r m s.
For t h i s reason
th e stream s are v e r y " flash y" and r i s e w ith g r ea t r a p i d i t y ,
The stream s o f th e R e se r v a tio n are a l l t r ib u ta r y e i t h e r d i r e c t l y
or i n d i r e c t l y to th e Y ello w sto n e R iv e r .
The c e n tr a l p a rt o f th e area i s
d ra in ed by th e B ig Horn R iv er and i t s t r i b u t a r i e s , o f w hich the L i t t l e
Horn R iv er i s th e l a r g e s t ; th e 'w e s te r n p a rt i s d rain ed by Pryor Greek;
th e e a s te r n p art i s d rain ed by Sarpy and Rosebud C reeks.
s h ip s in th e n o rth ern p art are d rain ed by F ly Creek.
S e v e ra l town­
A ll o f th ese
stream s have b ran ch es, some o f which r i s e in th e m ountains and are
p e r e n n ia l, but th e m a jo r ity ir r e s p e c t iv e o f where th e y r i s e , are
i n t e r m it t e n t .
The s m a lle r branches are ephem eral and flo w o n ly w h ile show
i s m e ltin g or du rin g and im m ed iately a f t e r r a in s .
The B ig Horn R iv er i s by f a r th e la r g e s t o f a l l th e s e stream s.
I t r i s e s in th e m ountains o f Wyoming and a f t e r i t e n te r s th e p la in s it .
has a broad v a l l e y from a few hundred yards t o more than two m ile s in
w id th .
'
The L i t t l e Horn R iv e r r i s e s in th e B ig Horn M ountains ju s t so u th
o f th e Wyoming S ta te l i n e .
The v a l l e y i s somewhat narrow arid c o n se q u e n tly
appears d eeper than th a t o f the B ig Horn.
P ass and L odgegrass Creeks
are th e o n ly p e r e n n ia l b ran ch es, but numerous in t e r m it te n t stream s flo w
from th e e a s t and w est c a rr y in g la r g e volum es o f w ater d u rin g and
-36-
in u n ed iately a f t e r storm s.
Pryor Greek r i s e s in th e m ountains o f the same name and flo w s in
a g e n e r a l n o r th e r n ly d ir e c t io n in t o th e Y ello w sto n e R iv e r .
I t has a
la r g e v a l l e y which may have "been formed when th e o ld stream th a t cut
Pryor Gap flo w ed through i t on i t s way t o th e Y ello w sto n e R iv e r .
The
v a l l e y f l o o r i s s e v e r a l hundred f e e t below th e g e n e r a l l e v e l o f the
in te r s tr e a m a r e a s , and th e r i s e i s v e ry a b ru p t,
Pryor Greek has a
f a i r l y s tr o n g flo w and in th e sp r in g i t c a r r ie s la r g e volum es o f w ater
d e r iv e d from th e m e ltin g snow in th e m ou ntain s.
I t has s e v e r a l tr ib u ­
t a r i e s , some o f w hich r i s e in the m ou n tain s, but are n o t p e r e n n ia l.
T his
creek i s u sed t o i r r i g a t e c o n sid e r a b le a r e a s , p a r t ic u la r ly in the
v i c i n i t y o f th e v i l l a g e o f P ryor.
P ly Greek, an in t e r m it te n t, stream in the n o rth ern p art o f the
R e s e r v a tio n , i s d i r e c t l y tr ib u ta r y t o th e Y ello w sto n e R iv e r .
A ll th e
t r i b u t a r i e s o f F ly Creek r i s e in p o o r ly -w a ter ed r e g io n s and none are
p e r e n n ia l e x c e p t f o r short, d is t a n c e s .
The U n ited S t a te s G e o lo g ic a l Survey has m ain tain ed gauging s t a t i o n s
on c e r t a in stream s in t h i s area and d e t a il e d reco rd s have been p u b lis h e d .
A gau gin g s t a t i o n was op erated on th e B ig Horn R iver a t Hardin from June
1 6 , 1904 to May 3 1, 1925.
The maximum d isc h a r g e record ed was 4 2 ,3 0 0
s e c o n d -fe e t O ctober I , 1923, and th e minimum was 516 s e c o n d - f e e t , J u ly
1 5 -1 8 , 1919. 2 5 /
Two s t a t io n s have been op erated on th e L i t t l e Horn
R iv e r , one near Wyola and th e o th er a t Crow Agency.
At th e Wyola s t a t i o n
2 5 / G eology o f B ig Horn County and th e Crow In d ia n R e se r v a tio n ,
Montana, op. c i t .
-37-
th e maximum record ed d isc h a r g e .was 1 ,6 1 0 s e c o n d - f e e t , June 1.6, '1924, and
th e minimum was 32 s e c o n d - f e e t ,.A p r il 1 2 , 1915.
maximum was 8 ,2 0 0 s e c o n d - f e e t , J u ly 2 3 , 1923.
At Crow Agency the
The stream was dry from
J u ly 28 t o August 6 , 1921." The stream , flo w i s a f f e c t e d by d iv e r s io n f o r
i r r i g a t i o n above th e s e gaugin g s t a t i o n s .
"'The gaugin g s t a t io n s above
th e Pryor d it c h showed th e maximum d isc h a r g e was 112 s e c o n d - f e e t , Hay
2 3 , 1924 and th e minimum 3 .9 s e c o n d -fe e t A p r il 3, 1922.
In th e Lodge
Grass C reek, th e maximum record ed d isc h a r g e was 540 s e c o n d -fe e t and
th e minimum was 3 .6 s e c o n d - f e e t .
C lim ate
The c lim a te o f th e Crow In d ia n R e se r v a tio n resem b les th a t o f
o th e r p a r ts o f so u th e a s te r n Montana e x c e p t in th e B ig Horn and Pryor
M ountains, where th e in c r e a s e d a l t i t u d e s cause a much low er mean annual
tem perature and g r e a t e r p r e c ip it a t i o n th an i s normal fo r th e open p la i n s .
P r e c i p i t a t i o n . — The mean annual p r e c ip it a t io n as recorded at th e
c o o p e r a tiv e w eather bureau s t a t io n s are as fo llo w s :
S e c tio n
Mean f o r p e r io d o f
Crow Agency
Busby ^
F o s te r
Decker
1880
1903
1910
1905
to
to
to
to
1930
1930
1930
1911
Amount
1 5 .0 9
1 3 .8 7
1 1 .5 8
1 2 .5 9
in c h e s
in ch es
in c h e s
in ch es
The t o t a l p r e c ip it a t i o n may v a ry g r e a t ly from y e a r t o year a t any
s ta tio n .
The p r e c i p i t a t i o n , alth ou gh n ot la r g e i s norm ally most abundant
du rin g th e grow ing s e a s o n , from A p r il to J u ly .
V io le n t thunder storm s
-38-
o ft e n accom panied by h a i l are common and much damage i s done in sm a ll
a r ea s each year by such sto rm s.
Even l i g h t snows have occu rred d u rin g
th e summer.
The p r e c ip it a t i o n i s l i g h t e s t du rin g th e w in te r ( see ta b le I l ) .
Most o f th e m oistu re from November t o March f a l l s as snow.
As shown in
th e s n o w fa ll c h a r t , (’t a b l e l l l ) , the average s n o w fa ll f o r th e year a t .
Grow Agency i s f o r t y - f o u r in c h e s .
The snow i s u s u a lly dry and the
accom panying w inds q u ic k ly blow i t o f f th e h ig h up land s in t o d e p r e ss io n s ■
and c o u le e s , le a v in g th e g r a z in g land open and a c c e s s ib le to l i v e s t o c k .
Tem perature. — As w i l l be seen by ta b le IV , th e r e i s a g r ea t
tem perature r a n g e , both se a s o n a l and d iu r n a l *
The mean annual tem perature
a t Crow AgenGj i s 4 4 .9 ° F a h r e n h e it. ■Tem peratures e x c e e d in g 100 d eg rees
occu r o c c a s io n a lly on s e v e r a l days d u rin g th e summer, but p r o tr a c te d
p e r io d s o f h ig h tem perature are v e ry r a r e . 2 6 /
The h ig h e s t tem perature
reco rd ed a t Crow Agency i s HO d eg rees F a h re n h eit.
In w in te r tem p eratu res
o f 48 d e g r ee s below zero have been r e c o r d e d , but such c o ld p e r io d s are
u s u a lly s h o r t.
D uring th e w in te r th e r e are u s u a lly many c o n se c u tiv e c le a r
days w ith tem perature j u s t below f r e e z in g .
The d iu r n a l change in tem per­
a tu re i s fr e q u e n t ly more than f o r t y d e g r e e s , p a r t ic u la r ly in summer, and
th e hot days are n orm ally fo llo w e d by c o o l, com fortable n ig h t s .
In
w in te r even g r e a t e r v a r ia t io n s in tem perature occur when storm s approach.
/
■
^
Growing S ea so n . — The average grow ing sea so n a t Grow Agency ov er a
'
‘
26/ C lim a tic Summery o f S o u th e a ster n Montana, U n ite d S ta te s
Department o f A g r ic u ltu r e , Weather Bureau, U. S . Government P r in tin g O f f i c e ,
■Washington, D. C ., 1930.
W '
r
I ^Blas XX.
CLIMATIC SUMMARY
ta zcira -j-za a .-a
—.
to
Year
s
’■-f
>(
>.
>
I
&
1880
1890
1900
1910
1920
1950
Average*
I
•g
m
Cf-
2
S"
0,52
0.51
.04
1.02
1.15
.69
0.60
.24
.51
.44
2.26
.28
0.56
1.18
.10
.46
.95
.80
1.31
.56
5.99
1.46
2.55
1.65
5.65
1.05
.47
2.00
2.66
'1.50
5.17
2.44
.00
.74
4.08
1.26
2.51
.06
.59
.48
1.55
1.50
2.55
.51
2.58
.61
1.55
.55
0.20
1.72
.99
1.67
.00
.18
1.19
.98
.81
1.52.00
2.92
.85
.66
.95
1.56
2.47
2.50
1.58
.86
1.17
1.50
* Fifty-one year average from 1879
Sources
I
i
r
I y *
a
g
I
c
&
0.54
.48
.50
2.21
.50
.12
1.27
.55
.22
1.00
.25
.18
19.65
9.66
10.60
15.41
16.26
11.45
.87
.74
15.09
• 1950.
United States Department of Agriculture,
Weather Bureau's Climatic Summaiy of
Southeastern Montana.
f
-40-
TABLE I I I .
WIND DIRECTION AND SNOWFALL CHART
Length o f Record 40 y ea rs
1890 to 1950
Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May
Wind
D ir ec tio n
NW
NW
U
S
Snow fall
7 .2
6 .2
9 .2
4 .5
Days
Sn ow fall
0 .0 1
5
5
6
6
Source:
June J u ly Aug. S ep t. O ct. Nov. Dec. Annual
E
E
E
NW
1 .0
0
0
0
.5
8
8
5
4
NW
4
NW
NW
N
NW
5 .5
5 .5
6 .6
4 4 .0
5
4
5
65
C lim atic Summary o f th e U nited S ta te s ty th e U nited S ta te s Depart­
ment o f A g r icu ltu r e , Weather Bureau, 1950.
-4 1 . TABLE IV.
TEMPERATURE CHART
Length o f Record 47 y ea rs
1885 to 1930
Average
Average
Maximum
Average
Minimum
H ighest
Lowest
January
February
March
A p ril
May
June
Ju ly
August
September
October
November
December
18.9
21.8
55.6
4 6 .4
54.7
6 5 .1
7 2 .4
69
68.7
4 7 .4
53.6
23.6
51.6
34.6
4 6 .4
60 .5
6 8 .2
8 0 .4
89.7
86
7 5 .4
6 2 .5
4 7 .1
53.5
6 .2
9 .0
20 .9
52 .2
41 .2
49.8
5 5 .1
51.5
42
52.3
2 0 .1
11.7
62
68
81
89
101
107
HO
109
100
89
78
71
-45
-4 6
-5 1
- 8
18
28
36
36
15
-18
-2 6
-48
Average annual
4 5 .4
59.9
31
HO
-48
Month
Source:
C lim atic Summary o f Southeastern Montana, U nited S ta te s
Department o f A g r icu ltu r e , Weather Bureau.
r
—4 2 —
f i f t y - y e a r p e r io d i s 134 d a y s, £ 7 / a lth ou gh k i l l i n g f r o s t s have occurred
as l a t e as June 2 1 , and as e a r ly as September I , the average date o f the
l a s t k i l l i n g f r o s t in th e sp r in g at Crow Agency i s May 1 4 , w h ile the
average date o f the f i r s t k i l l i n g f r o s t i s September 1 4 , in g e n e r a l, the
p erio d between th e l a s t k i l l i n g f r o s t in th e sp r in g and the f i r s t in th e
autumn d e c r e a s e s w ith th e in c r e a s e in a l t i t u d e .
(S ee ta b le V)
W inds.— The d ir e c t io n o f th e p r e v a ilin g winds in most p a rts o f the
R e se r v a tio n i s w est and northw est (s e e ta b le I I I ) .
A lthough d e s tr u c tiv e
winds are uncommon, str o n g winds p r e v a il throughout most o f the y e a r .
During the summer, th e winds accompanied by high tem perature cause ra p id
e v a p o r a tio n , as the a i r i s u s u a lly d ry .
These dry winds fr e q u e n tly
damage dry land c r o p s, but ir r ig a t e d a r ea s are l i t t l e
a ffe c te d .
N atural R esources
V e g e ta tio n . — The d i v e r s i t i e s o f a lt it u d e and s o i l e x i s t i n g w ith in
the Crow In d ian R e se r v a tio n are r e f l e c t e d in s im ila r v a r ia t io n in v e g e t a t io n .
The upland meadows o f the B ig Horn M ountains support a lu x u r ia n t growth
O-L p r a ir ie g r a s s e s du rin g the ord in ary s e a s o n s , and numerous c o n ife r o u s
t r e e s grow in th e h ig h e r and more rocky p a r ts o f th e m ountains.
The
san d ston e h i l l s e a s t o f the L i t t l e Horn R iv er support a growth o f p in e s .
Along the w a terco u rses such g r a s s e s as gram as, s t i p a s , f e s c u e s , o o a s,
and b lu e stem f l o u r i s h e s , and groves and t h ic k e t s o f cottonw ood, w illo w s
and b o x e ld e r s are common.
27/
Timber fo r f u e l and some s u it a b le m erchantable
C lim a tic Summary o f S o u th e a ster n Montana, op. b i t .
-4 3 -
TABLE V,
Date o f
la s t k i l l ­
in g f r o s t
in spring
Date o f
fir s t
k illin g
f r o s t in
autumn
May 10
May 8
May 12
May 16
Apr. 30
— "■
■■ I- •*
May I
May 19
May 25
S ep t. 12
O ct. 3
—
———
S ep t. 7
S ep t. 26
O ct. 11
S ep t. 9
————
O ct. 10
O ct. 4
S ep t. I
May 14
S ep t. 25
Year
1880
1885
1890
1895
1900
1905
1910
1915
1920
1925
1930
50-year
average
Source:
May 13
FROST DATA
Length o f
growing
season,
la s t
k illin g
f r o s t to
fir s t
k illin g
fr o st
(davs)
125
148
———
114
149
151
L a te st
date w ith
temperature
32 or lower
in spring
E a r lie s t date
w ith tempera­
tu re 32 or
lower in
autumn
-----
———
162
138
101
—-- —
——
May 16
Apr. 30
May 16
—--—™
May I
May 19
May 23
S ep t. 7
S ep t. 25
O ct. 9
Aug. 25
———
S ep t. 25
O ct. 4
S ep t. I
154
June 21
Aug. 27
C lim atic Summary o f the U nited S t a te s , 1930, U nited S ta te s
Department o f A gricu ltu re Weather Bureau, page 15.
—44-
tim ber may be found in th e m ountains.
The D iv is io n o f F o r e str y rep o rted
in t h e i r 1938 annual rep ort th a t th e r e were 68 ,0 0 0 a c r e s o f tim ber o f
which 1 9 ,2 6 0 a c r e s are o f commercial im p ortan ce.
I t i s e stim a te d th a t
th e t o t a l stan d o f tim ber c o n ta in s 8 2 ,2 3 3 ,0 0 0 board f e e t .
The area o f
commercial im portance c o n ta in s an e stim a te d 3 3 ,8 6 3 ,0 0 0 board f e e t o f
ponderosa p in e .
In a d d itio n to the com m ercial tim ber th er e i s an e s ­
tim a ted 4 8 ,0 0 0 a c r e s o f non-com m ercial tim b er in the B ig Horn and Pryor
m ountains.
T h is c o n s is t s o f lo d g e p o le , sp r u c e, f i r , and asp en .
On th e
a d ja cen t badland and benchland a r e a s , w estern wheat g r a s s , sage brush,
g rea sew eed , and p r ic k ly pear make up a f l o r a c h a r a c t e r is t ic o f a sem ia r id c lim a te .
Hydro—se le c tr i c Power . — The B ig Horn R iv e r, and to a l e s s e r degree
th e s m a lle r str ea m s, headin g in the m ou ntain s, are p o t e n t ia l so u rces o f
h y d r o - e le c t r ic power.
I t i s even p o s s ib le th a t power f o r is o la t e d ranches
may be d evelop ed from a r t e s io n w e lls d r i l l e d near th e B ig Horn m ountains,
as s e v e r a l w e lls near Soap and B eauvais Greeks y i e l d a flo w o f 1,000 to
2 5 ,1 0 0 b a r r e ls o f w ater d a i l y , and th e casin ghead p r e ssu r e o f two w e lls
a t Soap Creek i s rep o rted to have r e g is t e r e d 225 and 300 pounds to the
square in c h .
Water S u p p lie s . — The Crow R e se r v a tio n i s v e ry fo r tu n a te in i t s
su p p ly o f w ater f o r d om estic and l i v e s t o c k u s e s , i r r i g a t i o n , and p u b lic
s u p p lie s .
These groups are not m u tu a lly e x c lu s i v e , as w ater s u p p lie s
which may be p r im a r ily in ten d ed fo r one purpose are fr e q u e n tly used fo r
o th e r p u rp o se s.
The B ig Horn and L i t t l e Horn R iv e r s , Pryor Creek and
Lodge Grass Creek are the p r in c ip a l s o u r c e s o f w ater fo r d om estic
-45-
pu rp oses in t b e i r r e s p e c t iv e v a l l e y s ? a lth o u g h many p eo p le l i v i n g in
th e s e v a l l e y s u se w e lls or s p r in g s ,
The r iv e r w ater i s r e a d ily a v a ila b le to the in h a b ita n ts o f the
r iv e r v a l l e y s , p a r t ic u l a r ly in th e ir r i g a t e d a r e a s , where w ater, from th e
d it c h e s i s run d i r e c t l y in t o c i s t e r n s .
th e d is ta n c e i s s h o r t.
Even when th e ran ch ers haul w a ter
W ells dug in th e allu v iu m o f th e r iv e r v a lle y s
•
are in e x p e n s iv e and fu r n is h adequate s u p p lie s , but in g e n e r a l y i e l d w ater
th a t i s more h ig h ly m in e r a liz e d than th e r iv e r w a ter.
On account o f th e
low er m in eral co n te n t and c o n seq u e n tly l e s s h a rd n ess, r iv e r w aters are
g e n e r a lly p r e fe r r e d by th e in h a b it a n t s , p a r t ic u la r ly by th e In d ia n s,
who seem t o have an a v e r s io n to w e ll w a te r .
Even i f th e w ater in a w e ll
th a t o b ta in s i t s su p p ly from th e a llu v iu m i s to o h ig h ly m in e r a liz e d f o r
d o m estic u s e , i t may be v a lu a b le f o r s t o c k , p a r t ic u la r ly du rin g the
w in te r , when th e i r r i g a t i o n d it c h e s are d ry.
Most o f th e o ld e r ranches were lo c a te d at o r near sp r in g s th a t
s u p p lie d w ater fo r a l l p u rp o ses.
But i t was e a r ly see n th a t the s p r in g s
would not su p p ly s u f f i c i e n t w a te r, th e r e fo r e s e t t l e r s began to put down
w e lls .
S e v e r a l ty p e s o f w e lls are in u s e , such as th e d r i l l e d w e l l s , and
dug w e l l s .
Most o f th e d r i l l e d w e lls are s i x in c h e s in d ia m eter, but some
are o n ly fo u r .
The s i x —in c h w e lls are b e t t e r adapted t o th e c o n d itio n s
o f t h i s r e g io n than are th e w e lls o f s m a lle r d ia m eter, .and in many p la c e s
e ig h t - in c h h o le s would be d e s ir a b le because o f th e la r g e r r e s e r v o ir s
th a t th e y would a f f o r d .
Dug w e lls are most common in th e allu viu m and
te r r a c e m a t e r ia l, but th e y are a ls o numerous in th e c o u le e s in the upland
areas.
S h allow w e lls can be dug w ith l i t t l e
equipment and no g rea t
—46—
e x p en d itu re o f money or la b o r .
On th e up land s p eop le must depend on sp r in g s and w e lls or h au l
w ater from th e r i v e r s .
The l a t t e r i s a la b o r io u s and tim e-consum ing ta s k
In some p la c e s on th e u p land s where s p r in g s are not a v a ila b le , w e lls must
be sunk by one o f s e v e r a l m ethods.
D r ille d w e lls are more e x p e n s iv e , but
th e y are more s a n it a r y and more d u r a b le .
Some dug w e lls are e x c e lle n t
p ro d u cers, but th e y .a r e e a s i l y contam inated and may go dry during th e
d ro u g h ts.
Whether a w ater i s s u it a b le fo r d o m estic u s e s depends to a v e r y ,
la r g e e x te n t on th e person u s in g th e w a te r .
Of c o u r s e , th e r e i s a lim it
t o th e t o t a l d is s o lv e d s o l i d s fo r p o t a b i l i t y .
Many w a ters are drunk in
t h i s r e g io n th a t would be r e j e c t e d in r e g io n s where th e in h a b ita n ts have
l e s s h ig h ly m in e r a liz e d w a ters a v a i l a b l e .
Then t o o , members o f one
h o u seh old w i l l d rin k w ith o u t c o m p la in t, w ater th a t i s condemned by o th e r s
on th e ranch as u n f i t f o r human consum ption.
T his o b s e r v a tio n a p p lie s t o
th e r e s id e n t s o f th e up land s as w e ll as t o th o se o f th e r iv e r v a l l e y s .
The to le r a n c e o f anim als fo r h ig h ly m in e r a liz e d w ater i s much g r e a te r
th an th a t o f human b e in g s .
