Crow Agency, Montana
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Crow Agency ( cro, awaasúuchia) is a
census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...
(CDP) in Big Horn County,
Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
, United States and is near the actual location for the Little Bighorn National Monument and re-enactment produced by the Real Bird family known as
Battle of the Little Bighorn Reenactment Battle of the Little Bighorn Reenactment is a reenactment of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Since the 1990s there have been two events conducted annually close to the anniversary of the battle in late June, although in 2015 only one event has bee ...
. The population was 1,616 at the 2010 census. It is the governmental headquarters of the
Crow A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifical ...
Native Americans. It is also the location of the "agency offices" where the federal Superintendent of the Crow Indian Reservation and his staff (part of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, United States Department of the Interior) interacts with the Crow Tribe, pursuant to federal treaties and statutes. The ending scenes in the film ''
Little Big Man Little Big Man ( Lakota: Wičháša Tȟáŋkala), or Charging Bear, was an Oglala Lakota, or Oglala Sioux, who was a fearless and respected warrior who fought under, and was distant cousin to, Crazy Horse ("His-Horse-Is-Crazy"). He opposed the 186 ...
'' (1970) were filmed in Crow Agency.


Geography

Crow Agency is located at (45.601383, -107.459706).
Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...
passes through the community, with access from Exit 509. U.S. Route 212 also passes through the town. Custer Creek runs alongside town. According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the CDP has a total area of , all land.


History of the three locations of the "Crow Agency"

The term "Crow Agency" has been historically used since 1868 for the headquarters where the United States directed the federal interaction with the Crow tribe on its reservation. The Crow Tribe's reservations, and the tribe's relations to the United States were defined by treaties between the Crow Tribe and the United States, and by United States statutes.


A Reservation Without An Agency (1851-1868)

The Treaty of Fort Laramie of 1851 created extensive reservation lands for the Indian tribes in Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas at a time when the non-Indian presence in this area was limited to roving traders. A large reservation for the Crow Tribe was set out that was centered on the Big Horn Mountains and extended eastward into the Powder River basin to the banks of the Powder River. However, this treaty did not indicate agency sites for any of the tribes, including the Crows. At the time of the treaty, 1851 the Crow tribe consisted of nomadic bands whose culture was based on hunting the migratory buffalo herds, including those herds in the Powder River Country. Hunting in the Powder River area on the east side of the Big Horn Mountains brought the Crow in increasing conflict with more powerful bands of Sioux who were migrating westward. In 1863 gold was discovered in commercial quantities in the mountains of the western Montana Territory. Travelers to the gold fields left the Oregon Trail and traveled through the Powder River country, going up the east side of the Big Horns to the Yellowstone valley, and then westward. This route became known as the Bozeman Trail, and three forts were built to protect travelers. The Sioux conducted an all out war against the forts and the travelers on the Bozeman Trail called "Red Cloud's War", which finally forced the United States to agree to abandon the forts, and close the trail, and to remake the boundaries of the reservations for the Crow and Sioux in the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868.


The First Crow Agency (1868-1874)

The Fort Laramie "Treaty with the Crows, 1868", was one of a series of treaties that recognized the encroaching presence of the Sioux tribes into the Powder River Basin, and gave them that entire area as a hunting preserve. The Treaty with the Sioux in 1868, in Article 16 gave the Sioux "the country north of the North Platte River and east of the summits of the Big Horn Mountains" as "unceded Indian territory", and this same Article committed the U.S. to abandoning the military posts in this area, and the "road leading to them" (i.e. the Bozeman Trail) "shall be closed". This huge grant of an area had only a western and southern boundary, and presumably had a boundary on the western edge of the ceded lands of the Sioux reservation, but had no northern boundary. The separate 1868 treaty with the Crow moved the center of the Crow lands to the west of the Powder River Basin, into the western portions of the Yellowstone Valley. The 1868 Treaty provided for annuities and other federal support, and stipulated that the Crow would have an agency "on the south side of the Yellowstone, near Otter Creek", close to present day
Big Timber, Montana Big Timber is a city in, and the county seat of Sweet Grass County, Montana, United States. The population was 1,650 at the 2020 census. Big Timber takes its name from Big Timber Creek, which was named by William Clark because of the large cot ...
. The first Crow Agency (1869-1874) was eventually constructed about eight miles east of present-day
Livingston, Montana Livingston is a city and county seat of Park County, Montana, United States. It is in southwestern Montana, on the Yellowstone River, north of Yellowstone National Park. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,040. History T ...
on Mission Creek, and became known as
Fort Parker The Fort Laramie Indian Treaty of 1868, which closed travel on the Bozeman Trail and the Yellowstone Valley, stipulated that the re-defined Crow Reserve would have a new "centerpoint" or agency for the Crow. The first Crow Agency, which was ...
. This first Crow Agency was located in the western reaches of the Yellowstone River Valley, north of the
Absaroka Range The Absaroka Range ( or ) is a sub-range of the Rocky Mountains in the United States. The range stretches about across the Montana–Wyoming border, and at its widest, forming the eastern boundary of Yellowstone National Park along Paradise Va ...
of Mountains. The Crows continued a largely nomadic life style hunting on the buffalo ranges to the east, though this brought them in constant but sporadic conflict with the Sioux who dominated the Powder River area.