However, some ground w a ters in t h i s r e g io n
are so h ig h ly m in e r a liz e d th a t even s to c k accustom ed to th e r e g io n r e fu s e
t o d rin k them.
On most sm a ll r a n c h e s, o th er th an th o se in th e u n fa v o ra b le a r e a s ,
s u f f i c i e n t w ater fo r f i f t y to one hundred head o f s to c k can-be o b ta in ed
from one or.m ore w e l l s .
On the s h a le a rea s th e rancher must e it h e r
arrange to have h i s g r a z in g area in c lu d e a w e ll or sp r in g th at' o b ta in s
w a ter t o s to r e in tan k s fo r th e c a t t l e .
Most o f th e s p r in g s in the
—47—
u n fa v o ra b le a rea s y i e l d h ig h ly m in e r a liz e d w ater a t o n ly a few f e e t , hut
w ater from most o f them i s r e fu s e d by c a t t l e .
Except fo r the flo w in g w e lls
d r i l l e d in th e sea r c h o f o i l , w e lls capable o f w a terin g more than one hundred
head o f c a t t l e ' a day are not common.
M ineral R e so u r c es. — As might be ex p e cted t h i s r e g io n has much
m in eral w e a lth .
Some o i l has been produced in the Soap Greek F ie ld , and
a n a tu r a l g a s su p p ly f o r th e town o f Hardin i s b ein g d ev elo p ed by w e lls
j u s t n o rth o f th a t town.
Gypsum, c la y , b e n t o n ite , a s p h a lt ic sand­
s t o n e , sand and g r a v e l are a l l p r e se n t in q u a n t it ie s h a v in g e it h e r p r e se n t
or fu tu r e commercial v a lu e .
in th e m ou ntain s.
A la r g e q u a n tity o f lim e sto n e i s a v a ila b le
A l i t t l e p la c e r g o ld has been found in th e e x i s t i n g
stream beds and may occu r w ith some o f th e te r r a c e g r a v e I .
Some c o a l
m ines have been^opened a t v a r io u s p o in ts in th e R e se r v a tio n to provide
c o a l f o r l o c a l d o m estic u s e .
m in eral r e s o u r c e s .
These are probab ly th e most v a lu a b le
I t w i l l how ever, p rob ab ly be many y e a r s b efore
e x te n s iv e m ining o p e r a tio n s w i l l be e co n o m ic a lly j u s t i f i e d fo r th e c o a l
i s lo c a te d in the h ig h r id g e s and p la te a u s e a s t o f th e L i t t l e Horn R iv er
in a r e g io n not e a s i l y a c c e s s ib le by r a ilr o a d sp u r s. 2 8 /
Summary
The p r e se n t Crow Agency c o n ta in s about 3 ,0 0 0 square m ile s o f
la n d in S o u th e a ster n Montana.
The a lt i t u d e ranges from 2 ,1 5 0 f e e t in
th e B ig Horn V a lle y t o 9 ,2 5 0 f e e t in th e B ig Horn M ountains.
th r e e w e ll d evelop ed drainage system s:
There are
th e B ig Horn, L i t t l e Horn R iv e r s ,
2 8 / G eology o f B ig Horn County and th e Crow R e se r v a tio n ,
Montana, op. c i t .
-4 8 -
and Pryor Greek.
These r iv e r s are a v a lu a b le source o f h y d r o - e le c t r ic
power, as w e ll as p r o v id in g w ater fo r th e i r r i g a t i o n sy stem s and f o r dom­
e s t ic u se.
The average r a i n f a l l i s o n ly tw e lv e to f i f t e e n in c h e s , but
most o f i t occu rs in the grow ing s e a s o n .
V aluable tim b er as w e ll as
m in eral r e s o u r c e s in c lu d in g c o a l, g o ld , lim e s to n e , san d ston e and g r a v e l
are found in th e m ou ntain s.
G rain s, b e e t s , h ay, and l i v e s t o c k may be
produced p r o f it a b ly on th e p la i n s .
T h e r e fo r e , w ith a l l o f th e se n a tu r a l
r e s o u r c e s at t h e i r command and w ith many modern co n v en ien ces made a v a i l —
a v le t o th e t r i b e , a l l th a t rem ains i s t o form u late some p la n whereby .the
Crow In d ia n s w i l l u t i l i z e t h e i r own o p p o r tu n itie s and become a s e l f r e s p e c t in g and s e lf - s u p p o r t in g p e o p le .
CHAPTEE I I I . . LIVING CONDITIONS AND WELFARE '
OF THE CROW INDIANS
P o p u la tio n
The Crow In d ia n Census o f 1938, 2 9 / shows th a t th e t o t a l p o p u la tio n
e n r o lle d in th e R e se r v a tio n i s 2 ,2 0 0 p e r so n s.
Of t h i s number about
44 per cen t are f u l l —b lood I n d ia n s, 34 per cen t are more th an one—h a l f
blood I n d ia n s , w h ile about 10 per cen t are o f l e s s than o n e-q u a rter In d ia n
b lo o d .
Almost one—h a l f o f the t o t a l en ro llm en t are below seventeen.vyears
o f age and about one—te n th are over f i f t y y e a r s .
P o p u la tio n s ta tu s i s
shown f u l l y in f ig u r e s 6 and 7 and t a b le V I.
2 9 / R ecords o f th e Crow In d ia n O f f ic e , Grow A gency, Montana,
13 8 , page I .
—4 : 9 —
TO TA L PO P U L A T IO N 2 , 2 0 0
PER CENT
M A L E 1 118
FEM ALE 1082
FULLBLOODS 9 6 4
M 496
F 468
1/2 TO FULL 7 5 4
F 370
M 384
1/4 TO I/2 2 4 9
F 1 3 2 — M 117
L E S S T H A N I/ 4
F 113 — M 12 0
SOURCE
C E N S U S CR O W R E SE R V A T IO N 1 9 3 8
Figure 6 . —P o p u l a t i o n s t a t u s o f Crow I n d i a n s by s e x and b l o o d , 193T
-5 0 -
2200
TOTAL
7t
o
5
SOURCE:
6 TO 16
IT T O 5 0
OVER 5 0
CROW INDIAN OFFICE RECORDS
1938
F i g u r e 7 . — Age groups o f I n d i a n s , Ctovj I n d i a n R e s e r v a t i o n , 1 9 3 8 .
______________ . M t .____
- —
in in
if -
>
-5 1 -
TABLE VI.
#
DISTRIBUTION OF INDIANS
Crows o f f th e R eservation , a d u lts
Crows o f f th e R eservation , ch ild ren
Crows on th e R eservation , a d u lts
Crows on th e R eservation , ch ild ren
26
1,655
241
Other In d ian s married to Crows or in
f a m ilie s , a d u lts
8
Other In d ian s married to Crows or in
f a m ilie s , c h ild r e n
27
Other In d ia n s, a d u lts
18
Other In d ia n s, c h ild re n
71
T o ta l Crows o f f and on th e R eservation
and o th er Indian s on th e R eservation
Sources
4
172
C iv il Works A dm inistration Survey, 1954.
2,196
-52-
The b u sin e s s a f f a i r s and g e n e r a l w e lfa r e o f the Crow T ribe i s
g r e a t ly in flu e n c e d by th e Crow In d ia n O f f ic e , and th e Crow In d ia n
O ffic e in tu rn must conform to th e r e g u la t io n s as w r itte n by the Com­
m is s io n e r o f In d ia n A f f a ir s in W ashington.
The c h ie f a d m in istr a to r at
th e Crow In d ia n Agency i s th e S u p e r in te n d e n t, who has charge o f a l l
departm ents and em ployees on the R e se r v a tio n .
Robert Y e llo w ta i l , who i s
th e p r e se n t S u p e r in te n d e n t, i s a Crow In d ia n .
Mr. Y e llo w t a il was one
o f th e f i r s t In d ia n s t o become a S u p erin ten d en t o f h is own t r i b e .
A
p ic tu r e o f th e S u p erin ten d en t as he le d th e parade in th e Crow annual
In d ia n F a ir i s shown in th e f r o n t i s p i e c e .
There are a number o f d if f e r e n t
d ep a rtm en ts, o f w hich th e most im portant a r e: e x t e n s io n , f o r e s t r y , la n d ,
f in a n c e , r o a d s, i r r i g a t i o n , m e d ic a l, e d u c a tio n , law and o r d e r, and th e
v a r io u s em ergency r e l i e f a d m in is tr a tio n s such a s , C iv ilia n C onservation
Corps and th e Works P ro g ress A d m in istr a tio n .
E x te n sio n
The e x te n s io n d i v i s i o n c o n s is t s o f an a g r ic u lt u r a l e x te n s io n agen t
and s i x o th e r e x te n s io n a id s .
The purpose o f t h i s departm ent i s to te a c h
th e b e t t e r methods o f a g r ic u ltu r e and s t o c k r a is in g .
T h is d iv is io n
has d ir e c t c o n ta c t w ith th e In d ia n s and th e s u p e r v is io n o f t h e ir p r o p e r ty ,
such as li v e s t o c k and farm p r o p e r ty .
T h is d iv i s io n i s supposed to
recommend what lan d i s needed fo r fa m ily u se and what sh o u ld be le a s e d .
These em ployees are to a d v is e on th e ex p en d itu re o f th e le a s e r e n t a ls
and o th e r funds th a t are p aid th e I n d ia n s .
f
T his d i v i s i o n , as w e ll as
-53-
a l l th e o t h e r s , must coop erate and work to g e th e r f o r th e b e st i n t e r e s t s
o f th e whole r e s e r v a tio n in s te a d o f m erely th e forw ard in g o f i t s own
d epartm en t.
F o r e str y
The d i v i s i o n o f f o r e s t r y and g r a z in g i s to care f o r and a d m in iste r
th e n eed s o f th e f o r e s t s and range la n d s on th e R e se r v a tio n .
On th e
Crow R e se r v a tio n th e r e i s a f o r e s t s u p e r v is o r , a range exam iner, and
f o r e s t l i n e r id e r .
In g e n e r a l, th e s e em ployees are to care fo r the
f o r e s t s and su p e r v ise t h e .c u t t i n g o f tim b e r, to in s p e c t th e g ra zin g
u n it s and o th e r range le a s e s in order th a t th e land w i l l not be abused,
and to p reven t o v e rg r a z in g and to o th er w ise conserve th e n a tu r a l r e s o u r c e s
o f th e R e s e r v a tio n .
The r e s u l t s o f o v e rg r a z in g and range c o n se r v a tio n
are shown in fig u r e 8 .
Land .
’ The land departm ent c o n s is t s o f th e land c le r k , and two le a s i n g
c le r k s .
These c le r k s are to w r ite , th e le a s e s as recommended by th e ex ­
t e n s io n , t o keep th e r eco rd s o f r e n t a ls and to o th erw ise care fo r th e
r ec o r d s in regard to th e land o p e r a tio n s .
C opies o f a l l le a s e s and o th e r
such b u s in e s s must be forw arded to th e In d ia n O ffic e and th e General
A ccou n tin g O ffic e in W ashington.
Finance
Each e n r o lle e on th e R e se rv a tio n has an I n d iv id u a l In d ian Money
-5 4 -
F i g u r e 6 . — The r a n g e s a r e u n i e r t h e c a r e f u l s u p e r v i s i o n
o f t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s Indian F o r e s t S e r v i c e .
-55-
account , and a c a r e fu l reco rd i s k ep t o f a l l funds r e c e iv e d by him.
At
th e r e q u e st o f a member o f th e e x te n s io n d i v i s i o n , funds are paid t o th e
'
in d iv id u a l f o r such purposes as may be n eed ed .
d isb u rse m e n ts.
There are two forms o f
One i s by g e n e r a l purchase o rd er, by w hich a minor or
o th e r incom petent In d ia n i s g iv e n an ord er to some merchant or vendor t o
s e l l c e r t a in a r t i c l e s named, to th e in d iv id u a l In d ia n , and th en the vendor
i s p aid by check d ir e c t from th e Agency o f f ic e ," n o cash b ein g handled by th e
In d ia n .
The o th e r method i s to w r ite a check d ir e c t t o th e e n r o lle e
from h i s a c c o u n t.
T his i s the,m ore common method w ith a d u lt In d ia n s,
and as th e In d ia n s o b ta in more e x p e r ie n c e in f in a n c ia l m a tters few er
purchase ord ers are is s u e d .
Boads
T h is d i v i s i o n b u ild s highways and keeps in r e p a ir e x i s t i n g roads
on th e R e se r v a tio n .
Whenever p o s s ib le t h i s d iv i s io n works in coopera­
t i o n w ith th e Bureau o f P u b lic Roads.
In d ia n s are employed whenever
p o s s ib le .
I r r ig a t io n
The c h ie f d u t ie s o f t h i s dep artm en t, s in c e the, p r o je c t has been
l a i d o u t , i s to fu r n is h w ater and t o keep th e many c a n a ls , d it c h e s ,
and s tr u c tu r e s in r e p a ir .
With th e e x c e p tio n o f e n g in e e r s , In d ian s
are h ir e d to do most o f t h i s work
-56-
Law and Order
There are two l o c a l In d ian p o licem en , a p r o h ib itio n o f f i c e r , and
an In d ian p o lic e judge in th e departm ent.
The p olicem en are to keep
order and when n e c e s s a r y to make a r r e s t s , th e p r o h ib itio n o f f i c e r i s
t o su p p ress th e liq u o r t r a f f i c , and th e p o lic e judge i s to t r y minor
c a s e s o f law v i o l a t i o n s .
"See tajble V I I .)
Emergency R e l i e f A d m in istr a tio n s
The C iv ilia n C on servation Corps o f th e In d ia n Department g iv e s
work r e l i e f to needy In d ia n f a m ilie s and endeavors t o con serve the
n a tu r a l r e s o u r c e s on th e R e se r v a tio n .
In another paragraph th e work
o f t h i s d iv i s io n i s g iv e n in d e t a i l .
The Works P r o g r ess A d m in istr a tio n gives-em ploym ent to th o se needy
f a m ilie s th a t cannot f in d work e lse w h e r e .
p a id t o th e s e em p loyees.
In 1937 about $ 1 5 ,0 0 0 was
V arious p r o j e c t s , such as b u ild in g c o r r a ls ,
b u ild in g b r id g e s , working on r o a d s, and sew in g p r o je c ts f o r women were
c a r r ie d on.
M e d ic a l’ and H o s p it a liz a t io n
Adequate p r o v is io n has been made f o r m edical s e r v i c e .
A f in e
•new t h i r t y —bed h o s p i t a l , com plete w ith a l l modern e l e c t r i c a l , and
s u r g ic a l a p p lia n c e s was r e c e n t ly c o n s tr u c te d .
The m ed ica l p e r so n n e l,
when c o m p le te ly s t a f f e d , c o n s is t s o f th r e e d o c to r s , fo u r s t a f f n u r s e s,
a cook, and two f i e l d n u r s e s .
two p a r ts :
The d u t ie s o f the f i e l d n u r se s are in
-5 7 -
TABLE V II. INDIAN LAW OFFENDERS
Crow Indian R eservation
O ffence
charged■
F u ll blood
Male
Female
Liquor v io la t io n s
7
Non-support
3
A ssa u lt
6
Drunken d r iv in g
2
D isord erly conduct
2
I
M isc. ca ses
8
2
0
O ne-half blood
Male
Female
2
0
I
10
_ -S'.* •
-58-
1.
They v i s i t th e in d iv id u a l homes to te a c h b e t t e r methods o f
h e a lth and h y g ie n e .
2.
They h o ld c la s s e s and s c h o o ls in which th e y t r y to make
th e p eo p le h e a lth c o n s c io u s ,
E ducation
The 1938 r ec o r d s o f th e Crow In d ia n Agency in d ic a t e th a t th ere
i s a t o t a l o f 729 c h ild r e n o f sc h o o l age on th e R e se r v a tio n .
fig u r e 9 .)
Of t h i s number 672 are a tte n d in g s c h o o l.
(iSee
One hundred and
t h ir t e e n are a tte n d in g s c h o o ls beyond th e e ig h th grade l e v e l .
fifty -fiv e
There are
c h ild r e n o f sc h o o l age not in sc h o o l fo r v a r io u s r e a so n s.
A few are m arried; but most o f the n o n -a tten d a n ce i s because o f
p h y s ic a l d e f e c t s .
With th e e x c e p tio n o f th o se a tte n d in g the two C a th o lic M issio n
S ch o o ls at S t . X a v ier and P ryor, a l l c h ild r e n a tte n d th e p u b lic s c h o o ls
or c o l l e g e s .
A ll p u p ils th a t do not l i v e w ith in w alkin g d is ta n c e o f
sc h o o l are tak en in th e sc h o o l b u se s.
Wherever th ere are improved
roads a l l sc h o o l c h ild r e n are tr a n s p o r te d , even as fa r as 35 m ile s , to
th e town s c h o o ls o f Wyola, Lodge G ra ss, Crow A gency. Harden, S t . X a v ie r ,
or P ry o r.
The com m unities th a t are to o remote from such tr a n s p o r ta tio n
l i n e s have t h e i r own l o c a l p u b lic s c h o o ls .
The C iv il Works A d m in istra tio n
Survey in 1934 showed o n ly t h i r t y - s i x f a m ilie s more than f i v e m ile s from
a su r fa c e d highw ay.
H a tu r a lly , th e same curriculum i s u sed fo r th e In d ia n c h ild r e n
as f o r th e w h ite c h ild r e n in the p u b lic s c h o o ls .
But none o f th ese
s c h o o ls have any r e c o g n iz e d v o c a tio n a l t r a in in g or home econom ic co u rses
TOTAL CHILDREN ON RESERVATION
OF SCHOOL AGE - 7 2 9
TOTAL CHILDREN IN SCHOOL
ON RESERVATION- 6 7 2
TOTAL BOYS IN
SCH OOL-345
TOTAL GIRLS IN
SC H O O L-327
NOT IN SCHOOL- 5 5
IN SCHOOL AND NOT CROWS- 4 9
IN HIGH SCHOOL OR B E T T E R - M3
DATA FOR ALL INDIAN CHILDREN BETWEEN THE AGES OF 6 TO 18
SOURCE: RECORDS OF THE CROW INDIAN OFFICE
1938
F i g u r e 9 . - - D i s t r i b u t i o n o f c h i l d r e n o f s c h o o l a g e , Crow I n d i a n R e s e r v a t i o n , 1937.
—6 0 -
th a t h e lp to te a c h th e farm c h ild r e n how t o "become more p r o f ic ie n t in
t h e i r d a il y work.
A ll tim e and e f f o r t i s p la ced on academ ic t r a in in g .
But s in c e new and modern sc h o o l h ou ses have been b u ilt in a l l s i x o f
th e tow n s, i t i s hoped th a t p r o v is io n w i l l soon be made f o r more v o c a tio n ­
a l t r a in i n g .
A dult E d u cation
Some a d u lt e d u c a tio n i s c a r r ie d on under th e le a d e r s h ip o f th e
A g r ic u ltu r a l E x te n sio n D iv is io n by means o f th e farm c h a p te r s , the
annual sh o rt c o u r s e s , and th e l i v e s t o c k a s s o c ia t io n . 'I.A farm chapter
has been org a n ized and m eets a t r e g u la r in t e r v a ls in each d i s t r i c t t o
d is c u s s a g r ic u lt u r a l problem s and d e v e lo p In d ia n le a d e r s h ip among th e
men.
The women’ s a u x i l i a r i e s o f th e s e ch a p ters s t r e s s many p r o je c ts
w hich t e n d .t o make th e home a b e t t e r and more p le a s a n t p la c e in which
to l i v e .
The annual sh o r t co u rses are h e ld in the w in te r when the farm ers
can most e a s i l y le a v e t h e i r work.
Guest speakers from th e Montana S ta te
A g r ic u ltu r a l C o lle g e le a d d is c u s s io n s in th e s e th r e e -d a y c o n fe r e n c e s.
E x h ib its o f c h o ic e crop sp ecim en s, s c h o o l work, and h o b b ies are on d is p la y .
From f i v e hundred t o s i x hundred In d ia n s u s u a lly a tte n d th e s e s e s s i o n s .
The li v e s t o c k a s s o c ia t io n s w i l l be d is c u s s e d in a l a t e r c h a p ter.
S o c i e t i e s and R e lig io u s O rganiza tio n s
Much has been done on th e R e se r v a tio n t o p ro v id e f o r the s o c i a l
—61—
and r e l i g i o u s w e lfa r e o f th e p e o p le .
Among th e most im portant o f th e
o r g a n iz a tio n s sponsored by th e E x te n sio n D iv is io n i s th e 4-H p r o je c t
w ith a t o t a l membership o f .s e v e n t y - t h r e e boys and fo r t y - s e v e n g i r l s
in th e e le v e n clu b s lo c a t e d in th e v a r io u s farm ing d i s t r i c t s .
The
r e s u l t s o f t h i s p r o je c t are g iv e n in more d e t a i l in fig u r e 1 0 .
The
p r o j e c t s in c lu d e sew in g , co o k in g , g a r d e n in g , p o u ltr y , a n d .c a lf r a is i n g .
These c lu b s h e lp t r a in th e boys and g i r l s t o be b e t t e r c i t i z e n s .
The
farm ch a p ters and th e l i v e s t o c k a s s o c ia t io n m entioned p r e v io u s ly have
many e d u c a tio n a l and s o c i a l m e e tin g s.
A t h l e t ic team s have been o r g a n iz e d !
sp o r t in w in te r , b a s e b a ll in th e summer.
B a sk e tb a ll i s a popular
Each d i s t r i c t has a
community h a l l in w hich many p u re ly s o c i a l a c t i v i t i e s are c a r r ie d
on.
The annual "Crow Fair" i s an o c c a s io n much en joyed by th e e n t ir e
■ p o p u la tio n .
('See fig u r e 1 1 .)
The two p r in c ip a l r e l i g i o u s o r g a n iz a tio n s are th e C a th o lic and th e
B a p tis t C hurches.
A su rvey o f r e l i g i o u s w e lfa r e , ( t a b le V I I l ) , shows th a t
about tw o -th ir d s o f th e p o p u la tio n a tte n d church s e r v i c e s ,
fo u r te e n church b u ild in g s on the R e se r v a tio n .
There are
There are s e v e r a l m is s io n ­
a r ie s who spend a la r g e amount o f money a n n u a lly in c a r r y in g on the
r e l i g i o u s work in th e d if f e r e n t s e c t i o n s .
But in s p it e o f th e many e f f o r t s and th e la r g e amounts o f money
th a t have been sp en t on th e w e lfa r e and th e e d u c a tio n o f th e In d ia n s,
t h e i r stand ard o f l i v i n g and moral c o n d itio n s are low , as judged by
th e w h ite man.
Soon a f t e r th e a l l o t t i n g o f th e land was com pleted,
good improvements were p la c e d on th e a llo tm e n ts and much equipment
-6 2 -
TOTAL 3 5 5
BOYS
GIRLS
I | 3 0 —4-H
CLUB
FARM C H A P T E R S
AUXILIARIES
2 0 j LIVESTOCK ASSOCIATIONS
S O U R C E . C R O W IN D IA N O F F IC E R E C O R D S 1 9 3 7
Ficure 1 0 .—Number o f Indians belonging t o s o c i e t i e s , Crow Indian
R eservation , 1937.
-6 3 —
Figure 1 1 .—Part of the parade a t the Annual Crow F a ir .
__
______
^--*-■— --
__ ' -
'_ _ _ _
TABLE V III.
RELIGIOUS WELFARE OF CROW INDIANS
T o ta l
C a th o lic
P r o te sta n t
14
9
5
1,440
925
515
Number o f M issio n a ries
12
6
6
Number o f church s o c ie t ie s
30
14
16
Number o f Boy Scout members
29
0
29
Number o f G ir l Scout members
42
0
42
Number o f o th er s o c i e t i e s
13
8
5
Number o f church b u ild in g s
Number who atten d church
S ource:
•
Annual S t a t i s t i c a l R e p o rt, S u p e rin te n d e n t to Com m issioner, 1937
-6 5 -
p u r c h a s e d an d e v e r y e f f o r t p o s s i b l e w a s made t o
to
liv e
on t h e
l a n d an d t o p r o d u c e h i s
In g e n e r a l th e r e s u l t s
liv in g
a llo tte e
fr o m a g r i c u l t u r a l p u r s u i t s .
on t h e Grow R e s e r v a t i o n h a v e b e e n d i s a p p o i n t i n g .
T he f a m i l i e s h a v e g r a d u a l l y m oved i n t o
tio n ,
ca u se th e
th e
s m a l l to w n s on t h e R e s e r v a ­
e s p e c i a l l y n e a r Grow A g e n c y , L o d g e G r a s s ,. S t . X a v i e r ,
T hey h ave b u ilt , m a k e - s h ift sh a c k s o r l i v e
in te n t s
and P r y o r .
on t r i b a l
owned l a n d .
Many o f th em h a v e l e a s e d t h e i r l a n d an d h o m es t o w h i t e l e s s e e s .
In a
l a r g e m e a s u r e t h e i r e q u ip m e n t an d l i v e s t o c k h a v e b e e n d i s s i p a t e d .
o f t h e y o u n g men a n d women h a v e n e v e r l i v e d
e n tir e
liv e lih o o d
is
on a fa r m o r r a n c h and t h e i r
d e r i v e d fr o m v a r i o u s e m e r g e n c y r e l i e f a d m i n i s t r a t i o n s
o r fr o m o t h e r s o u r c e s o f a t e m p o r a r y n a t u r e .
p a y m en t i s
Many
r e c e iv e d i t
is
I n many c a s e s , when a l e a s e
p a i d to w a r d t h e p u r c h a s e o f a new c a r i n s t e a d
o f im p r o v in g t h e f a m i l y c o n d i t i o n s .
N a t u r a l l y , t h e im p r o v e m e n ts on t h e
or,
in
som e c a s e s , h a v e e n t i r e l y d i s a p p e a r e d , w i t h n o e f f o r t to w a r d
r e p la c e m e n t,
/
as a ll
th e r e n t la s
a s h o r t l e a s i n g p e r io d th e
b u t i n m any c a s e s e f f o r t s
a s la r g e
to
are u se d f o r p e r so n a l u s e .
le s s e e
d oes n ot tr y to
a r e made t o
an in c o m e a s p o s s i b l e
fr o m t h e
B eca u se o f
im p r o v e t h e
" m ine" t h e s o i l i n
la n d , th e n th e
a llo tm e n t,
ord er to
le s s e e
o b ta in
w i l l m ove
a n o t h e r fa r m .
I n tu r n th e I n d ia n fa m ily l i v i n g
or,
a llo tm e n ts have d e te r io r a te d
in
som e c a s e s , tw o o r t h r e e f a m i l i e s
s m a ll h o u se
or te n t ,
soon c u lt iv a t e
s ta n d a r d s a r e lo w e r e d , h e a lt h
in
a ll
s u c h s m a l l cra m p ed q u a r t e r s
liv in g
t o g e th e r in a
a w a r p e d view , o f l i f e .
M oral
and h y g e n i c c o n d i t i o n s a r e e n d a n g e r e d
and i n g e n e r a l a v e r y u n s a t i s f a c t o r y
c o n d it io n e x i s t s .
It
is
d if fic u lt
■ 66—
t o keep th e c h ild r e n in s c h o o l.
Much o f th e tim e o f th e Government
employee i s w asted in answ ering p e t t y , u s e l e s s q u e s t io n s , or in s e e k in g
out in fo r m a tio n th a t i s o f no v a lu e t o th e in d iv id u a l.
Uor would th e s e
q u e s tio n s e v e r he asked i f th e in d iv id u a l was busy w ith some u s e f u l
employment.
Much o f th e tim e and f a c i l i t i e s o f th e m ed ical s t a f f i s
consumed c a r in g f o r minor and a v o id a b le i l l s .
In g e n e r a l th e I n d ia n i s
fu lly
aw a re o f t h i s
s itu a tio n ,
and
w o u ld w e lc o m e som e w ay o u t o f h i s p r e s e n t e x i s t e n c e .
Summary
I t has been shown th a t th e In d ia n p o p u la tio n o f th e Crow In d ia n
R e se r v a tio n c o n s is t s o f 2 ,2 0 0 p e o p le .
p u p ils a tte n d th e p u b lic s c h o o ls .
S ix hundred and se v e n ty -tw o In d ia n
S u f f i c i e n t f a c i l i t i e s are a v a ila b le
f o r a l l e d u c a tio n a l needs e x ce p t th a t no p r o v is io n has y e t been made f o r
v o c a tio n a l t r a in i n g .
The h e a l t h ,
The b eg in n in g has been made in a d u lt e d u c a tio n .
r e lig io u s .,
an d s o c i a l w e l f a r e h a v e b e e n w e l l p r o v i d e d f o r .
' CHAPTER I V .
LAHD TEHURE AHD PRESEHT U T IL I ZATIOH
Of t h e crow i h d i a h r e s e r v a t io h
I t has been shown in Chapter I , th a t o f the .2 ,2 9 8 , 8 8 6 . 3 5 . a c re s
on th e Crow In d ia n R e se r v a tio n , I , 0 1 6 ,5 6 5 a c re s are s t i l l owned by
th e o r ig in a l a l l o t t e e s .
E igh t hundred thousand a c r e s are in h e ir s h ip
s t a t u s , 2 7 2 ,6 4 0 a c r e s are t r i b a l la n d s w hich w i l l n ev er be a l l o t t e d .
• Two h u n d r e d an d f i v e
b een s o ld
t h o u s a n d , t h r e e h u n d r e d and f i f t y - f i v e
or o th e r w is e
a lie n a te d .
a c r e s have
The r e m a i n i n g 4 ,3 0 5 .5 a c r e s a r e b e i n g
u s e d b y t h e G o v ern m en t f o r r e s e r v e s ,
p ark s,
12) .
.
T he im p o r t a n c e o f t h e
is
and o t h e r ' p u r p o s e s ( s e e
acreage
’
o f I n d ia n la n d s in h e ir s h ip
q u i c k l y s e e n w h en v i e w e d i n r e l a t i o n
l a n d s a s sh o w n i n
t a b le IX .
to
o th e r ty p e s
a ll
p a s s in g in t o t h i s
th e
a llo tte e s
a t th e r a te
fu r th e r s a le s
m em bers o r I n d i a n
o f about
area o f h e ir s h ip
75»000
It
is
in
th e n ex t
The W h e e le r -H o w a r d
o t h e r th a n I n d ia n t r i b e
t h e r e f o r e , a c e r t a in t y th a t
la n d s w i l l s t e a d i l y
in c r e a s e .
In asm u ch a s th e
W h e e le r -H o w a r d A c t l e f t u n t o u c h e d t h e p r e s e n t s y s t e m o f h e i r s h i p ,
to
r e s tr ic t
i n h e r i t a n c e t o m em bers o f t h e t r i b e
(t h u s p r e v e n tin g a c q u is it io n
t o do w ith t h e s e
th e h e ir s h ip
is
a c r e s a y e a r , an d a s
in c r e a s e .
o f I n d ia n la n d t o
c o r p o r a tio n s .
sta g e
th e p o s s e s s io n
Crow I n d i a n E e s e r v a t i o n i t
g ro w o l d e r t h e m o r t a l i t y w i l l
A ct p r o h ib it e d
th e
p r e s e n t t im e on t h e
sta g e
o f I n d i a n ow ned
t h e I I and now i n
o f o r i g i n a l a l l o t t e e s w i l l p ass' in t o th e h e ir s h ip
At th e
sta tu s
W ith t h e e n d o f f u r t h e r a l l o t m e n t s v i r t u a l l y
a s s u r e d u n d e r t h e W h e e le r -H o w a r d A c t ,
g e n e r a tio n .
fig u r e
except
or t h e i r d e sc e n d a n ts
b y t h e w h i t e p e o p l e ) , t h e p r o b le m o f w h a t
l a n d s b e c o m e s o f p a ra m o u n t im p o r t a n c e .
At p r e s e n t
l a n d s c o m p r is e t h i r t y - f o u r p e r c e n t o f a l l
Crow I n d i a n
la n d s .
The H e i r s h i p P r o b le m
The h e i r s h i p t r a c t s
o f I n d ia n r e s o u r c e s .
I n d ia n la n d t o w h ite
are p o t e n t ia lly
The h e i r s h i p
o w n e r s h ip .
w h ic h w o u ld a u t h o r i z e t h e
s a le
on e o f t h e m o s t im p o r t a n t
s y s te m w as a v e h i c l e
fo r a lie n a tin g
In 1902, p ressu re fo r le g is la t io n
o f h e ir s h ip
a llo tm e n ts
c o u ld no lo n g e r
-6 8 -
GOVERNMENT R E S E R V E a SC H O O LS
4 ,3 0 5 .5 0
ACRES
L A N D IN H E IR S H IP S T A T U S
T O T A L A C REAG E OF R ES ER VA TIO N SOURCE -
F ig u r e
12 . — Land
_3.
2 , 2 9 8 , 8 8 6 . 3 5 ACRES
C R O W IN DIA N O F F IC E
RECORDS
s t a t u s o f Crow I n d ia n R e s e r v a t i o n , 1 9 3 8 .
. . I .T S J T ? - -
:K _
-69-
TABLF IX .
I n d ia n s
LAuJD HOLDINGS ON GROli INDIAN" RESERVATION
v it h Land H o ld in g s
Crows
Crows
O th er
O th er
o f f th e r e s e r v a tio n , a l l a g es
on t h e r e s e r v a t i o n , a l l a g e s
I n d ia n s m a r r ie d t o Crows o r in f a m i l i e s
I n d ia n s
T o t a l w it h la n d h o l d i n g s
172
533
I
'
g
2q
I
I n d ia n s w it h o u t Land H o ld in g s
Crows o f f t h e r e s e r v a t i o n , c h i l d r e n
Crows on t h e r e s e r v a t i o n , c h i l d r e n
M a r ried o r i n Crow f a m i l i e s , c h i l d r e n
M a rried o r i n Crow f a m i l i e s , a d u l t s
O th e r I n d i a n s , c h i l d r e n
O th e r I n d i a n s , a d u l t s
T o t a l I n d ia n s w i t h o u t Land
Source:
H o ld in g s
Civil Works Administration Survey, 1954.
2(3
241
7
22
,,g
365
-7 0 fce r e s i s t e d .
open ed th e
e sta te .
The p a s s a g e o f t h e
1902 (3 2 S t a t . 2 4 5 , 2 7 5 )
s lu ic e w a y f o r a w h o le s a le d is s i p a t i o n
A fe w y e a r s
w h ic h p e r m i t t e d t h e
as w e ll.
a c t May 2 7 ,
la te r
(1 9 0 6 )
it
o f th e
w as c o m p le m e n te d h y a n o t h e r la w
S e c r e ta r y o f th e I n t e r io r to
D u r in g t h i s
s e ll
o r ig in a l a llo tm e n ts ,
p e r io d 2 0 5 ,3 5 5 a c r e s o r a b o u t 8 . 5
I n d i a n h o l d i n g s on t h e Crow R e s e r v a t i o n w e r e s o l d
m o st o f t h i s
I n d i a n la n d e d
la n d w a s t h e b e s t o f t h e
ir r ig a te d
to
p er c e n t o f th e
t h e w h i t e m en, and
a g r ic u lt u r a l la n d s .
C o m p le x itie s o f E q u it ie s
The p r e s e n t I n d i a n h e i r s h i p
la n d s y s te m i s
c o n s ta n t te n d e n c y o f in d iv id u a l e s t a t e s
e q u i t i e s , m ore and m ore c o n f u s i n g t o
c h a r a c te r iz e d
by th e
t o g ro w m ore c o m p le x i n t h e i r
b o t h t h e I n d i a n s and t o
th e ir
g o v e r n m e n t a l g u a r d i a n s , and p r o g r e s s i v e l y m ore c o s t l y t o
a d m in is te r .
An a l l o t m e n t ,
(b u t i s
on ce i t
has p a ssed in to
p r o te c te d by a tr u s t t i t l e ) ,
s m a lle r e q u it i e s
as h e ir s ,
s te a d ily
and h e i r s
th e hands o f h e ir s
s u b d iv id e s
o f h e ir s ,
in to
s till
s m a l l e r and
in c r e a s e .
On t h e
o th e r
h a n d , i n d i v i d u a l I n d i a n s a c c u m u la t e m o r e , an d more m in u t e e q u i t i e s
fr o m i n c r e a s i n g n u m b ers o f d i f f e r e n t e s t a t e s .
w i l l be i l l u s t r a t e d
by s p e c i f i c
c a s e s in
E x a m p le s o f S u b - D i v i s i o n
T h i s d o u b le p r o c e s s
t a b l e s X and X I .
c f E q u itie s
S e le c t e d f o r i t s r e l a t i v e s i m p l i c i t y i s the e s t a t e o f Rides Be­
h in d , Crow A l l o t t e e Number 72 5 , which p r e s e n t s a t y p i c a l p ic tu r e o f
the s u b - d i v i s i o n o f an a llo tm en t through in h e r i t a n c e , ( s e e ta b le X ).
Only 34 y e a r s have e la p s e d s in c e the o r i g i n a l a l l o t t e e d ie d , y e t the
r
T IB I* I .
E EIR S OF THE 'R ID E S
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( 1 9 /5 6
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( (1 0 -2 7 -5 6 )
T h is e s t a t e h a . b e e r p r o b a te d e i g h t t i . s
S o u r c e — B e c o rd s Crow I n d ia n O f f i c e
I r 54 y e a r s .
At p r ...n t- 2 8
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P ort-,i "-"olds
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L litS e Shane T e llo w ta S l
-73-
O ffic e o f In d ian A f f a ir s has probated th e e s t a t e e ig h t tim e s .
th e r e are 25 l i v i n g h e ir s and 7 d ecea sed h e i r s .
Today,
A lthough i t co n ta in ed o n ly
160 a c r e s th e a llo tm e n t i s d is t r ib u t e d among 25 d if f e r e n t h e i r s .
The h e ir s
o f t h i s e s t a t e happened to be young or m id d le-a g ed , o th er w ise th e number ;
o f h e ir s w ith p r o p o r tio n a te ly sm a lle r e q u i t i e s would be s t i l l g r e a t e r .
N e v e r t h e le s s , i t i s m a n ife st th a t a l l th e s e h e ir s co u ld not p o s s ib ly
u t i l i z e t h i s 160 a c r e s f o r t h e ir s u b s is t e n c e , even i f th e y used i t in
e q u a l sh a r e s; nor cou ld th ey d e r iv e any s u b s t a n t ia l b e n e f it s by le a s i n g
i t f o r incom e.
A more com p licated e s t a t e i s th a t o f N ice K n ife , A llotm ent No.
1211.
The s e l e c t i o n o f t h i s a llo tm e n t was made and t r u s t p a ten t is s u e d
November 1 4, 1908.
The o r ig in a l a llo tm e n t co n ta in ed 320 a c r e s . F o rty
a c r e s i s s t i l l h e ld in t r u s t .
T his e s t a t e was probated and h e ir s d e te r ­
mined by th e S e c r e ta r y o f th e I n t e r io r on June 1 $ , 1914.
The fin d in g by
th e S e c r e ta r y 's d e c is io n shows th a t th e r e were e le v e n o r ig in a l h e ir s
in t e r e s t e d in t h i s e s t a t e ,
At the p r e se n t tim e a f t e r tw enty-tw o y e a rs
have e la p s e d th e r e are s ix ty -t w o l i v i n g h e ir s in t e r e s t e d in t h i s e s t a t e ,
and th r e e e s t a t e s th a t have not y e t been determ ined by th e S e c r e ta r y .
The s m a lle s t share in h e r it e d amounts t o 1 /3 2 ,4 0 0 p art or .0089 o f one
acre.
As t h i s e s t a t e was probated tw e n ty -th r e e y e a rs a g o , i t i s
l o g i c a l to assume th a t th e m a jo rity o f th e p re se n t h e ir s are g e t t in g a lo n g
in y e a rs and th a t we may ex p ect one d ea th out o f e v er y tw e n ty -fiv e i n t e r ­
e s t e d h e ir s each y ea r and th a t each w i l l le a v e on th e average fo u r h e ir s
to h i s e s t a t e .
I f t h i s assum ption i s c o r r e c t , at th e end o f another
-74-
t wen ty - f i v e - y e ar p e r io d th e r e w i l l be ap p roxim ately 2 ,1 5 0 h e ir s or th e
p r e se n t h e ir s h ip s t a t u s would be m u lt ip lie d ap p roxim ately t h ir t y - f o u r tim e s .
Another in t e r e s t i n g e s t a t e i s th a t o f Ben Looks Back, who d ie d
in 1935»
Ben was an h e ir t o s ix t y - t h r e e d if f e r e n t a llo t m e n ts . ' The
la r g e s t e s t a t e was a p p ra ised a t $ 2 ,6 0 0 ; th e s m a lle s t was v a lu ed at $ 0 .3 4 .
Ben l e f t n in e d if f e r e n t h e i r s .
In o th e r w ords, th e e s t a t e in which Ben
owned an i n t e r e s t o f t h ir t y - f o u r c e n ts was d iv id e d e q u a lly among th e s e
n in e h e i r s .
Inasmuch as th e s e h e ir s are n iid d le-a g ed i t w i l l probab ly n o t
be lo n g b e fo r e one o f th e s e h e ir s d ie s and t h i s o n e -n in th in t e r e s t in
th e t h ir t y - f o u r cen t e s t a t e w i l l be d iv id e d a g a in .
A ccum ulation o f E q u itie s
When one tu rn s t o th e o th er p r o c e s s — th a t o f in d iv id u a l In d ia n s
f a l l i n g h e ir t o a g r e a t many e q u it ie s in a number o f d if f e r e n t e s t a t e s ,
one f in d s an oth er im p r a c tic a l s i t u a t i o n .
An e x a m p le 'is th e h e ir s h ip
h o ld in g s o f Mrs. L iz z ie Shane T e l l o w t a i l , which i s shown in ta b le X I.
I t w i l l be see n th a t t h i s la d y owns and has in t e r e s t in many d if f e r e n t
a llo t m e n ts .
Between th e le g a l in h i b i t i o n s which a tta c h t o t r u s t land
and th e p h y s ic a l s e p a r a tio n o f th e v a r io u s u n it s o f land i t i s u t t e r l y
im p o ss ib le f o r th e h e ir t o work a l l th e la n d .
The o n ly s o lu t io n , under
th e s e c ir c u m sta n c e s, i s t o le a s e most o f th e land a lth o u g h she i s r ic h in
la n d and co u ld engage in a s u b s t a n t ia l l i v e s t o c k b u s in e s s i f her h o ld in g s
were c o n s o lid a te d .
I t must be remembered th a t th e tw o fo ld d is t r ib u t io n
o f e q u i t i e s in h e ir s h ip e s t a t e s i s c o n s ta n tly in c r e a s in g in th e case o f
p r a c t i c a l l y a l l members o f th e t r i b e .
The In d ian S e r v ic e i s fa ced w ith
-75-
th e ta s k o f managing a h o p e le s s ly scram bled c o l l e c t i o n o f lan d e q u i t i e s ,
and the In d ia n s are reduced t o th e s t a t u s o f p e tt y l e a s e r s and r e a l e s t a t e
o p e r a to r s .
In order t o le a s e a p ie c e o f h e ir s h ip la n d , th e O ffic e o f In d ia n
A f f a ir s must g e t s ig n a tu r e s or a power o f a tto r n e y from a s u f f i c i e n t
number o f h e ir s t o in c lu d e e q u i t i e s e q u a llin g at l e a s t f i f t y per cent
o f th e e s t a te .-
The o f f i c e work and t r a v e lin g in v o lv e d in th e s e tr a n s ­
a c t io n s ten d t o consume more and more o f th e tim e and money o f th e In d ia n
S e r v ic e .
As a r e s u l t o f th e c o m p lic a tio n o f th e e s t a t e system th ere i s th e
co n sta n t stream o f In d ia n s t o th e agency t o fin d out i f th e r e i s "any le a s e
money coming."
.
In Chapter I I i t was shown th a t th e Grow In d ia n R e se rv a tio n has
g r e a t p o t e n t ia l w ea lth in a g r ic u lt u r a l and g r a z in g la n d s , m ineral
r e s o u r c e s , h y d r o - e le c t r ic pidwer and w ater s u p p lie s .
A b r i e f survey w i l l
now be made o f th e way in which th e s e r e s o u r c e s are u t i l i z e d at the
p r e se n t tim e .
T h is i s shown v e ry c l e a r l y in th e land u t i l i z a t i o n chart
( fig u r e 1 3 ).
A g r ic u ltu r e
In th e S u p e r in te n d e n t's r ep o rt t o th e Commissioner o f Indian
A f f a ir s in 1937, i t i s found th a t o f over two m illio n a c r e s o f land
X
owned by them , th e Crow In d ia n s u sed o n ly about 1 5 8,140 a c r e s or about
s i x per cen t o f th e la n d .
(S ee ta b le X II and fig u r e 1 4 .)