The Second Crow Agency (1875-1884)

In 1874 miners encroached on the western margins of Crow lands in the Absaroka Range, and the reservation was reduced in 1875. The first Crow Agency was within these ceded lands and so the Agency was relocated eastward to a new site north of modern-day
Absarokee, Montana Absarokee ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Stillwater County, Montana, United States, approximately south of Columbus on Highway 78. It is named after the Crow Indians who formerly inhabited the land. The population was 1,234 at the ...
. The second Crow Agency (1875-1884) was still located north of the
Absaroka Range The Absaroka Range ( or ) is a sub-range of the Rocky Mountains in the United States. The range stretches about across the Montana–Wyoming border, and at its widest, forming the eastern boundary of Yellowstone National Park along Paradise Va ...
of Mountains but about 66 miles further east of Fort Parker in the Yellowstone Valley, on the Stillwater River which was a tributary of the Yellowstone River. The 9-year period from 1875 to 1884 was a time of rapid transition on the plains of eastern Montana and Wyoming. In 1876 the Crows provided scouts for the United States military forces in the
Great Sioux War of 1876 The Great Sioux War of 1876, also known as the Black Hills War, was a series of battles and negotiations that occurred in 1876 and 1877 in an alliance of Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne against the United States. The cause of the war was the ...
. The defeat by the Sioux of
George Armstrong Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...
at the
Battle of the Little Big Horn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Nort ...
in 1876 resulted in a concerted military backlash against the Sioux, and by 1877 and 1878 the hostile bands of Sioux had either fled to Canada, or they had surrendered and were confined to reservations along the Missouri River in the Dakotas. This initially left the Crows more secure in their use of the buffalo ranges on the eastern Montana and Wyoming plains, but in 1876 and 1877 federal forts were built across this area. With hostile Indian presence essentially neutralized, hide hunters came to harvest the northern buffalo herds. By 1882 the buffalo were gone from this area. Also, in 1880 the Northern Pacific Railroad began building eastward from Bismarck, ND, and in 1882 they completed their northern transcontinental line, which passed up the Yellowstone River valley just as the last of the buffalo disappeared. Almost at once large Texas trail herds arrived in the Montana Territory to exploit the now empty open range on the vast plains of central and eastern Montana. These successive rapid changes in this 9-year period eliminated the herds of bison and reduced other wild game on which the Crow culture relied, and ended forever the Crow's nomadic way of life.


The Third Crow Agency (1884 to Present)

In 1884 these events led to the last movement of the Crow Agency to the site of its third and final location at present day Crow Agency, Montana, 60 miles SE of Billings on the Little Bighorn River. This move of over a hundred miles eastward removed the Crow people from the vicinity of the Absaroka Range of Mountains, and from the Yellowstone River valley, and placed their reservation center on the east side of the Big Horn Mountains, on the western edge of the Powder River Basin of the northern great plains.


Demographics

As of the
census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2000, there were 1,552 people, 336 households, and 303 families residing in the CDP. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 213.3 people per square mile (82.3/km2). There were 361 housing units at an average density of 49.6 per square mile (19.1/km2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 3.74%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 95.68% Native American, 0.06%
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, and 0.52% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...
of any race were 1.16% of the population. There were 336 households, out of which 52.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.4% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 26.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 9.8% were non-families. 7.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 0.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.40 and the average family size was 4.66. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 41.5% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 17.8% from 45 to 64, and 4.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.2 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $22,438, and the median income for a family was $27,768. Males had a median income of $17,300 versus $15,804 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...
for the CDP was $7,354. About 39.6% of families and 40.9% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 42.6% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over. The Annual
Crow Fair The Crow Fair was created in 1904 by Crow leaders and an Indian government agent to present the Crow Tribe of Indians as culturally distinct and modern peoples, in an entrepreneurial venue. It welcomes all Native American tribes of the Great Plai ...
, which is held every third weekend in August, is held on this reservation. The Crow Fair is known as "The Teepee Capital of the World," by the fact that during celebration as many as 1,500 teepees are seen across the river valley of the Little Big Horn River. The
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
series
Reading Rainbow ''Reading Rainbow'' is an American educational children's television series that originally aired on PBS and afterwards PBS Kids and PBS Kids Go! from July 11, 1983 to November 10, 2006, with reruns continuing to air until August 28, 2009. 155 3 ...
filmed its tenth episode "The Gift of the Sacred Dog" here on June 17, 1983. The title was based on a book by Paul Goble and was narrated by actor
Michael Ansara Michael George Ansara (April 15, 1922 – July 31, 2013) was an American actor. He portrayed Cochise in the television series '' Broken Arrow'', Kane in the 1979–1981 series '' Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'', Commander Kang in ''Star Trek ...
.


Notable people

* Tuff Harris,
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...
, was born here * Clara Nomee, former Chairwoman of the Crow Nation, was born here. * Jonathan Maxwell Beartusk, Solar Artist, was born here. (Oct. 14,1973)


Education

Crow Agency has an elementary school.
Hardin High School Hardin is a city in and the county seat of Big Horn County, Montana, United States. The population was 3,818 at the 2020 census. It is located just north of the Crow Indian Reservation. History The city was named for Samuel Hardin, a friend o ...
serves 9th through 12th grade. Crow Agency is home to
Little Big Horn College Little Big Horn College is a public tribal land-grant community college on the Crow Indian Reservation in Crow Agency, Montana. It has an open admissions policy and welcomes enrollment from any adult with a high school diploma or GED. The student ...
.


Climate

According to the
Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
system, Crow Agency has a
semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps. The town averages 41" of snowfall annually.


See also

*
Crow War The Crow War,http://electriccityweblog.com/?p=2937 also known as the Crow Rebellion, or the Crow Uprising, was the only armed conflict between the United States and the Crow tribe of Montana, and the last Indian War fought in the state. In Septe ...


References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Big Horn County, Montana Census-designated places in Montana Crow tribe Montana articles lacking sources Seats of government of American Indian reservations