INDIAN FARMED AND GRAZED - 1 3 8 , 1 4 0 ACRES
WHITE FARMED LAND - 2 3 2 , 3 4 4 ACRES
I
PASTURE LEASED BY WHITES - 4 7 2 , 7 4 3 ACRES
LAND IN GRAZING UNITS LEASED BY NON-INDIANS - 1 , 2 6 0 , 6 1 5 ACRES
S0URCE:
rN
M N ^ F A 1RuSpeF rO1R
n t ,E
9N
3 8 ENT ^
^
F ig u r e 1 3 . — Land U t i 1 I z a t i o n on Crow R e s e r v a t i o n , 1 9 3 8 .
T0
= 0 « « , S S 10NER OF
c'C
n>
I
TABLE H I .
LAND CLASSIFICATION ON CROW INDIAN RESERVATION
Amount
Acres under Indian operation
Diy cultivated land
Irrigated
Total Indian farmed
Grazing
Game Reserve (known as waste)
Total Indian operated
Total area cultivated during the year, both
Indian and white
Total area grazed during the year
Total timber land (grazed during the year)
Total land used for administrative activities
Total waste land
Total number of farms
Number of farms operated by Indians
Number of farming leases to Indians by other Indians
Acreage in such leases
Number of grazing leases or permits to Indians ty
other Indians
Acreage in such leases
Number of leases or permits to Indians
Acreage in such leases
Number of farming leases to Whites
Acreage in White leases
Number of grazing leases or permits to whites
Acreage d n grazing permits
Number of other leases or permits to Whites (timber)
Acreage in timber leases
Total number of leases or permits to Whites
Acreage leased
Sources
Superintendent's report to Commissioner, 1957
3,296
5,021
8,517
79,831
70,000
158,148
240.661.68
1,813,187
130,000
4,306
65,694
1,442
120
5
1,560
11
21,200
16
22,760
975
705.087.68
48
1,260,613
5
1 ,0 0 0
1,028
1,965,700.68
TIMBER LAND
1,200 ACRES
IRRIGATED FARMING
65,181.68 ACRES
DRY FARMING
175,480 ACRES
I
<3
CO
I
RANGE LAND
1,883,189 ACRES
SOURCE: RECORDS AT CROW INDIAN OFFICE
F i g u r e 1 4 . — Lend C l a s s i f i c a t i o n on Crow R e s e r v a t i o n , 1939
-79-
Ha^, C e r e a ls , and B e e t s . — The method o f u t i l i z a t i o n i s in d ic a te d in
fig u r e 13.
A l f a l f a which i s th e most h ig h ly favored cro p , has a y i e l d o f
2 ,6 2 8 to n s o f hay from 2 ,4 9 1 a c r e s ( s e e ta b le X I I I ) .
One thousand s i x
hundred to n s o f t h i s hay were s o ld in th e f a l l soon a f t e r h a r v e stin g when
th e p r ic e s were much low er than th e y would have been l a t e r in the se a s o n ,
/,in te r and sp r in g wheat rank second in number o f a c r e s h a r v e ste d .
There
was a t o t a l y e i l d o f 2 0 ,9 6 2 b u sh e ls o f w heat.
S ix te e n thousand b u sh els
were s to r e d by th e In d ia n s fo r t h e i r own u s e .
The m ill r e p o r ts at Crow
Agency show th a t 2 03,674 pounds o f wheat were taken to th e m ill; th a t
7 2 3 ,1 5 8 pounds o f f lo u r and 7 1 ,2 7 0 pounds o f m ill p rod u cts were is s u e d
in ex ch an ge.
The Garden P r o j e c t . — The garden p r o je c t i s one o f th e most
im portant th a t th e Crows can carry on ( s e e fig u r e 1 5 ) .
were 202 gardens p la n te d co v er in g 240 a c r e s .
th e gardens was 386,911 pounds o f v e g e t a b le s .
In 1937, th ere
The t o t a l p ro d u ctio n from
(R efer to t a b le X I I I .)
One hundred and t h i r t y In d ian women p reserv ed f o o i by canning during th e
p a st y e a r .
S ix th ousand, seven hundred and e i g h t y - f iv e cans o f f r u i t ,
1 0 ,0 0 0 cans o f v e g e t a b le s , and 2 3 ,4 0 0 pounds o f d r ie d fo o d s were s to r e d .
G razing Land. — S e v e n ty -n in e th ou san d , e ig h t hundred and t h i r t y one a c r e s o f land were used by th e In d ia n s fo r g r a zin g p u r p o se s.
They
grazed 3 ,8 3 0 head o f b e e f c a t t l e , 120 head o f d a ir y c a t t l e , and 1 ,6 5 0
h o rses.
A lthough th ey have s o ld $ 4 2 ,4 8 5 w orth o f l iv e s t o c k in c lu d in g
b e e f c a t t l e , sh e ep , h o r s e s , h o g s, and p o u ltr y , th ey s t i l l own, at the
end o f th e y e a r , l iv e s t o c k h avin g an e stim a te d v a lu e o f $ 2 5 8 ,9 2 2 .
See
-8 0 -
TABLE H U .
ACREAGE PLANTED AND YIELDS OF CROW INDIAN FARMING
Producing
Acres
Crop
2 ,4 9 1
A lf a lf a
Y ie ld in
Tons or Bus.
2,628 T
Amount
Stored
Amount
. S o ld —
1,028
1 ,600
Wild Hay
981
803
503
300
Sorghums
20
20
20
0
F ie ld Com
27
225
225
0
1,572
20,962
583
11,250
Wheat S & W
Oats
Sugar B eets
Gardens
T o ta l
16
240
200 T
386,921 lb s .
.5 ,9 3 0
* Used m ostly f o r flo u r and fe e d .
Source:
S u p erin ten d en t's rep ort to Commissioner, 1957.
4,962*
11,250
16,000
0
200
-P l-
Figure 1 5 .—T ypical Crow Indian gardens.
- 82 -
f ig u r e s 16 and I? and ta b le XIV.
There i s one l i v e s t o c k a s s o c ia t io n in th e so u th e a s te r n part o f
th e R e s e r v a tio n , c o n s is t in g o f a group o f tw en ty In d ia n stockmen handed
to g e th e r t o range t h e i r c a t t l e on t h e . same range d u rin g th e summer m onths.
A range i s u s u a lly le a s e d from th e t r ib e and a " lin e r id e r" h ir e d t o care
f o r th e c a t t l e .
In th e f a l l when th e c a t t l e are sh ip p ed t o market a l l
e x p e n ses are p r o -r a te d a cco rd in g t o th e number o f anim als owned by each
in d iv id u a l.
The average c o s t i s about $ 2 .0 0 per head.
L e a s in g . — At th e same tim e th e Crow In d ia n s le a s e d to th e w h ite
l e s s e e s 2 3 2 ,3 4 4 a c r e s o f farm la n d , 4 7 2 ,7 4 3 a c r e s o f farm p a stu re land
and 1 ,2 6 0 ,6 1 3 a c r e s o f g r a z in g u n i t s .
The t o t a l amount le a s e d to w h ite
men was 1 ,9 6 5 ,7 0 0 .6 8 a c r e s or n e a r ly n in e t y - f o u r per cen t o f th e e n t ir e
Crow In d ia n R e se r v a tio n .
In most c a se s th e farm and p a stu re le a s e s are th o se sm all p a r c e ls
o f la n d , ran gin g in s iz e from f o r t y t o s e v e r a l hundred a c r e s , lo c a te d in
th e v a l l e y s or on th e f i r s t bench.
In some c a se s th e lan d i s im proved,
in o th e r s th e le a s e r e n t a ls may c a l l fo r improvements t o be b u i l t .
le a s e s in most in s ta n c e s are fo r crop r e n t a l s .
The
U s u a lly th e crop r e n t a ls
are a l f a l f a , o n e -th ir d in th e s ta c k ; sm a ll g r a in s , o n e -fo u r th d e liv e r e d
t o m arket; and sugar b e e t s , o n e -s ix th d e liv e r e d to m arket.
When th e r e i s
g r a s s lan d on th e farm i t r e n ts f o r a cash r e n ta l which depends upon
th e l o c a t i o n , and v a r ie s from te n t o tw e n ty - fiv e c e n ts an a c r e .
Most o f
th e In d ia n lan d l e a s e s f o r a f iv e - y e a r p e r io d and about h a l f o f th e r e n te r s
r e le a s e th e lan d a t th e e x p ir a tio n o f th e p e r io d .
As a g e n e r a l th in g
improvements on th e land d e p r e c ia te v e r y r a p id ly under th e r e n ta l sy stem .
-8 3 -
SWINE $ 1,700
TURKEYS $ 2 ,4 0 0
CHICKENS $ 2,812
DAIRY CATTLE $ 7 ,2 0 0
SHEEP $ 9 ,2 0 0
HORSES $ 3 2 , 5 0 0
----------------------------- BEEF CATTLE —
--------------------------------- $ 1 53 ,20 0 -
SOURCE: ANNUAL REPORT OF CROW INDIAN OFFICE TO THE COMMISSIONER
OF INDIAN AFFAIRS FOR 1937
irI-UTe 1 6 . — V a lu e o f I n d ia n owned l i v e s t o c k on Cro-; I n d ia n R e s e r v a t i o n ,
—8 4 —
ALFA LFA SE E D $ 1 , 5 0 0
SUGAR B E E T S $ 2 , 0 0 0
PO ULTRY $ 3 , 0 0 0
WOOL $ 3 , 9 0 0
SHEEP $ 4 , 0 0 0
HORSES $ 4 ,0 8 5
HAY $ 1 5 , 2 0 0
W H EA T $ 1 6 , 0 0 0
BEEF CA TTLE $ 3 1 ,2 0 0
F ig u r e 1 7 . — V a lu e o f farm p r o d u c t s
s o l d by Crow I n d i a n s , 1 9 3 7 .
-8 5 -
TABLE XIV.
No. of
Indians
Owning
Kind
LIVESTOCK OWNED BY CROW INDIANS
Value
per
Head
Total
Units .
Owned
Total
Value
Value reLive
ceived for
Units
live animals Sold
sold
Chickens
65
.50
5,025
Turkegrs
24
5.00
800
2,400
Water Foul
11
1.50
140
210
Dairy Cattle
60
60.00
120
7,200
125
40.00
5,850
155,200
51,200
821
Sheep
6
4.00
2,500
9,200
4,000
1,110
Swine
55
10.00
170
1,700
500
50
220
50.00
1,650
82,000
4,085
Beef Cattle
Horses
Sources
S
2,512
Supertlnendent's Report to Commissioner, 1957
S
500
500
2,400
800
'0
——
-86-
On the open r a n g e , th e land has been d iv id e d in t o la r g e r g r a z in g
u n it s o f s e v e r a l thousand a c r e s e a c h .
map o f th e R e se r v a tio n on page 32.
u n it s on th e Crow R e se r v a tio n .
u n it w i l l be w e ll w atered .
T h is i s v ery w e ll shown by th e
There are f o r t y - e ig h t such la r g e
They are u s u a lly d iv id e d so th a t each
These u n it s are le a s e d fo r th r e e -y e a r p e r io d s .
A ll land on th e Crow R e se rv a tio n th a t i s le a s e d by th e In d ia n O ffic e i s
a d v e r tis e d fo r th e h ig h e s t b id d e r , and s u it a b le bonds are req u ired o f
th e l e s s e e .
Types o f L e a s e s . — There are th r e e ty p e s o f le a s e s on th e Crow
R e se r v a tio n .
These are th e O ffic e le a s e or th e le a s e s th a t are under th e
s u p e r v is io n o f th e Government, th e com petent l e a s e , and th e le a s in g
p r iv ile g e .
The Crow Act o f 1920 s e t up a com m ission to judge th e members
o f th e Crow T ribe as t o competency and a l l th o se who were judged
com petent at th a t tim e have th e r ig h t t o le a s e t h e ir own land and t h e i r
minor c h ild r e n 's land w ith o u t o f f i c e s u p e r v is io n .
In o rd er to g iv e th e
In d ia n more e x p e r ie n c e and a chance t o handle h is own a f f a i r s the
S u p erin ten d en t has th e a u th o r ity to gran t an In d ian th e r ig h t to le a s e
h is own lan d s and to c o l l e c t the r e n t a l s .
During the l a s t th r e e -y e a r
p e r io d about h a l f o f a l l th e In d ian land le a s e d has been under th e se
l a s t two ty p e s o f l e a s e s .
I n d iv id u a l In d ian Money C ontrol
For a l l In d ian moneys th a t are p aid through th e Crow O ffic e th e
I n d iv id u a l In d ia n Money O ffic e keeps th e a c c o u n ts.
Each e n r o lle e has an
-87-
account and a number and a c a r e fu l reco rd o f r e c e ip t s and payments i s
k e p t.
When money i s d e p o s ite d to th e account o f th e I n d iv id u a l, i t i s h e ld
on d e p o s it u n t i l needed by th e e n r o lle e fo r h is support or fo r o th er
w orthw hile u s e .
R e se r v a tio n .
Then i t i s p aid out by check by the S u p erin ten d en t o f th e
In 1937, t h i s o f f i c e p aid out $ 1 7 5 ,1 5 0 .6 4 to the in d iv id u a ls .
( See fig u r e 1 8 .)
I r r ig a t e d Lands
The Crow In d ian land i s co n sid e re d v ery v a lu a b le as th ere are
6 5 , 1 9 1 .6 8 a c r e s in th e i r r i g a t i o n sy stem .
There are th re e main p r o je c ts
o f which th e B ig Horn system i s th e l a r g e s t , th e L i t t l e Horn, in c lu d in g
Lodge-G rass and P ass C reeks, i s th e second l a r g e s t , and Pryor i s th e
s m a lle s t .
W ithin th e s e system s th er e are e le v e n main c a n a ls w ith a
t o t a l le n g th o f one hundred m ile s c o n ta in in g 465 s t r u c t u r e s .
There are
n in e t y - e ig h t main l a t e r a l s t o t a l i n g 135 m ile s and c o n ta in in g l , 3 8 l s tr u c ­
tu re s.
In th e se v e n ty -n in e m ile s o f s u b - la t e r a ls th ere are 138 d it c h e s .
The average e le v a t io n o f the ir r i g a t e d land i s from 2 ,9 0 0 f e e t to 3 ,6 0 0
f e e t above s e a l e v e l .
There i s a g r e a t abundance o f w ater in the B ig
Horn sy stem , but in a l l o f the o th e r s th e r e ten d s to be a s h o r ta g e .
A
w ater sh o rta g e was recorded in the L i t t l e Horn system in 1 9 1 9 , again in
1921 and again in 1930, and the drought in 1934 caused th e worst sh o rta g e
in th e h is t o r y o f th e system .
UNEARNED INCOME
EARNED INCOME
/y y y y y y y y y //
$ 175,150.64
in c o m p e t e n t l a n d l e a s e s
$ 1 8 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0
//
c o m p e t e n t la n d l e a s e s
$ 17,680 ANNUITY
v /x z /z !
]
$ 1 0 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0 MISC. (PENSIONS, RELIEF 6 ETC.)
$ 2 0 ,0 0 0 FARM AND GARDEN PRODUCE CONSUMED
o>
CD
RELIEF WORK
$ 70,401 OO
I
$ 1 1 9 ,8 8 8 .0 0 WAGES FROM EMPLOYMENT
$ 7 0 ,2 3 5 FARMING AND STOCK RAISING
RECAPITULATION OF TOTAL $ 6 8 2 .9 5 3 .6 4
1
2
3
4
IOO OOO OF DOLLARS
5
6
7
AVERAGE INCOME PER FAMILY FOR 522 FAMILIES ON RESERVATION $ 1 ,3 0 6 .4 2
SOURCE: 1937 ANNUAL EXTENSION REPORT
F i g u r e 1 8 . — s o u r c e o f Income o f Crow I n d i a n R e s e r v a t i o n , 1S37.
-89-
Dry Land Areas
The dry land farm and a g r ic u lt u r a l land on th e R e se rv a tio n i s
s im ila r t o o th er land in t h i s s e c t io n o f Montana.
I t i s e stim a te d th a t
th e r e are about I 8 0 ,0 0 0 a c r e s o f dry t i l l a b l e land on th e R e se r v a tio n ,
most o f which a t p re se n t i s u t i l i z e d fo r w in ter w heat.
As i s shown
in th e r a i n f a l l c h a r t, ( t a b le I I ) , th e average annual r a i n f a l l has
been 1 5 .0 9 in c h e s and th e grow ing sea so n 134 d ays.
The f o o t h i l l s and th e m ountains are the b e s t l i v e s t o c k ranges in
t h i s s e c t io n o f th e country (s e e fig u r e 1 9 ) .
th e wheat g r a s s , grama g r a s s , and l i t t l e
The most common g r a s s e s are
b lu e stem .
The b la ck sage and
mountain sage are very abundant and ch eat g r a ss has a ten d en cy to creep
in where th e range i s o v ersto ck ed or in abandoned plowed f i e l d s .
S a lt
g r a s s and greasew ood are found on a lk a lin e s o i l s a l l over th e R e se r v a tio n .
The F o r e str y D iv is io n r e s t r i c t s th e amount o f l iv e s t o c k grazed on the
range.
The average fo r th e R e se rv a tio n i s 2 7 .8 a c re s per cow, w ith a
range o f f i f t e e n a c r e s per head in th e s o u th e a ste r n part t o f o r t y - f i v e
a c r e s per head in th e n orth ern p a r ts .
The o n ly w aste a rea s are the
canyon w a lls and extrem e r id g e s in th e m ou ntain s.
I t i s e stim a te d th a t
th e r e are 6 5 ,8 9 4 a c r e s o f such land on th e R e se rv a tio n (s e e fig u r e 2 0 ) .
P rop erty and Finance
P rop erty V a lu e s. — The v a lu e o f th e prop erty owned by the Grow
In d ia n s i s shown by ta b le XV and f ig u r e s 2 1 , 2 2 , and 2 3 .
The t o t a l
v a lu e o f a l l in d iv id u a l In d ian p ro p erty i s shown in th e fo llo w in g t a b l e :
-9 0 -
^ i c u r e 1 9 . " R a n e e l a n d on t h e Grow R e s e r v a t i o n .
- -W
F i g u r e 2 0 . —A t y p i c a l f a m i n g a r e a on t h e Crov/ I n d i a n R e s e r v a t i o n .
—92»
TABLE XV,
INVENTORY OF CROW INDIAN PROPERTY
'
Ir; w
TRIBAL PROPERTY
Acreage u n a llo tte d
Value o f u n a llo tte d acreage
Amount o f t r i b a l funds in treasu ry
Value o f t r i b a l liv e s t o c k (B u llio n s)
Value o f o th er t r i b a l property ( tim ber)
T o ta l v a lu e o f t r i b a l property
INDIVIDUAL INDIAN PROPERTYs
(R eal and person al)
Tota l acreage o f a llo t t e d lands
Number o f a llo tm en ts to I n d iv id u a ls
Average per acre v a lu e o f in d iv id u a l
a l l o t t e d acreage----Amount o f In d iv id u a l Indian Money in bank
T o ta l v a lu e o f homes, b arn s, and c o rr a ls
T o ta l v a lu e o f fu rn itu r e in Indian homes
T o ta l v a lu e o f t o o ls and a g r ic u ltu r a l implements
T o ta l v a lu e o f wagons and v e h ic le s (autom obiles)
T o ta l v a lu e o f liv e s t o c k , p o u ltr y , e t c .
T o ta l v a lu e o f o th er property
T o ta l v a lu e o f a l l in d iv id u a l Indian property
Source:
/
279,858.39
859.515.17
1 0 , 0 0 0 .0 0
2 ,0 0 0 .0 0
5 3 ,4 0 0 .0 0
904.915.17
S u p erin ten d en t's Report to Commissioner, 1957.
1 ,8 3 5 ,9 1 9 .0 4
4 ,1 2 5 .0 0
5 .0 0
8 1 ,6 8 5 .8 2
9 5 ,2 0 0 .0 0
5 0 .0 0 0 .
5 0 .0 0 0 .
64”, 120.00
2 58,922.00
10. 0 0 0 . 00
589,927.82
00
00
SWINE $ 1,700
TURKEYS $ 2 , 4 0 0
CHICKENS $ 2,812
DAIRY CATTLE $ 7 , 2 0 0
HORSES $ 3 2 , 5 0 0
BEEF CATTLE
$ 153,200
SOURCE: ANNUAL REPORT OF CROW INDIAN OFFICE TO THE COMMISSIONER
OF INDIAN AFFAIRS FOR 1937
F ig u r e 2 1 . — V a lu e o f I n d ia n ovmed l i v e s t o c k on Crow I n d ia n R e s e r v a t i o n , 1 9 3 7 .
—9 4 —
ALFALFA SEED $ 1,500
SUGAR BEETS $ 2,000
W O O L $ 3,900
OATS $ 4,000
DAIRY PRODUCTS $ 20,000
W HEAT $ 20,062
HAY $28,400
SOURCE: REPORT OF SUPERINTENDENT OF CROW
INDIAN AGENCY TO COMMISSIONER OF
INDIAN AFFAIRS FOR 1937
F i g u r e 2 2 . —V a l u e o f f e r n r r o d u c e crow n by Crow I n d i a n s ,
!937.
-9 5 -
TOTAL DEBT $ 86,431.27
REIMBURSABLE DEBT
$48,901.68
OTHER DEBTS
$37,529.59
TOTAL WHO OWE DEBTS 4 9 7
NUMBER WHO OWE
REIMBURSABLE 274
NUMBER WHO OWE
OTHER DEBTS
223
TOTAL VALUE O F A L L INDIVIDUAL OWNED PR O PE RTY
$ 5 8 9 ,9 2 7 0 0
SOURCE: C.W.A. SURVEY 1 9 3 4
Figure 2 3 .—Indebtedness o f Crow In d ian s, 1934.
-96M oney i n b a n k s
H o m es, b a r n s and c o r r a l s
T o o l s an d a g r i c u l t u r a l im p le m e n t s
F u r n i t u r e i n I n d i a n hom es
V e h ic le s
O th e r p r o p e r t y
8 8 1 , 6 8 5 .8 2
T o ta l I n d iv id u a l I n d ia n p r o p e r ty
8 3 3 1 ,0 0 5 .8 2
In a d d itio n to
th is
o f 8 9 0 4 ,1 9 5 * 1 7 •
n o t e s t im a te d b e ca u se
be e x p e c te d th e r e
is
50. 000.
3 0 . 0 0 0 . 00
6 4 , 120 .0 0
10.000.
in d iv id u a l p r o p e r ty th e
m o s tly la n d , h a s a v a lu e
ow ned l a n d i s
9 5 , 2 0 0 .0 0
00
t r i b a l p r o p e r t y , w h ic h i s
The v a l u e
of its
00
v a r ie d
o f th e
in d iv id u a lly
lo c a tio n .
As w o u ld
a w id e r a n g e o f v a l u e s fro m t h e i r r i g a t e d
s e c tio n s
t o t h e d r y u p la n d h i l l s .
I n d i a n H om es. — The C i v i l Work A d m i n i s t r a t i o n i n
t h e r e w e r e 3 3 0 I n d i a n h o u s e s on t h e R e s e r v a t i o n ( s e e
1 9 3 4 sh ow ed t h a t
fig u r e
2 4 ).
s u r v e y sh o w s t h e m a t e r i a l fr o m w h ic h t h e h o u s e s w e re c o n s t r u c t e d ,
c o n d it io n
o f t h e h o u s e s , and t h e num ber o f o u t b u i l d i n g s .
c h a r t s , t a b l e s XVI and X V I I , sh ow t h e f u r n i t u r e
T h ese c h a r t s
sh o w t h a t a t t h e t im e
o f th e
T h is
th e
The p r o p e r t y
and f a r m i n g e q u ip m e n t .
s u r v e y t h e r e w as s u f f i c i e n t
e q u ip m e n t f o r t h e p r e s e n t n e e d s o f t h e I n d i a n s .
C r e d i t an d R e im b u r s a b l e . — The Crow A c t o f 1 9 2 0 s e t u p a r e v o l v i n g
fu n d o r a s i t
a s id e
is
com m on ly know n "The R e im b u r s a b le ."
fr o m t h e t r e a t y p a y m e n ts a s a s o u r c e
f o r a g r i c u l t u r a l and h om em ak in g p u r p o s e s .
th o se
n e e d in g a g r i c u l t u r a l a s s i s t a n c e
th e ir
lo a n s , th e
f u n d w as r e v o l v e d
years.
T here i s
T h i s w as $ 5 0 ,0 0 0
o f c r e d it
fo r th e
an d w hen t h e s e
and o n e - h a l f t i m e s i n
a lw a y s a l o n g w a i t i n g l i s t
Crow I n d i a n s
T h i s fu n d w a s lo a n e d o u t t o
in d iv id u a ls r e p a id
f u n d s w e r e i m m e d i a t e l y lo a n e d o u t t o
about th r e e
set
o th e r s.
th e
la s t
T h is
th ir ty -s e v e n
o f a p p lic a n ts fo r lo a n s .
In
-9 7 -
P E R CENT
IOO
TOTAL NUMBER OF INDIAN HOMES - 3 3 0
FRAME HOUSES - 231
29 .1
LOG HOUS ES - 9 6
0.6
TE N T S - 2
0 .3
OTHERS - I
SOURCE: CIVIL WORKS ADMINISTRATION REPORT, 1934
F i g u r e 2 4 . — M a t e r i a l and num ber o f hom es on Crow I n d i a n R e s e r v a t i o n , 19o4.
S.
TABLE T f l
Kind of Implements
IMPLEMENTS OWNED ON CROW INDIAN RESERVATION
No. of Indians
Own ^18
Plows
Harrows
Mowers
Rakes
Wagons
Harness
Binders
Cultivators
Automobiles
Hay stackers
Tractors
Trucks
Drills
Discs
Levellers
Sweep rakes
Buggies
Sleds
Source:
Civil Works Administration Survey, 1934
264
210
200
174
296
520
48
73
187
77
17
6
73
115
50
81
73
60
Total No.
Qwned
417
221
204
195
543
471
48
79
187
77
17
6 *
74
118
50
95
74
61
-9 9 -
TABLE XVII.
Kind of
F u ra ltu rg
FURNITURE OiVNED ON CROW INDIAN RESERVATION
No. of Indiana
__
JW T i \
Stoves
Tables
Chairs
Benches
Beds
Cupboards
Trunks
Sewing Machines
Pianos
Phones
Fire Places
Washing Machines
Radios
Victrolas
Source:
___
364
534
321
215
334
318
312
157
14
I
I
I
41
47
Civil Works Administration Survey, 1934 .
M W tlM leSlL iiiilii-1 m
Own ed
718
543
1,556
285
722
571
506
]^9
14
I
I
I
41
47
]P3E I
-
Total No.
-IOO1937,
th e
fu n d w as $ 15 ,
am ount l o a n e d fr o m t h i s
567 .
T h ese lo a n s have
f u r n i s h e d a l m o s t e v e r y k in d o f a g r i c u l t u r a l a s s i s t a n c e .
c o n sta n t r e q u e s ts are fo r h o r s e s , c a t t l e ,
Many o f t h e
o r i g i n a l l o a n s a m o u n tin g t o
seed ,
The m ost
and b u i l d i n g r e p a i r s .
a b o u t $ 3 0 ,0 0 0
a r e f r o z e n and
c o l l e c t i o n s h a v e n o t b e e n made on th em f o r a num ber o f y e a r s .
very d if fic u lt
to
c o lle c t
fr o m t h e
c o m p e te n t I n d i a n b e c a u s e h e d o e s
n o t h a v e f u n d s c o m in g t h r o u g h t h e O f f i c e
are
le t
th e
tr u st
fo r c e d
d r ift
and i n m o st c a s e s t h e s e
r a t h e r th a n h ave th e e x p e n s e
la n d i s
to p ay.
t h e ir s e c u r it y
But a t th e
It is
o f a la w s u i t .
and e v e n t u a l l y t h e s e
p r e s e n t , h a v in g t h i s
a h a r d s h i p on t h o s e d e s e r v i n g a s s i s t a n c e
in
la r g e
lo a n s
Of c o u r se ,
d e b t o r s w i l l be
fu n d f r o z e n i s
c a r r y i n g on t h e i r a g r i ­
c u ltu r a l a c t i v i t i e s .
D u r in g 1 9 3 6 , t w e n t y d i f f e r e n t
i n d i v i d u a l Crow I n d i a n s s e c u r e d
l o a n s a m o u n tin g t o $ 1 3 , 5 0 0 fr o m t h e R e h a b i l i t a t i o n A d m i n i s t r a t i o n .
l o a n s w e r e g r a n t e d f o r a num ber o f d i f f e r e n t
s ta r tin g
liv e s to c k
made p a y a b l e
h e r d s an d f o r t h e r e p a i r o f h o m e s.
o v e r a p e r io d o f y e a r s a t th e
I n m o st c a s e s t h e
fr o m t h e I n d i a n O f f i c e
f o r home r e p a i r .
a s s i s t e d w ith
in te r e s t
c u r r e n t p a y m e n ts h a v e b e e n m ad e.
o f $ 8 ,5 0 0 w as r e c e iv e d
e n tir e ly
p u rp oses, c h ie fly
lo a n s a t th e
The
fo r
T h e se lo a n s w ere
ra te
o f fiv e
In a d d itio n
per c e n t.
a fu n d
i n W a s h in g to n t o be u s e d
The t w e n t y - n i n e d i f f e r e n t I n d i a n s who w e re
ra te
o f th re e
p e r c e n t a y e a r , h a v e a lw a y s
p a i d t h e i n s t a l l m e n t s when d u e .
R e l i e f an d L a b o r I n c o m e . — The f o l l o w i n g t a b l e
o f I n d ia n s en g a g ed in
tr a d e , p r o fe s s io n s
s h o w s t h e num ber
an d i n d u s t r i e s , o u t s i d e
of
-101A g r ic u ltu r a l p u r s u its :
Iu oom e
27 I n d i a n s i n c l e r i c a l an d o f f i c e w ork
17 S k i l l e d w o r k e r s — c a r p e n t e r s , b l a c k s m i t h ,
a n d a u t o m e c h a n ic s
2 4 1 CCC-ID
,
150 E o a d s , i r r i g a t i o n , r e l i e f , e t c .
$ 2 7 ,0 0 0
2 1 ,0 0 0
6 2 ,0 0 0
2 4 ,4 8 7
'$ 1 3 4 ,4 8 7
I n 1 9 3 3 , t h e C i v i l i a n C o n s e r v a t i o n C o r p s— I n d i a n D e p a r t m e n t ,
w h ic h i s
a fo r m o f t h e
C iv ilia n
t h e men e m p lo y e d i n t h i s
are I n d ia n s .
C o n s e r v a tio n C o r p s, w as o r i g i n a t e d .
o r g a n i z a t i o n , e x c e p t som e o f t h e
T he w o rk i s
c o n fin e d t o
c o n str u c te d ;
fifty
on t h e r a n g e ;
have b een b u i l t ;
d r ift
th e
s ix ty -fiv e
fo r e st.
s i x t y - f o u r w e l l s w ith w in d m ills
s e v e r a l m ile s o f tr u c k and f i r e
f e n c e s h a v e b een m ade; a fe n c e w as b u i l t
so u th e r n b oundary o f th e E e s e r v a tio n
an d s e v e r a l f i n e
b e e n c o n s t r u c t e d a t t h e A g e n c y fr o m n a t i v e
87
tr a ils
across
b u ild in g s have
sto n e .
The E o a d s D e p a r tm e n t h a s b u i l t t w e u t y ^ f i v e m i l e s
r o a d fr o m H ig h w a y
Some o f t h e
s t o c k w a te r r e s e r v o i r s w ere
s p r in g s w ere d e v e lo p e d ;
h ave b een p la c e d
e n g in e e r s ,
i m p r o v in g t h e E e s e r v a t i o n m a i n l y
t h r o u g h c o n s e r v a t i o n m e th o d s on t h e r a n g e a n d i n t h e
im p r o v e m e n ts a r e a s f o l l o w s :
s k ille d
A ll
E t o t h e to w n o f P r y o r ,
and f i f t e e n
o f sta n d a r d
m i l e s on a
c u t - o f f fr o m t h e A g e n c y t o S t . X a v i e r , t h e n a b o u t t w e l v e m i l e s up L od ge
G rass C reek .
v a lu e
A ll o f th e se
im p r o v e t h e E e s e r v a t i o n
an d i n c r e a s e t h e
o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l I n d i a n a l l o t m e n t s a s w e l l a s m a k in g l i v i n g
c o n d i t i o n s m uch b e t t e r on t h e E e s e r v a t i o n .
B e s i d e s a d d in g s e v e r a l h u n d r e d t h o u s a n d d o l l a r s im p r o v e m e n t t o
th e E e s e r v a tio n
an d g i v i n g t h e I n d i a n s f i n a n c i a l a s s i s t a n c e
d u r in g t h e
'
-102re cen t d e p r e s s io n ,
th e se
o r g a n iz a t io n s h ave b een o f u n to ld v a lu e in
t e a c h i n g t h e y o u n g e r men a r e s p e c t f o r o r g a n i z a t i o n
r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r t h e m s e l v e s an d t h e i r f a m i l i e s .
an d a f e e l i n g
Many o f th em h a v e l e a r n ­
ed a t r a d e su c h a s a u to m e c h a n ic s , t r a c t o r o p e r a t in g ,
o th e r su ch s k i l l s
t h i s w ork.
s u r v e y in g ,
t h a t t h e y m ig h t n e v e r h a v e l e a r n e d h a d i t
Such s k i l l s
can be t r a n s f e r r e d
to
of
and m any
n ot b een f o r
o t h e r w o rk o r c o n t i n u e d i n
th e p r e se n t w ork.
On t h e
d is r u p te d th e
o th er hand, th e se
a g r ic u lt u r a l o r g a n iz a tio n
w o r k on t h e s e p r o j e c t s t h e
in
a cam p.
la c k o f c u lt iv a t io n
d o lla r s
on t h e R e s e r v a t i o n .
liv e s to c k
In ord er to
a llo tm e n t to
str a y s or i s
s to le n ,
liv e
th e
an d c r o p s an d g a r d e n s b ecom e w e e d y an d d r y u p fr o m
an d i r r i g a t i o n .
d is a p p e a r in g so he s e l l s
t h a t he., p r e f e r s t o
o r g a n iz a t io n s h a v e c o m p le te ly
f a m i l y h a s m oved fr o m i t s
W h ile t h e y a r e g o n e t h e
h o m es a r e b r o k e n i n t o ,
ty is
r e lie f
liv e
h is
Soon th e I n d ia n s e e s t h a t h i s p r o p e r ­
liv e s to c k
w ith a grou p o f h i s
a m o n th r a t h e r t h a n t o
liv e
and m a c h i n e r y .
He d i s c o v e r s
f e l l o w s an d r e c e i v e
b y h i m s e l f on h i s
is o la te d
fo r ty
a llo tm e n t
e v e n th o u g h , a t t h e e n d o f t h e y e a r h e w o u ld h a v e h a d m ore m on ey an d a w e l l
fille d
c e lla r ,
m is s io n to
w o r k in g .
if
le a s e
h e h a d r e m a in e d a t h o m e.
h is
L e a s in g th e
and l i v e s t o c k
is
a llo tm e n t a s he c la im s i t
a l l o t m e n t m ean s t h a t
R e s e r v a tio n to w n s.
on a fa r m w i t h m a c h in e r y an d l i v e s t o c k
overcom e.
cau sed a r e tr o g r e s s io n ,
to
is
id le
w h ile he i s
aw ay
a n y r e m a i n i n g fa r m m a c h in e r y
s o l d an d t h e f a m i l y t a k e s i t s
e d g e o f one o f th e l i t t l e
iz a t io n s have
Soon th e I n d ia n r e c e i v e s p e r ­
p la c e
in
a te n t
on t h e
T hus t o t h e I n d i a n l i v i n g
o p era te i t ,
th e r e l i e f organ ­
o n e t h a t w i l l t a k e m any y e a r s t o
-1 0 3 It
is
n o t m e r e ly t h a t th e
n o r th a t he h a s s o ld
a ll
f a m i l y h a s m oved fr o m t h e a l l o t m e n t s ,
o f h i s p e r s o n a l p r o p e r t y and w a s t e d t h e m o n e y ,
h u t h e a l s o h a s l e a s e d h i s home f o r a n um ber o f y e a r s a n d i n many c a s e s
has c o lle c te d h is
le a s e
r e n ta ls
s e v e r a l y e a r s in
a d v a n c e , an d i n m o st
c a s e s h a s ta k e n a se v e r e p e n a lty o r r e d u c tio n in h i s an n u al r e n t a ls
b ecau se
o f th e
d e s titu te
advance c o l l e c t i o n s .
L a t e r w h en t h e f a m i l y b e c o m e s
a f e w m ore y e a r s m u st b e a d d e d t o
th e le a s e
o r m ore r e l i e f g i v e n .
Summary
T he Crow R e s e r v a t i o n
te n u r e
o f th e
la n d i s
in
a l l o t m e n t s and h e i r s h i p
c o m p r is e s a c r e s o f v a l u a b l e
su ch a c o m p lic a te d s t a t e
s ta tu s th a t i t
t o u s e t h e i r h o ld in g s a d v a n t a g e o u s ly .
la n d i s
u tiliz e d
cent i s
l e a s e d t o w h i t e m en .
is
b ecau se
im p o s s ib le
la n d , but th e
o f th e v a r io u s
fo r th e in d iv id u a ls
O n ly a b o u t s i x
p er ce n t o f th e
b y t h e I n d ia n s t h e m s e lv e s , w h ile a b o u t n in e t y - f o u r p e r
la n d , h a s a v a lu a t io n
I n d iv id u a l I n d ia n p r o p e r ty e x c lu s iv e
of
o f $ .3 3 1 ,0 0 5 .8 2 w h i l e t h e t r i b a l p r o p e r t y v a l u a t i o n
is
a b o u t $ 9 0 4 ,9 1 5 «
The I n d i a n l o a n f u n d s h a v e b e e n u s e d a d v a n t a g e o u s l y
in
a s s i s t i n g th e fa r m e r s t o
im p r o v e t h e i r h om es and b e g i n fa r m o p e r a t i o n s .
R e l i e f o r g a n i z a t i o n s h a v e m et im m e d ia te n e e d s o f t h e p e o p l e b y g i v i n g th e m
w o rk on p r o j e c t s , b u t i n t h e
th e
lo n g v ie w t h i s
r e l i e f h a s b een d e tr im e n ta l t o
a g r i c u l t u r a l p ro g ra m b y t a k i n g f a r m e r s an d s to c k m e n fr o m t h e i r a l l o t - ■
m en ts t o
th e v i l l a g e s .
The p r o b le m , t h e n ,
in g to h is
is
n o t o n l y how t o
a l l o t m e n t , b u t how t o
in te r e s t
th e I n d ia n i n r e tu r n '
f i n a n c e h im w h i l e h e m a k es a new s t a r t .
—104~
CHAPTEE V .
THE FQTUEE UTILIZATION OF THE
CEOW INDIAN EESEEVATION
T he f i r s t
ch a p te r o u tlin e d
i n d e t a i l t h e m any t r e a t y p a y m e n ts
t h a t t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s G o v ern m en t g a v e t o
sh o w n t h a t s e v e r a l m i l l i o n
cash a n n u itie s
an d i n
t h e Crow N a t i o n s .
d o l l a r s h a v e b e e n p a id t o
c lo th in g , r a t io n s ,
th e
I t has been
in d iv id u a ls in
an d o t h e r s u p p l i e s .
I t has been
sh o w n t h a t e v e r y Crow f a m i l y w h en i t
b e g a n f a r m in g w a s g i v e n e q u ip m e n t
a n d l i v e s t o c k w i t h w h ic h t o w o rk i t s
a llo tm e n t.
th e y w ere g iv e n h e r d s o f c a t t l e , t h a t ' t h e i r
th e ir r ig a b le
th e ir
I t h a s b e e n show n t h a t
l a n d w a s s u r v e y e d and m o st o f
l a n d s h a d b e e n d i t c h e d an d w a t e r f u r n i s h e d t h o s e u t i l i z i n g
own l a n d .
I t h a s b e e n sh ow n t h a t t h e y h a v e b e e n p r o v i d e d m e d i c a l
c a r e , h o s p ita liz a t io n ,
an d e d u c a t i o n a l f a c i l i t i e s .
Two r e l i g i o u s denom ­
i n a t i o n s h a v e s e n t m i s s i o n a r i e s and th o u s a n d s o f d o l l a r s
f o r th e t r i b e ' s
r e lig io u s w e lf a r e .
T he c h a p t e r sh o w s t h e s u r f a c e , g e o l o g y an d n a t u r a l r e s o u r c e s o f
th e B e se r v a tio n .
l a n d an d o v e r
It
h a s p o in te d o u t t h a t w ith 6 5 ,0 0 0 a c r e s o f i r r i g a t e d
150,000
a c r e s o f d r y fa r m l a n d ,
and w i t h a b o u t 2 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0
a c r e s o f r a n g e l a n d t h a t t h e Crow t r i b e u n d e r t h e p r o p e r m an agem en t o f
its
resou rces
th e
o ld adage i s
th a t th e
It
c o u ld be e c o n o m ic a lly w e a lt h y .
s till
But i t
t r u e , " e a s y c o m e , e a s y g o ."
w as a l s o
I t h a s b e e n sh ow n
a n n u i t y p a y m e n ts h a v e b e e n . w a s t e d , and a r e s t i l l
h a s b een p o in te d
m oved o f f t h e i r
o u t t h a t t h e C row s w i t h i n t h e l a s t
a llo tm e n ts ,
ren ted t h e ir
a n d m a k e - s h i f t h o u s e s on t h e e d g e o f t h e
la n d s ,
show n t h a t
b e in g sq u a n d ered
fe w y e a r s h ave
and a r e l i v i n g i n t e n t s
s m a l l to w n s ( s e e
fig u r e
25 ) .
B
—
>
-1 0 5 -
I
>
?
F ig u r e 2 5 . — T y p ic a l I n d ia n " s h a c k s n e a r t h e e d g e o f Crow A g e n c y .
____
___
-1 0 6 -
More In d ian land i s under le a s e tod ay on th e Crow R e se rv a tio n than e v e r
b e fo r e .
But i t was a ls o shown th a t in th e l a s t few y e a r s th e young men
and women have been tr a in e d in v a r io u s tr a d e s and th a t i t i s f e l t t h a t ,
th e y as in d iv id u a ls are p e r f e c t l y capable o f ea rn in g a l i v i n g fo r them­
s e lv e s i f th e n e c e s s i t y a r o s e .
I t i s now b e lie v e d th a t th e Crows r e a li z e th a t th e tim e has come
when th e y must earn t h e i r own way or s u f f e r the co n seq u en ces, by h avin g
a low er stand ard o f l i v i n g than t h e i r n e ig h b o r s.
I t i s f e l t th a t i f th e
Crows were g iv e n another chance and made to r e a li z e th a t t h e i r fu tu re
depends on t h e i r own e f f o r t s , th ey would t r y harder and make a determ ined
e f f o r t to r e t a in what th e y earn when th e y r e a l l y le a r n th a t the Government
w i l l not come t o t h e i r r escu e e v er y tim e th ey put in a r e q u e s t.
T h e r e fo r e ,
an endeavor w i l l be made t o show how th e s e r e so u r c e s on th e R e se rv a tio n
co u ld be made t o fu r n ish th e Crow T ribe an e x c e lle n t liv e lih o o d and as
tim e goes on make them in d ep en d e n tly w e a lth y .
C o n so lid a tio n o f Land H oldings
Because th er e were tw elv e d if f e r e n t a l l o t t i n g s on th e Crow R eserva­
t i o n , each a l l o t t e e ' s land i s w id e ly s c a t t e r e d and because o f the many
h e ir s h ip h o ld in g s , i t i s f e l t th a t one o f th e f i r s t en deavors should
be t o c o n s o lid a te in d iv id u a l h o ld in g s o f th e many d if f e r e n t p a r c e ls o f
e s t a t e s in t o one t r a c t in order th a t th e in d iv id u a l can u t i l i z e h is own
land fo r farm ing or s t o c k - r a is in g .
o f c o n s o lid a tio n
There are a number o f d if f e r e n t ways
-107-
P a r t it io n o f H old in gs “by Land C le rk . — One o f th e most p r a c t ic a l
ways i s to s e t up th e p o s it io n o f lan d c le r k at th e Crow In d ia n O f f i c e .
T h is c le r k gh ou ld a p p ra ise th e d if f e r e n t h o ld in g s o f each in d iv id u a l in
th e many e s t a t e s , and th en t r y to g e t th e h e ir s to agree t o a ccep t t r a c t s
o f th e s e h o ld in g s in such a way th a t s p e c i f i c a crea g es c o u ld he p a r t it io n e d
t o one c e r t a in in d iv id u a l.
In many c a s e s th e s e sm a ll t r a c t s could he
s e l e c t e d so th a t th e y would he a d ja cen t t o lan d a lr ea d y owned hy the h e i r ,
th u s i t would e n la r g e h i s acreage i n one lo c a t io n .
A s p e c i f i c example o f t h i s arrangement i s th e ca se o f O liva
W illiam son and h er b r o th e r , Paul W illiam son :
At th e p r e se n t tim e O liv a
i s l i v i n g on th e a llo tm e n t th a t b e lo n g s t o th e e s t a t e o f t h e i r m other,
Maud W illia m so n .
There are s i x h e ir s t o t h i s a llo tm e n t— th e fa t h e r ,
D e x te r , who owns 5 / l 5 in t e r e s t in the e s t a t e ; th en th e f i v e c h ild r e n ,
P a u l, D e x te r , J r . , J u l i a , Leda, and O liv a , each owning 2 / l 5 i n t e r e s t .
P aul W illiam son i s m arried and l i v i n g on another f o r t y o f t h i s same e s t a t e .
Both Paul and O liv a have b u i l t improvements on th e f o r t i e s on which th e y
l i v e and d e s ir e t o exchange o th er la n d i n t e r e s t s f o r th e s e p a r tic u la r
fo r tie s .
The E s ta te o f Maud W illiam son has been a p p ra ise d and i t has
been found th a t i f O liv a and Paul r e lin q u is h t h e i r h o ld in g s in a l l o f
th e rem ainder o f Maud's e s t a t e , i t w i l l about •-equal in v a lu e h o ld in g s o f
th e o th er h e ir s in th e s e p a r t ic u la r f o r t i e s .
t o make t h i s exch an ge.
The o th er h e ir s are w i l l i n g
T h erefore when t h i s problem i s worked out Paul
and O liv a w i l l both own th e p a r t ic u la r f o r t i e s on which th e y are l i v i n g
and w i l l have r e lin q u is h e d a l l o th er r ig h t s in th e e s t a t e o f Maud
W illiam son , le a v in g th e rem ainder o f th e e s t a t e as f o llo w s :
D exter
— 108—
W illiam son w i l l own $ / l l o f th e rem ainin g e s t a t e , w h ile D e x te r , J r . , J u l i a
and Leda each w i l l own 2 / l l in th e b a la n c e .
Very l i k e l y i f the need were
f e l t th e o th e r h e ir s cou ld c o n s o lid a te th e rem aining h o ld in g s in a s im ila r
manner.
A nother v e r y good example o f la n d c o n s o lid a tio n o f h e ir s h ip h o ld ­
in g s i s th a t o f th e B ig Lake fa m ily .
exchange i s g iv e n in t a b le X V III.
A ch art o f th e p o s s i b i l i t i e s o f t h i s
These la n d s have a l l been ap p raised
by a f i e l d man fo r p robate p u rp o se s.
W hile i n ' t h i s proposed exchange
Thomas B ig Lake would lo s e $ 221.51 o f th e a p p ra ised v a lu e , h is c o n s o lid a te d
h o ld in g s would be worth much more t o him th an as th e y are a t p r e s e n t,
s c a t t e r e d w id e ly and j o i n t l y owned by th r e e o th er p e o p le .
In t h i s case
th e r e are fo u r d if f e r e n t a llo tm e n ts in v o lv e d and i t i s t o th e i n t e r e s t o f
Thomas B ig Lake t o have th e land p a r t it io n e d in order th a t he may l i v e on
h i s i n t e r e s t o f an oth er e s t a t e .
The o th e r h e ir s have r eq u e sted th a t t h e i r
h o ld in g s be p a r t it io n e d at th e same tim e .
I f th e s e h e ir s o b ta in t i t l e f o r
a p a r t ic u la r p ie c e o f la n d , th en i t w i l l h o t be n e c e s s a r y t o o b ta in p er­
m is s io n from th e o th e r s , e i t h e r to u se the. land th em se lv e s or to le a s e
it.
I t i s ' r e l a t i v e l y sim p le t o secu re c le a r t i t l e s in many o f th e
e sta te s i f a l i t t l e
care and thought i s u sed b efo re to o many h e ir s become
in v o lv e d .
Spec i f i o B eq u ests in W ills . — Another e x c e lle n t way t o p reven t th e
a llo tm e n ts from b e in g l e f t t o so many h e i r s , i s t o u se care in making th e
w ills .
In th e e a r ly h is t o r y o f th e R e se r v a tio n th e In d ia n s d id not under­
sta n d w i l l s nor care f o r them.
But a t th e p r e se n t tim e alm ost ev ery
In d ia n makes a w i l l . . Some government em ployee, u s u a lly th e farm agent
POSSIin ITIB
TASU m u .
Al I 01YCTT
o r USD HBKSSIP COWeOLIDATn* OME
H B IO .
ACTlS
Ic re tte
B ird
262
RBSBTATlOS
CUSSmCATIOT LATDS
DESCR I PT I OT
10.
IlDIAI
5 * t * * i . S e e . 3 6 -8 -3 2
R f B t SB* S e e . 2 0 -2 -3 1
A l l , See 2 1 -2 -8 1
« t n t . " t * t . SM
H -S -S i
S
DTT PACT
ACTBS
TA L U
TOTAL
OTAIITO
ACBBS
I
se
4 0 0 .0 0
8 40
3 3 6 0 .0 0
I 3 7 6 0 .0 0
F r e n e l e B lr L eke
266«
SB*. S e e . 3 1 -2 - S I
1 80
6 4 0 .0 0
6 4 0 .0 0
L o u ie B l f I e k e
2682
S t SW t. * t
1 3 8 .1 8
6 3 2 .7 1
6 3 2 .7 2
C h e r le e B ig I e k e
2683
U t . S, «, S t * r t.
1 8 2 .1 3
6 4 8 .8 2
6 4 8 .6 2
6 6 8 1 .2 4
I 8 4 8 1 .2 4
S i t . Sm . H - S - S t
Sm . S - S - S l
I
1 3 6 0 .3 1 A eree
ITTCTBTT T A IU
I TTEBBST IR
Al I OTSCTT
T h eeee 5 tg I e k e
To.
Te.
To.
To.
262
2682
2683
2684
3 /3
e /»
6 /8
6 /9
Jem ee B ig I e k e
To.
Te.
e
T e.
242
2682
2683
2684
2 /8
1 /8
1 /»
1 /9
• 1 2 6 3 .3 8
4 2 1 .3 2
4 8 2 .3 7
4 2 6 .8 7
I 2 6 3 4 .2 4 )
B t BA SB*. S e e . 20
S# S e e . 2 1 -2 -3 1
L o t 4 , S e e . 2 6 -1 -3 3
S* TB *. S * c . 1 8 -3 -3 1
ST* BT*, S e c . 3 6 - 3 - 3 2
8 8 6 .5 4
7 0 .3 0
7 2 .0 6
T l . 11
I 1 0 4 9 .0 0 )
B* ST *, TB* SB *, S e e . 1 6 -8 -8 2
I e t e 3 , 4 , S* B T *, S e e . 6 - 3 - 3 2
(T o te l
8 3 6 .5 4
7 0 .3 0
7 2 .0 6
7 1 .1 1
I 1 0 4 1 .0 0 )
( T o ta l
8 3 6 .6 4
7 0 .3 0
7 2 .9 6
T l . 11
I 1 0 4 9 .0 0
( T o te l
B ery A gnee S lg I e k e
T e.
T e.
Te.
To.
262
2662
2683
2684
Te
T e.
T e.
Te.
242
2642
2663
2684
In t.
T e lu e
I
( T o ta l
D o ro th y B ig I e k e
LATL PABTTTI CBEL DBSCTIPTIOT
l e t . V a lu e
I
#1 /8
1 /8
I
%
1 /9
1 /9
T e t e l I n l : . T e lu e e l l
e l lo tm e n te -
I 8 6 8 1 .2 4
TOTAl ACRBS
PA* T IT I OK VALU TOTAL
6 1 8 .1 8
I 2 3 1 2 .7 2
2 8 2 .1 3
I 1 1 2 8 .6 2
SB* S e e . 3 1 - 2 - 3 2
H U * TB* BE*. S e e . 2 1 -2 -3 1
2 6 0 .0 0
I 1 1 2 0 .0 0
T T * , BT* TB*. S e e . 3 1 - 2 - 8 1
T f ST* S e e . 1 6 -3 -3 1
2 8 0 .0 0
I 1 1 2 0 .0 0
1 8 6 0 .2 1
I 6 8 2 1 .2 4
T o t a l A eree
-110-
or the f i e l d c le r k w r ite s th e w i l l .
Examples o f two w i l l s w r itte n on th e
Crow R e se r v a tio n are g iv e n in f ig u r e s 26 and 2 7 .
Both o f th e se w i l l s
were probated by th e S e c r e ta r y 's o f f i c e and both were a ccep ted and
approved as w r it t e n .
These w i l l s were s e le c t e d because th e y are sh o rt
and an e x p la n a tio n o f them i s e a s y .
In Amy B e id e r 's w i l l ( f ig u r e 2 6 ) ,
fo u r f o r t i e s were l e f t in eq u al share t o her th ree d a u g h te r s, th e le g a l
d e s c r ip t io n o f none o f th e land in th e w i l l i s g iv e n .
Then in the fo u r th
s e c t i o n , n in e f o r t i e s more were to be d iv id e d among fo u r c h ild r e n .
As
w i l l be n oted th e share in th e l a s t named f o r t i e s was to be d if f e r e n t
from th a t in th e f i r s t named f o r t i e s .
Now, i f the w i l l o f M edicine Horse ( f ig u r e 2 7 ) , i s s tu d ie d , i t
w i l l be n oted th a t each p a r c e l o f land i s d e sc r ib e d by le g a l d e s c r ip t io n
and g iv e n to one s p e c i f i c in d iv id u a l.
The land d e sc r ib e d w i l l be owned
by th e p a r t ie s named w ith ou t r e s t r i c t i o n .
Each b e n e f ic ia r y can use
th e land as d e s ir e d , or he may le a s e i t w ith o u t regard t o any o f the
o th e r b e n e f i c i a r i e s .
While in th e case o f th e b e n e f ic ia r ie s o f Amy
B e id e r , one o f them cannot use any o f th e land w ith ou t th e consen t o f
th e o th er h e ir s nor can th e land be le a s e d w ith ou t th e s ig n a tu r e s o f
th e m a jo rity o f th e h e i r s .
T his i s im portant fo r o fte n th e h e ir s are
not s a t i s f i e d w ith th e same l e s s e e .
T h is d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n cau ses tr o u b le
and hard f e e l i n g s between th e h e ir s and u s u a lly r e s u l t s in f r i c t i o n
betw een l e s s o r s and l e s s e e .
W ith a l i t t l e
n um ber o f h e i r s h i p
t h o u g h t on t h e p a r t
o f th e t e s t a t o r ,
p r o b le m s c o u l d b e p r e v e n t e d .
a la r g e
E v en th o u g h t h e l e g a t e e
-111K -IK K
INDIAN WILL UNDER THE ACT OF JUNE 25, H l l (3t Stct L , 855-850
AS AMENDED BI THE ACT OF FEMliAJtT 14, ItU (37 SM. L, 171).
LAST W ILL AND TESTAMENT
DKK KTACK to N K T SSA K T TO D C K KIKC M tO rEKTV . A f M I A SEPAKATE SHEtrT AT THIS POINT.
_____ Aay .Lridet-JaZfil------------------
h
/ , .... _______________ ________ ______Cf the ............ C w ----------------------------------------
Tribe, of the State o f .... Tle3ntane ............... .... ........... . bein$ of sound and disposing
mind, realizing the uncertainty of human life, do make this my Last Will and
Testament, hereby revoking all former wills by me made, in manner and form
following, that is to say:
FIRST.—I desire that all my legal debts be paid, including the expenses of
my last illness, funeral, and burial.
SECO.YD.— I give, devise, and bequeath to Agnee L e id e r , end h e r e l e t e r e ,
3
B e tty B e e rc lo u d , Slery L ig h t in e q u a l s h a re s th e home p la c e which c o n s i s t s o f g
4 F o r t i e s . Agnes L e id e r i s t o a c t a s g u a rd ia n t o h e r s i s t e r s .
»
Of th e t h r e e f o r t i e s J o in in g th e C a rl L e id e r p la c e I g le e to C a rl L e ld e r , J r . *
-two f o r t i e s , and one f o r t y to C a ro lin e S p o tte d . The wagon and h a rn e s s to
C a r l L e ld e r .
To B e tty B e arclo u d a n d Mary L ig h t, a b la c k m are. The im plem ents and m ach in ery ^
a r e to be l e f t a t t h e home p la c e , to Agnes L e ld e r and h e r s i s t e r s . The la n d ■
betw een Hoodoo a n d G rape V ine, and th e n in e f o r t i e s on t h e Big Horn a r e to be t
d iv id e d among t h e f o u r c h i l d r e u , A gnes, C a r l , B e tty B earclo u d and Mary L ig h t . "
I give, deiise, and bequeath all of the rest and residue of m y estate, real, 2
personal, and mixed, to
5
To ay h u sb a n d , Simon B u l l t a i l I g iv e th e sum o f $ 1 .0 0 .
I t i s my w ish t h a t F e l i x B e arclo u d have n o th in g t o do w ith B e tty and she be
u n d er t h e s o le g u a r d ia n s h ip o f Agnes L e ld e r .
A U t h e r e s t and r e s id u e o f my e s t a t e , r e a l and p e r s o n a l , n o t o th e rw is e
d is p o s e d o f I g iv e and b e q u e a th t o my f o u r c h i l d r e n in e q u a l s h a r e s .
*
Zn witness whereof, I, — ....... * j g _ k r i d*F___________________ , have hereunto set
m y hand, sealed, published, and declared this to be my Last Will and Testament,
th is ---------? 4 th ---------------------------- day o f ...... ............................ .............. ,in the year of our
Lord one thousand nine hundred and ____________________
ft'itnesses:
/ r i g n e d / P u th A nderson.............................
Residing a t .
/ s i g n e d / Aqr L e ld e r
S t 1-A jin1S.............................
. / s i gn ed/ Maiy !,..M cI a m h ........................
Residing at
-Crow Agenqr_____________
Firure 26.— An Indian Will
.. (I. S.)
-1 1 2 -
T T if foregoing in s tr u m e n t o f w riting was here a n d now signed by
____Aimy L * '_ d * r _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ in our presence, a n d a t A ta request
a n d in the p n se n e e o f each other we hai ' signed a s u i t nesses a n d .- Jie
has p ublished a n d de.clared th is to be A t* [her] Last W ill a n d Testam ent.
/ s I j n e d / ..2uth.-Ander£QH............— ..................—
Residing at ..St*. Aeh.'±, HanlsnA
/s i g n e d /
............
Mary V. MgLeer.
Residing at S n n .M U B S S * .
ThlE I s t o c e r t i f y t h a t on th e 1 4 th day o f Ju n e 1951, Amy L e ld e r , a
■ember o f th e Crow T rib e re q u e s te d t h a t we w r i t e a w i l l f o r h e r . George W hite
Fox i n t e r p r e t e d f o r h e r . A f te r th e w i l l was w r i t t e n , I read I t beck to h e r In
th e E n g lis h la n g u a g e , f i r s t a s t ln g h e r I f she c l e a r l y u n d e rsto o d I t . She
s t a t e d she c l e a r l y u n d e rsto o d i t end was s a t i s f i e d w ith th e c o n t e n t s . She
d is p o s e d o f h e r own a llo tm e n t and a l l h er I n h e r i t e d I n t e r e s t s .
T here were p r e s e n t Ir. th e room Apy ! e l d e r , George W hite Fox, I n t e r p r e t e r ,
P u th A nderson, members o f th e Grow T r ib e , and m y s e lf, J u n i o r C la r k . I
am s a t i s f i e d t h a t Aiv ! e l d e r was in f u l l p o s s e s s io n o f h e r f a c u l t i e s and
c a p a b le o f m atin g a w i l l . T here was no i n d i c a t i o n o f 'undue in f lu e n c e h a r in g
been u s e d .
7S ltn e d /' Marv 7 . Mc^eanl______
J u n io r C le r k .
I c e r t i f y t h a t on th e f 4 t h day o f J u n e , 1932, I was ask ed to w itn e s s th e
ta k in g o f a w i l l by Amy ! e l d e r , amy ! e l d e r s t a t e d h e r w ish e s th ro u g h George
T h lte Fox, I n t e r p r e t e r , and th e w i l l was w r i t te n by Mary V. McLean, J u n io r
C le r k , Whc r e a d I t back to h e r , and she e x p re s s e d h e r s e l f a s s a t i s f i e d . T here
were p r e s e n t In t h e room, Mary V. McLear., Amy ! e l d e r , George w h ite F ox, and
?-jth A nderson. T here was no i n d i c a t i o n o f undue in f lu e n c e having been u se d .
I am s a t i s f i e d t h a t A v ! e l d e r was In f u l l p o s s e s s io n o f h e r f a c u l t i e s and
c a p a b le o f m aking a w i l l .
/a im e d /
R uth A nderson_______
I c e r t i f y t h a t I a c te d a s I n t e r p r e t e r In th e making o f a w i l l o f
Amy L e lo e r ; t h a t r . v L e lu e r u n d e r s ta n d s and sp eak s th e E n g lis h la n g u a g e ;
„ f t e r th e w i l l was made I t was re a d t c h e r 'ey Mary V. McLean. A v ! e l d e r
s t a t e d t h a t she c l e a r l y u n d e rsto o d th e c o n te n ts o f t h e w i l l and was f u l l y
s a t i s f i e d w ith t h e c o n t e n t s . I am s a t i s f i e d t h a t a v ! e l d e r was In f u l l p o ss­
e s s io n o f h e r f a c u l t i e s end c a p a b le o f making a w i l l . T here was no I n d i c a t i o n
o f undue I n f lu e n c e .
/ s i g n e d / George W vjte Fox______
PROBATE
4 9 0 3 P -5 I
ABM
LEPnFTMEST OF THE INTERIOR
OFFICE OF THE EECRbTARI.
J a n . 16, 1934
P u rs u a n t to t h e p ro -v is io n s o f th e a c t o f F e b ru a ry 14, 1913 (37 G t e t . 6 7 8 ),
t h e w ith in »111 I s hereb y a p p ro v e d .
/ s i g n e d / OSCAR L. CHaPMaN
A s s i s t a n t S e c r e ta r y -
Figure 26.— (continued)
An Indian Will
113s-iee
INDIAN WILL UNDER THE ACT OF JUNE 25, 1910 (36 St.L L , 855-856)
AS AMENDED DY THE ACT OF FEBRUARY U1 »13 (37 SuL L, 678).
LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT
.......... JtedicirieJIarsea^-A f-L U .....................
7,
.J le d itln e .J ie ra e a — ............. ...... of the .......
C r s r ..................................................
Tribe, nf the State of
Moniana
....... , bein£ of sound and disposing
wind. realizing the uncertainty of human life, do make this m y least WVl and
Testament. hereby revoking all former wills by me made, in manner and form
following, that is to say:
VJIiST.—I desire that all my legal debts be paid, ineluding the expenses of
my last illness, funeral, and burial.
i
%
g
SECO.VD.— 7 give, devise, and bequeath to S u s ie L e id e r, t h a t p a r t o f th e
I
Yellow "a c e a llo tm e n t d e s c r ib e d a s E/£ N t '4 , NE (4 S F '4 S ec. S, T . 7 , R. 3 £ f . O
Verde S t r a l g t t B ir d , t h a t c a r t o f th e Yellow Face a Ilo U ie n t d e s c rib e d a s
>
L o ts 3 , 4 , S ec. 4 , T . 7 , r . Jf F.
*
P u th O t1-Sr B u l l , t h a t m art Cf th e Y ellow Face a llo tm e n t d e s c rib e d a s S
Jfr '4 S e c . 4 , ? . 7 £ . , ? . Sf F.
To C a r l L e id e r, J r . NE '4 SF/4 S e c . 34, T. I S . , R. S3 E - S u s ie L e id e r ty
c o d ic il.
To Agr.es L e id e r, L ots 4 , S, 6 , S e c . 11; L o ts 15, 16. S e c . I , T. I S . ,
J o e S te w a rt NE'4 NF,'4 S ec. 1.0, T. S S ., R. Sb E.
7 give, devise, ami beyueath all of the rest and residue of my estate, real,
personal, and mixed, to P uth O th e r B u ll, S u sie L e id e r, and Verde S t r a i g h t
S
B ird Ir. e - u a l s - a r e s .
!CU TO l A lE
i
!
X
£
I
O
5
*
7« witness whereof, I,
.MedicinE--EarfeJ!............ ................. -..,hare hereunto set
my band, staled, published, and declared this to be my Last Will and Testann nt,
this
e ig h te e n th
..............
.day of
Lonl one thousand nine hundred and
r.p ri I ........
..............., i n
the year of our
t h i r t y - t h r e e ......
Witnesses:
C h a rle s
Sgencer
Kcsidingat Crow
.M edicine. J o r s e s . (H er .thum b c a n # .
a g e n c y , M ontana___
...... £.ev?fi8on. Blrd-Jn.vround.................
Kesiding at
...Crow
agency,.. Montana ...
Ficure 27.— An Indian Will
-114-
The fo ^ io in i instrument of writing was here and now signed by
— Jte d lc jIt e ^ arfiea
..................... ....... in our presence, and at his request
and in the presence of each other we hate signed as witnesses and Jie
has published and declared IhU to be his [her] Last WUl and Testament.
—.............C bjirlefi..Stiencer.........................
Residingat ......Crow
A gency. Montane
----------- E eapson..B ird ..In ..G round........
Residing at
Crow ..Kency j B ontene
T h is i s t o c e r t i f y t h a t on t h e e ig h te e n th day o f . a r i l , n in e te e n hundred &
t h i r t y t h r e e , M edicine H o rse s , a woman o f th e Crow T rib e o f In d ia n s cane
to my o f f i c e and ask ed me to make h e r w i l l . ' I askeo Famoson B iro in The
around to a c t a s i n t e r p r e t e r f o r me. M edicine H orses t o ld Eamoson B ird in
.Ae Ground in t h e Crow Language what h e r w ish es were and he i n ' tu rn
t r a n s l a t e d them i n to t h e E n g lis h language f o r me and I to o k them down in
th e form o f a w i l l . Samoson th en re a d th e w i l l and t r a n s l a t e d i f back i n to
th e Crow language and M edicine H orses s a id t h a t I t f u l l y e x p re ss e d h e r
w ish es a s to t h e d i s p o s i t i o n o f h e r p r o p e r ty .
b e lie v e t h a t X e d lc in e H orses was under no undue I n flu e n c e in th e making
t h i s w i l l and In f u l l p o s s e s s io n o f h e r m en tal f a c u l t i e s
/ s ig n e d / C h a rle s S pencer
Farm a g e n t
T h is i s t o c e r t i f y t h a t I , Sampson B ird Ir. The Ground was asked t o a c t as
i n t e r p r e t e r f o r M edicine H orses Ir. making o f h e r w i l l . M edicine H orses
t o l c me h e r w ish e s in t h e Crow Language and I t r a n s l a t e d them i n t o E n g lis h
f o r C h a rle s E pencer to ta k e down in th e form o f a w i l l . A f te r th e w i l l
was w r i t te n I re a d i t and t r a n s l a t e d i t bac< i n t o t h e Crow lenguage f o r
M edicine H o rses and she s a id i t f u l l y s a t i s f i e d h e r d e s i r e s a s to th e
d i s p o s i t i o n o f h e r p r c o e r ty .
I b e lie v e M edicine H o rses was under no undue I n f lu e n c e In th e making o f
t h i s w i l l and i n f u l l p o s s e s s io n o f h e r m e n ta l f a c u l t i e s .
(s ig n e d )
CFRTIFIE l:
Sampson B ird in Ground
In te rp re te r
A TRUF COPY:
(s ja ie d )
Fdwayd Conley
Fxam lner o f I n h e r i t a n c e .
Figure 2 7 .— (continued)
An Indian W ill
-115-
d oes not r e c e iv e e x a c t ly th e amount o f land th a t th e person making th e w i l l
d e s i r e s , th e n et worth o f th e le g a c i e s may be so e q u a liz e d and a d ju ste d
th a t over a lo n g p erio d o f y e a rs th e r e s u lt in g s a t i s f a c t i o n in b ein g th e
f u l l le g a l owner o f a d e f i n i t e t r a c t w i l l fa r outw eigh th e l i t t l e money
v a lu e g ain ed by h avin g a share in an u n d iv id ed e s t a t e .
T r ib a l Land P u rc h a se s. — Another method th a t would h e lp s o lv e th e
co m p licated h e ir s h ip h o ld in g s i s fo r th e T ribe to purchase th e se t r a c t s
and to le a s e them to the h ig h e s t b id d er e x a c t ly as i s done w ith the
p r e se n t t r i b a l la n d .
The T ribe at th e p r e se n t tim e owns 2 7 2,640 a c r e s o f
lan d from which th e average annual le a s e r e n t a ls are $ 3 5 )0 0 0 .
At th e
p r e se n t tim e th e s e r e n t a ls are p a id out in an n u ity payments to each
member o f th e t r i b e .
The amounts o f th e s e payments are so s m a ll, about
$ 1 0 .0 0 th a t th e y do th e in d iv id u a l v ery l i t t l e good and are u s u a lly
squandered in v a r io u s w ays.
I t would seem as i f the proper procedure
would be t o spend th e s e funds fo r som ething th a t would b e n e f it th e t r ib e
in th e f u t u r e .
I f th e s e com p lica ted h e ir s h ip h o ld in g s were purchased
th e t r ib e would r e c e iv e immediate r e tu r n s from i t s in v estm en t from th e
in c r e a s e d le a s e r e n t a l s .
In order to u se th e funds f o r t h i s purpose i t
would be n e c e s s a r y to secu re the c o o p e ra tio n o f th e t r i b a l c o u n c il.
It
has been th e ten d en cy th e l a s t few y e a r s o f the In d ian O ffic e in Washing­
to n t o r e fu s e to a llo w th e T r ib a l funds o f o th er t r i b e s to be d is s ip a t e d
in s u b s is te n c e l i v i n g or in n e e d le s s pu rchases alth o u g h no such r u lin g
was made fo r the Crows.
N othing co u ld be more worth w h ile than to b u ild
up t h e i r own R e se rv a tio n and to con serve t h e ir own n a tu r a l r e s o u r c e s .
- 116 -
Purchase hjr One H e ir . — Another method th a t cou ld he used and i s
t o be recommended on many o f th e co m p lica ted land h o ld in g s , i s fo r one
o f th e h e ir s to buy a l l o f th e o th e r s h a r e s .
The Survey made in 1934
shows th a t th e r e were 1 ,8 3 1 Crow In d ia n s owning land on th e R eserv a tio n
( s e e ta b le IX , page 69) .
T his means th a t th e a r ith m e t ic a l average o f
land ownings i s 1106 a c r e s per p e r so n .
A c e r ta in p o r tio n o f the r e n t a ls
from th e s e la n d s each year would soon make th e n e c e s s a r y paym ents.
In
th e y e a rs p a st t h i s p r a c tic e has been t r i e d in a few c a s e s and r e c e n t ly
some o f th e h e ir s have s i g n i f i e d t h e i r w illin g n e s s t o purchase th e h o ld ­
in g s o f th e o th e r h e ir s in some o f th e com p licated e s t a t e s .
C a ttle Purchase
Inasmuch as th e Crows have d is p o s e d o f t h e i r p e r so n a l p ro p erty
t o such a la r g e e x te n t th a t i t i s im p o ssib le fo r them t o work t h e i r
a llo tm e n ts or t o s to c k t h e i r ranches w ith liv e s t o c k , i t i s su g g e ste d th a t
th e T ribe secu re a loan o f $ 5 0 0,00 0 from th e Federal Government, to h e lp
r e s to c k t h e i r range and to make lo a n s t o in d iv id u a l In d ia n s fo r r e h a b i l i t a t ­
in g f a m ilie s on t h e i r a llo t m e n ts .
The Government i s making advancements
t o th e T ribe c o n tin u o u s ly , but in such sm a ll amounts th a t very l i t t l e
good can be accom p lish ed .
The e x p e r ie n c e o f repayments on the R eim bursable
and th e R e h a b ilita tio n lo a n s fo r house r e p a ir prove th a t th e Crow In d ia n s
w i l l meet t h e i r lo a n o b lig a t io n s i f th e proper s u p e r v is io n i s g iv e n .
F ive hundred thousand d o lla r s should be loaned to the T ribe at th e r a te
o f th r e e per cen t in t e r e s t each y e a r .
Four hundred thousand d o lla r s o f
-117-
t h i s sh ou ld he u sed fo r a t r i b a l li v e s t o c k c o o p e ra tiv e and th e rem aining
$ 1 0 0 ,0 0 0 loaned by th e t r ib e t o s e le c t e d in d iv id u a ls t o r e h a b ilit a t e t h e i r
a llo t m e n ts .
As was shown in th e p ro p erty t a b le on p a g e'9 2 , th e t o t a l worth o f
th e Crow t r i b a l p ro p erty i s $ 9 0 4 ,9 1 5 .1 7 and the p erso n a l p ro p erty o f th e
in d iv id u a l In d ia n s was e stim a te d at $ 5 8 9 ,9 2 7 . ' No attem pt was made t o
e stim a te th e v a lu e o f th e a l l o t t e d la n d .
A loan o f $>500,000 w ith the
p r e se n t p op ulation- o f 2 ,2 0 0 would be o n ly $227.27 f o r each in d iv id u a l.
T h is lo a n cou ld be r e p a id from th e p ro ceed s o f th e p r e se n t T rib a l
p ro p erty in tw en ty y e a r s w ith ou t any a s s is t a n c e from th e b u s in e s s fo r
w hich th e lo a n was o b ta in e d .
The P la n . — A board o f th re e d ir e c t o r s should be e le c t e d by th e
T r ib a l C ouncil to coop erate w ith th e In d ia n O ffic e in th e o p e r a tio n o f
T r ib a l b u s in e s s .
Four hundred thousand d o lla r s should be s e t a sid e fo r
th e c a t t l e o p e r a tio n s , $ 3 0 0 ,0 0 0 sh ou ld be u sed to purchase 6 ,0 0 0 head o f
young w e ll-b r e d sou th ern cows and b u l l s , $ 100,000 sh ou ld be h e ld in r e s e r v e
t o purchase th e f i r s ;t ■w in t e r ' s fe e d .
s u ffic ie n t.
One to n o f hay per anim al should be
T h is fe e d sh ou ld be purchased from th e In d ia n s farm ing or
In d ia n share r e n t a ls .
I f t h i s hay i s purchased in th e f a l l i t could
p robab ly be purchased f o r $5 per to n .
The sum o f $ 3 0 ,0 0 0 or two y e a rs
i n t e r e s t sh ou ld be r e s e r v e d t o meet th e s e o b lig a t io n s when due.
. .
Inasmuch
as th e range i s fe n c e d , th e expense fo r range r id e r s and h e lp should riot
be v e ry g r e a t .
For a herd o f t h i s s i z e , I 8 0 ,0 0 0 a c re s sh o u ld be s u f f i c i e n t .
At te n c e n ts per a c r e , a y e a r 's r e n t a l would be $ 1 8 ,0 0 0 ,
With the p r e se n t
E x te n sio n S e r v ic e on th e R e se r v a tio n , th e E x ten sio n Agent and Farm A gents
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sh o u ld keep th e "books, g iv e n e c e s s a r y a d v ice and o th er te c h n ic a l a s s i s ­
ta n ce n eed ed .
The rem aining funds sh ou ld "be h e ld as a r e se r v e f o r emer­
g e n c ie s th a t m ight a r i s e .
■
{■
As w i l l "be n oted on th e R e se r v a tio n map, fig u r e 5 , th e range la n d
w est o f th e B ig Horn R iv e r , shown as u n it Ho. 24 would "be an e x c e lle n t
t r i b a l range ( s e e fig u r e 2 8 ) .
I t i s c o m p le te ly fe n c e d ; th e r e i s p le n t y
o f w ater b o th w in te r and summer from c re e k s and from w ater r e s e r v o ir s
b u i l t be th e C iv ilia n C on servation C orps, In d ia n D epartm ent.
no p la c e on t h i s range more than th r e e m ile s from w a te r.
There i s
As noted t h i s
range e x te n d s in t o th e B ig Horn M ountians, th e r e fo r e th e r e i s e x c e lle n t
summer f e e d .
The p la in s are broken enough t o be e x c e lle n t fo r w in ter
range and are c lo s e th e fe e d su p p ly i n th e B ig Horn V a lle y .
At th e
p r e se n t tim e t h i s range i s u t i l i z e d in t h i s manner by th e E. L. Danna
C a ttle Company, w hich i s one o f th e la r g e s t c a t t l e companies in th e
U n ited S ta te s .-
About two m ile s n o rth o f th e range i s a B u r lin g to n C orral
and lo a d in g c h u tes so th a t th e c a t t l e would not have t o be d riv en f a r t o
lo a d them when m arketed.
C lose t o t h i s c o r r a l i s a la r g e r e s e r v o ir th a t
would su p p ly w ater t o many tim es t h i s number o f c a t t l e .
T h is r e g io n i s a l l a l l - y e a r r a n g e , fo r th e wheat g r a ss and th e
l i t t l e b lu e stem s t a r t in th e low lan d s e a r ly in th e s p r in g , and th e
c a t t l e f o llo w th e growth o f th e g r a ss back toward th e m ou ntain s.
D uring
th e summer months th e r e i s e x c e lle n t g r a s s , w ater and shade in the
u p la n d s.
Another advantage t o m ountain range i s th e freedom from f l i e s
w hich annoy th e c a t t l e .
As w in te r ap p ro a ch es, th e herd cou ld graze back
toward th e w in te r range in th e v a l l e y s .
The p r e se n t l e s s e e s o f t h i s
"if u r e 2E . —Iia n ^ e le n d
on t h e Crow R e s e r v a t i o n .
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range do v e ry l i t t l e w in te r f e e d in g .
The wheat g r a s s e s cure or rip en in t o
e x c e lle n t fe e d when l e f t sta n d in g on th e ra n g e.
There i s sagebrush on
th e h i l l s which th e snow seldom cov ers so deep th a t i t cannot be o b ta in ed
by l i v e s t o c k .
The sageb ru sh w i l l supplem ent the fe e d in g o p e r a tio n s d u rin g
a se v e r e storm when th e range g r a s s e s are covered w ith snow.
Bred h e if e r s sh ou ld be purchased w ith c a lv e s to drop in the s p r in g ,
th en th e s t e e r s should be w in tered and p la c e d on th e market e a r ly th e
second y e a r .
The tim e to p la ce them on th e market would depend on the
amount o f fe e d a v a ila b le , th e number o f c a t t l e on th e market and the
p r ic e o f g r a s s - f a t s t e e r s .
A ll cows and h e if e r s sh ou ld be kept fo r breed­
in g p u rp o se s, so th a t th e herd would g r a d u a lly b u ild i t s e l f up to u t i l i z e
a l l o f th e Crow In d ian range la n d .
I t i s e stim a te d th a t th e s t e e r
would pay th e o p e r a tio n c o s t and in t e r e s t on the funds borrowed u n t i l
such tim e as th e herd has grown enough so th a t repaym ents could be made
on th e p r in c ip a l.
A v e r y good example o f t h i s method o f o p e r a tin g a c a t t l e herd i s
th a t o f H. A. W illc u t .
At one tim e Mr. W illc u t was a f i e l d c le r k in th e
em ployee o f th e In d ian S e r v ic e .
He l e f t th e s e r v ic e and to o k over th e
o p e r a tio n o f th e herd f o r th e E. L. Danna C a ttle Company.
p o s s i b i l i t i e s o f a herd o f h is own.
He saw the
With h is sa v in g s he purchased a few
c a t t l e and r en te d land from th e Crow I n d ia n s .
He p aid r e n t a ls on th e
land and a l l ex p en ses on th e o p e r a tio n s o f h is h o ld in g s and has b u ilt
up h is herd t o th e number o f 5 ,000 head and owns a w ell-im p ro v ed ranch
o f 1 ,0 0 0 a c r e s , which i s known as th e Grape Vine Ranch.
T h is ranch i s
a d ja ce n t t o th e range recommended fo r th e Crow C oop erative c a t t l e h erd.
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Mr. W illo u t sa y s th a t h i s p ro p erty and l i v e s t o c k are fr e e o f a l l encum­
b ra n ces and worth about o n e -h a lf m illio n d o ll a r s .
Numerous o th e r such exam ples o f c a t t l e o p e r a to r s making a s u c c e s s
on th e Crow R e se rv a tio n could be c i t e d .
I f Mr. W illc u t and o th ers
co u ld make a s u c c e s s o f th e c a t t l e b u s in e s s and pay a l l ta x e s a f t e r
g o in g in t o th e game w ith o u t c a p i t a l , th e Crow In d ia n s sh o u ld make a
s u c c e s s o f th e same k in d o f b u sin e s s when th e y have no ta x e s to pay and do
have a la r g e c a p it a l w ith which to s t a r t th e b u s in e s s .
In a d d itio n , th e y
would have th e advantage o f la r g e q u a n tity buying and s e l l i n g and the
a d v ice and a s s is t a n c e o f th e In d ian S e r v ic e .
I n d iv id u a l R e h a b ilita tio n
The rem aining $ 1 0 0 ,0 0 0 o f t h i s lo a n supplem ented w ith the p r e se n t
Crow R ev o lv in g Fund should be used to r e h a b ilit a t e w orthy f a m ilie s on
t h e i r a llo t m e n ts .
I f care i s used in th e s e l e c t i o n o f th e fa m ilie s r e ­
h a b i l i t a t e d , v e ry much good could be accom plished w ith t h i s amount.
Many
o f th e f a m ilie s have a llo tm e n ts in th e ir r i g a t e d v a l l e y s th a t are e i t h e r
p a r t i a l l y or w ell-im p ro v ed so th a t the la r g e s t item would be machinery
and power to o p erate th e m achin es.
In most c a se s $ 1 ,0 0 0 would be ample
t o s t a r t a fa m ily on i t s own a llo tm e n t.
As i s shown in th e tem perature
and r a i n f a l l c h a r t s , th e R e se rv a tio n i s i d e a l l y s it u a t e d f o r a l f a l f a and
sm a ll g r a in s and e v er y fa m ily should grow a s u b s t a n t ia l garden and have
a p o ta to f i e l d .
I t i s e stim a te d th a t from 115 to 120 d if f e r e n t f a m ilie s
cou ld be r e h a b ilit a t e d th e f i r s t yea r ( s e e fig u r e 2 9 )•
T h is r e h a b ilit a ­
t io n fund sh ou ld be u sed as a r e v o lv in g fund and as r a p id ly as the
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Ficvxe 29. —An in exp en sive house b u ilt fo r Mark R ealbird w ith
the use o f th e Crow Reimbursable R evolving Fund.
-123-
in s t a llm e n t s are p aid "by one fa m ily th e s e funds should he loaned to an oth er
w orthy In d ia n .
In t h i s way th e younger co u p les ju s t m arried could he
g iv e n a s s is t a n c e in s t a r t in g a home away from t h e ir p a r e n ts .
I d e a l Fam ily S et-U p . — I t i s s u g g e ste d th a t an id e a l s e t-u p f o r a
fa m ily l i v i n g in th e ir r i g a t e d v a lle y s would be to have a sm all f lo c k o f
c h ic k e n s , a sow, two d a ir y cow s, and fo u r head o f m ares.
These mares
sh ou ld he used t o produce c o l t s as w e ll as fo r power to ca rry on the farm
o p e r a tio n s .
m achinery.
The b alan ce o f th e money sh ou ld he used fo r seed and
Three or fo u r f a m ilie s cou ld work to g e th e r , th u s save buying
more than one la r g e and ex p e n siv e machine such as a hay s ta c k e r , d r i l l , or
b in d e r .
Then t o o , la r g e s a v in g s could he made i f th e s e purchases were
made in la r g e q u a n t it ie s and a d v e r tis e d in th e name o f th e In d ian S e r v ic e
as i s done w ith th e p u rch ases made by th e Government.
I d e a l R o ta tio n fo r I r r i g a t e d Lands. — An id e a l r o t a t io n fo r the
ir r i g a t e d la n d s i s a l f a l f a , o a t s , w heat, and an e a r ly v a r ie t y o f dent
co rn .
The a l f a l f a sh ou ld he plowed under ev ery f i v e y e a r s .
A lf a lf a y i e l d s
v e r y w e l l , many y e a rs th re e c u tt in g s can he h a r v e sted w ith a t o t a l y i e l d
o f f i v e to n s per a c r e .
O ften tim es th e p ro d u ctio n o f seed i s an e x c e lle n t
method o f u t i l i z i n g th e crop .
The f i r s t c u tt in g sh ou ld he h a rv ested f o r
hay and th e s e c o n d . crop grown f o r s e e d .
id e a l fo r good s e e d .
The c lim a te in t h i s s e c t io n i s
The straw a f t e r th r e s h in g i s f a i r fe e d fo r c a t t l e
i f i t i s p r o p e r ly s to r e d .
A ll hay which th e In d ian fa m ily does not need
f o r i t s own liv e s t o c k sh ou ld he s o ld to th e T rib a l Herd C o o p era tiv e, but
care sh ou ld be tak en not t o a llo w any fe e d t o he s o ld th a t i s needed fo r
-124-
home u s e .'
S in ce th e "building o f th e Sugar F acto ry at Harden, sugar b e e ts w i l l
work in t o th e r o t a t io n and th u s fu r n is h a cash crop and th e "beet to p s fe e d
fo r liv e s to c k .
As s t a t e d above a number o f f a m ilie s co u ld buy th e more
e x p e n siv e m achinery c o o p e r a t iv e ly and th u s reduce th e expense per fa m ily
in fin a n c in g t h i s p r o j e c t .
The O peration o f Dry Farm Land. — I t i s not recommended th a t many o f
th e In d ia n f a m ilie s be r e h a b ilit a t e d on dry land farm s.
In most c a se s i t
w i l l n ot be n e c e s s a r y , b ecause a t l e a s t one member o f th e fa m ily w i l l own
ir r i g a t e d la n d .
A lso th e hazards o f dry farm ing make i t v e r y u n d e s ir a b le .
But fo r th o se who w ish t o t r y t h i s typ e o f farm in g, w in te r wheat p la n te d
on sum m er-fallow ed la n d i s most s a t i s f a c t o r y .
lan d sh ou ld be kept f a llo w each y e a r .
At l e a s t h a l f o f th e wheat
The grow ing o f c e r t i f i e d Grimm and
C ossack a l f a l f a see d h a s.b e e n v ery p r o f it a b le the p a st few y e a r s , th e th r e s h ­
ed straw b e in g consumed fo r l i v e s t o c k f e e d .
A lso th e producing o f c r e s te d
wheat g r a s s f o r se e d and fo r hay i s worth c o n s id e r in g .
v a l l e y s and benches may be cut f o r w ild p r a ir ie hay.
In many y e a rs th e
T h is hay u s u a lly
commands a premium p r ic e as h orse fe e d .
Bach fa m ily sh ou ld have a s u b s is te n c e garden th a t i s w e ll
p r o te c te d by a s h e lt e r b e l t .
A lso p o u ltr y , m ilk cow s, and hogs sh ou ld
be produced t o fu r n is h th e fa m ily w ith th e s e n e c e s s a r y food s u p p lie s .
For th o se dry lan d farm ers th a t are adapted t o tu rk ey r a i s i n g , t h i s
ty p e o f work i s recommended.
Turkeys are u s u a lly p r o f it a b le on such a
farm b ecause th e n e c e s s a r y fe e d can be produced on th e farm and th ere i s
p le n t y o f open.range f o r th e tu r k e y s .
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P a stu r e s in I r r ig a t e d Farming A r ea s. — For th o se a llo tm e n ts not
h a v in g p a stu re f o r d a ir y cow s, a few a c r e s o f the H u n tley Grass m ixture
sh o u ld he p la n te d .
T h is g r a s s makes e x c e l l e n t fe e d f o r c a t t l e and h o r s e s ,
b e s id e s com plying w ith th e S o il C on serv a tio n A d m in istr a tio n program.
T h is p a stu re sh ou ld he p la n te d on th e l e s s p ro d u ctiv e la n d dn th e a l l o t ­
ment and h e lp t o improve th e econom ic w orth o f th e farm ,
A la r g e p a stu re
i s not needed he cause o f th e a d ja cen t range land which sh ou ld he used
f o r h e e f c a t t l e or range h o r s e s .
A sm a ll a l f a l f a f i e l d sh ou ld he
a v a ila b le f o r th e sow and h er l i t t e r .
very l i t t l e
I f th e hogs are grown on a l f a l f a ,
g r a in would he needed e x ce p t f o r f a t t e n in g .
In t h i s way th e
fa m ily would produce i t s own meat and la r d .
Spare Time Work. — I t i s su g g e ste d th a t th e In d ia n f a m ilie s co u ld
u se t h e i r spare tim e r e p a ir in g th e improvements on th e a llo t m e n t, such as
b u ild in g s and f e n c e s .
Farm S h e lt e r B e lt . — Every farm fa m ily should have a s h e lt e r b e lt
on th e n o rth and w est s id e s o f th e hom estead.
These t r e e s can he o b ta in e d
a t a v e ry sm a ll c o s t from th e c o o p e r a tiv e n u rsery a t M isso u la and such
s h e lt e r b e l t s add many d o lla r s to th e w orth o f the home and make i t a
much more p le a s a n t p la c e in which t o l i v e .
Such a s h e l t e r around th e
garden p lo t would he w orth much fo r wind p r o te c tio n t o th e growing
v e g e t a b le s .
S u b s iste n c e Farming. — I t i s n o t advocated th a t th e In d ia n s a t f i r s t
b e g in commercial farm in g.
For a few y e a r s i t i s s u g g e ste d th a t th e y m erely
t r y s u b s is te n c e farm ing and th en g r a d u a lly grow in t o la r g e r u n i t s .
Many
- 126 -
m ista k es were made in th e p a st by t r y in g t o urge th e In d ia n s to d ev elo p
to o r a p id ly .
In d ia n s would in v e s t a la r g e sum o f money in im plem ents and
l i v e s t o c k and c o n tr a c t a la r g e d e b t, th en have a crop f a i l u r e or s t r ik e a
p e r io d o f low p r ic e s and c o n seq u e n tly become d isco u ra g ed and q u it , but
would s t i l l have th e p ig debt t o pay.
s lo w ly and l e t th e b u s in e s s grow.
I t would be much b e t t e r to s t a r t
T h is would g iv e th e o p era to r a chance
t o secu re th e needed e x p e r ie n c e to o p era te a la r g e r u n it o f b u s in e s s .
L iv e s to c k A s s o c ia t io n . — For th o se l i v i n g in th e v a l l e y and not
h a v in g s u f f i c i e n t range fo r t h e i r b e e f c a t t l e , a l i v e s t o c k a s s o c ia t io n
would s o lv e th e problem .
A number o f farm ers could o r g a n ize and ren t
a u n it th e s i z e needed fo r t h e i r li v e s t o c k and p r o -r a te th e o p e r a tin g
exp en ses.
I f th e s e u n i t s were le a s e d in each farm d i s t r i c t th ey would be
c lo s e enough fo r th e owners to see t h e i r l i v e s t o c k o c c a s io n a lly , and i t
would not be n e c e s s a r y t o d r iv e th e c a t t l e so fa r each s p r in g and f a l l .
In t h i s way one li n e r id e r could care f o r th e l i v e s t o c k f o r th e whole
community and th e owners cou ld go about t h e i r d a ily r o u tin e w ith ou t spend­
in g so much tim e c a r in g fo r t h e i r sm a ll b e e f h erd.
The annual f e e s o f
th e p r e se n t In d ia n l i v e s t o c k a s s o c ia t io n f o r the summer sea so n i s $ 2 .0 0
p er an im al, w hich i s s u f f i c i e n t to meet a l l e x p e n se s.
The c a t t l e are
g a th ered a t one c e n tr a l p o in t in th e s p r in g , then, a group o f Indian
r id e r s h e lp d r iv e them t o th e a s s o c ia t io n ra n g e.
D uring th e summer, one
r id e r i s a b le t o care f o r th e e n t ir e h e r d , th u s th e tim e o f tw enty men
an hour or so e v e r y day i s sa v ed .
In th e f a l l a group o f r id e r s go t o
th e r a n g e , h e lp round up th e herd and d r iv e them to a c e n tr a l c o rr a l
where each owner c u ts out h i s own c a t t l e and ta k e s them home fo r the .
-127-
w in te r m onths.
In t h i s way th e p astu re and range c lo s e t o th e in d iv id u a l
a llo tm e n t can he saved f o r w in te r fe e d .
Repayment o f L oans. — Because th e Grows are fo r tu n a te in havin g
many a c r e s o f lan d th a t would not he u t i l i z e d by th e s u b s is te n c e farm ers
f o r a number o f y e a rs th e y could pay th e i n t e r e s t and in s t a llm e n t s on
th e lo a n from le a s e r e n t a ls from t h i s su r p lu s la n d .
I t would be p o s s ib le
t o u se th e le a s e r e n t a ls in t h i s manner b ecause lo a n s sh o u ld not be
g iv e n t o f a m ilie s whose farm program does not show th a t th e farm ing or
ra n ch in g o p e r a tio n s would fu r n is h a l i v i n g f o r th e f a m ily .
I t i s b e lie v e d
th a t i f a la r g e number o f th e Crow f a m ilie s could s t a r t su p p o rtin g them­
s e l v e s on t h e i r a llo t m e n ts , i t would be a good example f o r o th er s to t r y
f o r th e m s e lv e s .
I f th e Crow c h ild r e n co u ld be rea red on a ranch or farm
where th e fa m ily i s s e lf - s u p p o r t in g , i t i s b e lie v e d th a t th e next
g e n e r a tio n o f ran ch ers or farm ers would f in d the way e a s i e r than t h e i r
fa t h e r s have done.
A r e g u a ltio n sh ou ld be made and e n fo r c e d to punish
any one o b ta in in g a lo a n th en n e g le c t in g h i s p ro p erty .
L a te r , a f t e r th e Crow In d ia n s have proved th a t th e r e i s a need ■
fo r more la n d , th e income from th e t r i b a l p ro p erty cou ld be used to
purchase a lie n a t e d la n d s .
Most o f th e s e la n d s are th e ir r ig a t e d la n d s
and are f a i r l y w e ll-im p r o v e d , which w o u ld .n e c e s s it a te a la r g e working
c a p ita l.
But i t i s f e l t th a t i f th e In d ia n s r e a l l y proved th a t th ey
co u ld u se more lan d e co n o m ic a lly th a t th e F ederal Government would
a s s i s t them by g r a n tin g them a lo a n a t a rea so n a b le r a te o f i n t e r e s t .
- 128 -
C iv ilia n C on servation Corps— In d ia n Department
The C iv ilia n C on servation Corps p r o je c ts sh ou ld he co n tin u ed .
The
program o f work as o u t lin e d f o r th e n ex t f i v e y e a rs would he i d e a l , i f
o n ly th e young unm arried men were employed in th e camps.
A r u le sh ou ld
he e n fo r c e d th a t as soon as a man m arried he must q u it work on t h i s
p r o j e c t , because i t has been proved th a t th e men w i l l n o t work on the
p r o je c t and l i v e on th e a llo tm e n t,
As o u t lin e d th e c o n se r v a tio n program i s to co n tin u e to b u ild
l i v e s t o c k w ater r e s e r v o ir s , d ev elo p s p r in g s , d r i l l w e l l s , and i n s t a l l
w in d m ills , b u ild roads and o th erw ise improve th e r e s e r v a t io n as f a s t as
fu nds are a l l o t t e d by th e F ed eral Government t o carry on such work.
A
s o i l c o n s e r v a tio n p r o je c t has been p r e se n te d to th e W ashington O f f ic e , to
p la c e a d em on stration farm on the R e se r v a tio n to show th e most improved
methods o f c o n to u r in g , s t r ip p in g , and t e r r a c in g .
I f t h i s p r o je c t i s
approved i t would ser v e as a d em on stration t o both th e In d ia n farm ers
and t o th e w h ite l e s s e e s .
L easin g
There i s an In d ia n O ffic e r e g u la tio n a g a in s t th e a l l o t t e e le a s i n g •
a l l o f h is lan d ; some must be r e se r v e d f o r h is s e lf - s u p p o r t .
This
r e g u la tio n sh ou ld be e n fo r c e d on th e Crow R e se rv a tio n and b efo re land i s
le a s e d c a r e fu l in v e s t i g a t i o n should be made to determ ine i f th e a l l o t t e e
sh o u ld u se th e lan d in h is own o p e r a tio n s .
The le a s e s sh ou ld be so worded
th a t whenever th e lan d i s needed fo r In d ia n o p e r a tio n th a t th e le s s e e
129-
must g iv e up p o s s e s s io n a t th e end o f th e yea r a f t e r h a v in g "been g iv en
n o t ic e by th e In d ian O f f ic e .
In t h i s way th e Indian o p era to r could
d ev elo p h i s i n t e r e s t s as r a p id ly as he d e s ir e d w ith o u t in t e r fe r e n c e from
w h ite l e s s e e s .
I t i s th ou gh t th a t i f th e In d ia n a l l o t t e e knew th a t he
co u ld n o t le a s e h i s home he would l i v e in i t and t r y to make a l i v i n g .
At p r e se n t he may le a s e h is.h om e and eke out an e x is t e n c e by l i v i n g in a
. t e n t or m a k esh ift sh ack .
Whenever la n d on the R e se rv a tio n i s le a s e d ,
th e l e s s e e sh o u ld be made t o comply w ith a l l o f the r u le s o f th e S o il
C on servation A d m in istr a tio n and be com pelled to o th er w ise improve the
a llo tm e n t and keep th e improvements in good r e p a ir .
T h is r e f e r s to both
range and farm la n d .
E ducation
Future S ch ool Curriculum . —As was s t a t e d in th e p r e v io u s c h a p ter ,
th e e d u c a tio n a l p la n t and tr a n s p o r ta tio n system i s s u f f i c i e n t to meet th e
p r e se n t n eed , but th e curriculum in a l l th e sch o o l sy stem s sh ou ld in c lu d e
v o c a tio n a l e d u c a tio n and home econ om ics.
As s ta te d th e p r e se n t curriculum
i s n o t e d u c a tin g th e farm boys and g i r l s t o go back to th e farm.
are a l l le d away from farm l i f e toward o th er p u r s u it s .
They
E a rly in' th e grad es
th e r u r a l c h ild r e n sh o u ld be g iv en h e a lth e d u c a tio n , home econom ics,
a g r ic u lt u r e , a r t s and c r a f t s , w ith s p e c ia l a t t e n t io n to l e i s u r e tim e
p u r s u it s , in f a c t e v e r y th in g th a t i s n e c e s s a r y t o m a in ta in a good l i f e
th e farm .
on
Of cou rse a l l o f th e s e are ta u g h t in th e u n i v e r s i t i e s and
c o lle g e s ' a f t e r th e s tu d e n t has com pleted h ig h s c h o o l, but v e r y few o f th e
—130—
In d ian c h ild r e n a tte n d c o lle g e and even i f th ey do th ey may n o t be g iv e n
c o r r e c t gu id an ce.
At p r e se n t th e r e a re two y e a rs o f home econom ics and
manual t r a in in g tau gh t in th e h ig h sc h o o l o f Hardin, bu t no fo r g e or farm
shop work o f any k in d i s g iv e n even h e r e .
R e se r v a tio n have no such work.
The oth er h ig h s c h o o ls o f th e
I f t h i s v o c a tio n a l work were g iv en in th e
low er grades and in ev ery sc h o o l on th e R e se r v a tio n , i t i s thought th a t
much good co u ld be accom p lish ed in h e lp in g boys and g i r l s i n t h e i r l i f e
work, and a l s o in s tim u la tin g th e p u p il's in t e r e s t in h i s o th er sch o o l
work.
Youth O r g a n iz a tio n s. — One o f th e b e s t methods o f fu r th e r in g edu­
c a tio n i s to s t r e s s 4-H Club work (s e e f ig u r e s 30 and 3 1 ).
I t has been
proved th a t th e In d ian boys and g i r l s w i l l respond to such le a d e r s h ip i f
com petent l o c a l le a d e r s can be found.
I t i s f e l t th a t i f a Government
em ployee were to g iv e h i s w hole tim e t o t h i s p r o je c t th a t alm ost ev ery
you th on th e R e se r v a tio n w ould be a member and'-complete h i s p r o je c t.
E very stan d ard clu b p r o je c t c a r r ie d by th e S ta te o f Montana 4-H Club
o r g a n iz a tio n would be a p p lic a b le t o th e R e se r v a tio n .
s u it a b le p r o je c ts a r e:
Some o f the more
garden, b e e f , ra n g e, p o u ltr y , sw in e , and g ra in c lu b s .
The g i r l s are ex trem ely in t e r e s t e d in v a r io u s home econom ic p r o j e c t s ,
such as co o k in g , can n in g, sew in g, and v a r io u s h a n d ic r a fts p r o je c ts .
Many young p eop le who cou ld n o t be reached by th e 4-H Club or
who were in t e r e s t e d in Boy and G irl S cou t work co u ld be reach ed by th e s e
o r g a n iz a tio n s .
I f the m eetin g s are made in t e r e s t i n g , i t has been proved
th a t th e In d ia n c h ild r e n w i l l jo in and do e x c e lle n t work in th e s e p r o j e c t s .
-1 3 1 -
F l f n i r e 3 0 . —A g r o u p o f I n d i a n 4-K Glu' members a t t e n d i n g t h e G lu t C onn.
F i n i r e 3 1 . —I . , < - : C lub member.? r.nd c a l v e s .
-132-
A dult E d u c a tio n .— In order to f a c i l i t a t e a d u lt ed u c a tio n and to
fu r th e r b e t t e r a g r ic u lt u r a l and home c o n d itio n s among th e a d u lt s , the
E x ten sio n p erson n el sh ou ld organ ize farm ch a p ters and a u x i l i a r i e s in the
d iffe r e n t d i s t r ic t s .
Very good work c o u ld be done i n th e s e p r o je c ts i f
r e g u la r m eetin g s were h e ld in which a s p e c i f i c o u t lin e o f work were f o llo w ­
ed
Sem i-m onthly m eetin gs sh ou ld be h e ld in each d i s t r i c t .
The s e r v ic e s o f
a Home E x ten sio n Agent sh ou ld be o b ta in ed t o a s s i s t the women w ith t h e ir
work.
A f i e l d nu rse sh o u ld be employed by th e Indian S e r v ic e to a s s i s t
in th e h e a lth and h ygien e e d u c a tio n .
A g r ic u ltu r a l f a i r s and w in ter
sh o r t c o u r se s would be o f c o n sid e r a b le v a lu e in a r o u sin g a f e e l i n g o f
r iv a lr y and co m p e titio n among the d if f e r e n t d i s t r i c t s and f a m ilie s to
improve t h e ir p ro d u cts.
R e lig io u s O r g a n iz a tio n s
I t i s f e l t th a t th e r e l i g i o u s o r g a n iz a tio n s on th e R eserv a tio n are
f a i r l y w e ll equipped and th a t th ere are s u f f i c i e n t f a c i l i t i e s to meet the
n eed .
The r e a l problem i s to arouse th e i n t e r e s t o f the p eop le in order
th a t th ey w i l l a tte n d the s e r v ic e s .
I t i s f e l t th a t i f th e s o c ia l s id e
were a l i t t l e more d evelop ed i t would tend to in t e r e s t th e young p eop le
in the r e l i g i o u s a c t i v i t i e s , and -Qiat th e r e would be a la r g e r a tten d a n c e .
Summary
The g r e a t problem o f c o n s o lid a tio n of the w id e ly sep a ra ted h o ld in g s
o f h e ir s h ip la n d s may be so lv e d :
clerk in the Indian Office;
( l ) by p a r t it io n o f h o ld in g s by a lan d
(2) by the purchase of the heirship land by
-133-
th e t r ib e f o r t r i b a l u se ;
h e ir s ;
(3 ) by th e purchase o f sh a res by in d iv id u a l
( 4 ) s p e c i f i c b e q u e sts when w r it in g w i l l s .
A fe d e r a l lo a n o f $500,000 m ight be secu red to e s t a b l i s h and
p ro vid e f o r th e m aintenance o f herds o f c a t t l e , and t o r e h a b ilit a t e
in d iv id u a l In d ian f a m ilie s on t h e ir a llo t m e n ts .
P r o v isio n should be made
to e n fo r c e th e repayment o f th e lo a n s .
The sc h o o l curriculum sh ou ld be changed to meet th e needs o f
farm l i f e .
Youth o r g a n iz a tio n s sh o u ld be in c r e a s e d t o s tim u la te i n t e r e s t .
A dult ed u c a tio n programs may be added to p rovid e fo r th e needs of th o se
p a st sc h o o l a g e .
R e lig io u s o r g a n iz a tio n s m ight s tim u la te g r e a te r in t e r e s t by
p r o v id in g more s o c i a l a c t i v i t i e s .
CHAPTER V I.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
1
C
T his stu d y o f th e Crow In d ian R e se rv a tio n shows c o n c lu s iv e ly
th a t th e n a tu r a l and la n d r e s o u r c e s o f t h i s area are ample to support a
much la r g e r p o p u la tio n than the Crow T rib e a t p r e se n t, and in a much more
s a t i s f a c t o r y manner.
I t shows th a t w ith th e proper u t i l i z a t i o n o f th e se
r e s o u r c e s , ev ery Crow In d ia n fa m ily can be s e lf - s u p p o r t in g i f th ey w i l l
move back to th e a llo tm e n ts and a l l c o o p e ra te w ith one a n o th er fo r the
common good.
As was p o in te d out in t h is s tu d y , th e many sm all in d iv id u a l h o ld ­
in g s in th e d if f e r e n t p a r ts o f th e R e se r v a tio n sh o u ld be c o n s o lid a te d in t o
one b lo c k so th a t a l l th e h o ld in g s can be u t i l i z e d by th e owner.
T his
-134-
may be done by la n d exchange or by purchase by one h e ir o f a l l the
h e ir s h ip h o ld in g s .
Those la n d s to o b a d ly in v o lv e d sh o u ld be purchased by
th e t r ib e and le a s e d by th e t r ib e to in d iv id u a ls or t o In d ia n c o r p o r a tio n s .
The r e n t a ls from th e s e la n d s cou ld be u sed to purchase a lie n a t e d la n d s.
No landowner sh ou ld be a llo w e d to le a s e any land th a t c o u ld p o s s ib ly
be u sed by him in ea rn in g a l iv e lih o o d .
I f a government lo a n i s secu red to purchase c a t t l e , th e program
must be c a r e f u lly planned y e a r s in advance and no d ig r e s s io n from the
program a llo w e d .
For th e f i r s t few y e a r s or u n t i l th e b u s in e s s i s on
a s bund econom ic b a s is and a s u b s t a n t ia l r e s e r v e b u i l t up t o carry i t over
a d e p r e s s io n , per c a p ita payments sh o u ld h o t be a ttem p ted .
The com m ittee
in charge o f th e s e la n d s must be determ ined men o f c h a r a c te r th a t are
n o t e a s i l y in flu e n c e d by a d verse c r i t i c i s m .
I n d iv id u a l lo a n s sh ou ld be g iv e n o n ly to capable person s who are
w i l l i n g to o p erate a b u s in e s s .
These lo a n s should be o f such amounts
th a t th e b u s in e s s undertaken w ill, be an econom ical u n it and th ey must
have s t r i c t O ff ic e s u p e r v is io n in c a r r y in g out the program a s o u tlin e d
in th e farm in g p la n .
Some p e n a lty must be worked out and s t r i c t l y
fo llo w e d f o r th o se s e c u r in g a lo a n , then n o t making proper e f f o r t to c a rr y
out th e program.
B ecau se, ju s t as lo n g a s the Government comes t o the
a id o f th e f a i l u r e , th e b e s t e f f o r t s w i l l n o t be put f o r t h .
With th e o r g a n iz a tio n o f c o o p e r a tiv e s e l l i n g and buying a g e n c ie s
much n e e d le s s expense can be e lim in a t e d .- Then w ith th e i n s t a l l a t i o n
o f v o c a tio n a l e d u c a tio n a l t r a in in g w hich w i l l reach e v e r y Indian boy
-135-
and g i r l in th e p u b lic s c h o o l, an oth er im portant s te p w i l l have been made.
T his would en ab le ev ery c h ild to a c t u a ll y carry on a p r o je c t w h ile
le a r n in g about i t s th eo ry in s c h o o l.
Thus, the c h ild would be tr a in e d
du rin g h i s e a r ly y e a rs t o be s e lf - s u p p o r t in g .
With th e In d ia n s a l l l i v i n g on t h e i r own a llo t m e n ts , the
h y g ie n ic problem would b e :h o t so s e r io u s .
w ould be red u ced ,
The p r e se n t in f a n t m o r ta lity
^any s o c i a l and econom ic problems w ould be e lim in a te d
when th e camps and "shacks" are a l l moved from th e edge o f th e sm all
R e se r v a tio n tow ns.
In sh o r t the Grow In d ia n s would soon become r e s p e c te d
c i t i z e n s o f th e community i f th ey u t i l i z e d t h e ir own la n d s and became
s e lf -s u p p o r tin g ,
-136-
ACKWOWLBDGMENTS
G r a te fu l acknowledgment i s made to Dr. R. S. Renne, Dr. P. L.
I
S la g s v o ld and P r o fe sso r A. H. Post o f th e Montana S ta te C o lle g e , and t o
D ir e c to r A. C. C ooley o f th e U n ited S t a t e s Indian S e r v ic e , fo r t h e ir
th o u g h tfu l in s t r u c t io n s , s u g g e s tio n s , and c r it ic i s m throughout the
e n t ir e stu d y; to Mrs. Marian B. R a n sier and Mr. James J . Sloan fo r
th e e x c e lle n t p ic tu r e s c o n tr ib u te d by them; to M iss D e lig h t D ennett
f o r e d it i n g and ty p in g o f th e m anuscript; and to Mr. J . G. G ravetz
o f th e WPA d r a f t in g departm ent fo r h i s work in ph otographing o f the
c h a r ts and f i g u r e s .
-137-
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A f f a ir s to the S e c r e ta r y o f th e I n t e r io r " , U n ited S t a t e s Government
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t o th e Commissioner o f Indian A f f a ir s in W ashington, 1932 to 1938.
G eology o f B ig Horn County and th e Crow In d ian R e se r v a tio n , Montana,
G e o lo g ic a l Survey B u lle t in 8$6, U n ited S ta te s Government P r in tin g
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The John Hopkins P r e s s , B a ltim o re, M aryland, 1928.
K ap p ler, C harles J . , "Indian A f f a ir s Laws and T r e a tie s " , Volumes I and I I ,
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K app ler, C harles J . , "Indian A f f a ir s Laws and T r e a tie s " , Volume IV,
U n ited S t a t e s Government P r in tin g O f f ic e , W ashington, I . C ., 1929.
Leupp, F r a n c is E llin g t o n , "The In d ian and H is Problem", C l-S c r ib n e r 's S o n s,
le w York, 1910..
L e fo r g e , Thomas H ., "Memoirs of a W hite Crow In d ian " , The Century Company,
le w York, 1928.
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U n ite d S t a t e s O ff ic e o f In d ian A f f a i r s , "Report o f th e Commissioner o f
In d ian A f f a ir s to th e S e c r e ta r y o f th e I n te r io r " , U n ited S ta te s
Government P r in tin g O f f ic e , W ashington, D. C.
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U n ite d S t a t e s Government P r in tin g O f f ic e , W a s h in g to n ,D. C ., 1930.
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MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES