| Year |
History
* |
| 1400 |
Oral
tradition: The ancestral tribe of the Crow and the Hidatsa
were living the "Land of Forests and many lakes" ( The
present upper Great Lakes of Canada and the United States) |
| 1450 |
Oral tradition: Two
leaders of this group, No Intestines and Red Scout, fasted at Holy lake
(present day Devils Lake, North Dakota), Red Scout received a
vision indicating that his people would survive through the spiritual
graces of Sacred Tobacco. Red Scout and his people settled on the
Missouri and learned horticulture from the Mandan, eventually becoming
the contemporary Hidatsa's. No Intestines and his followers
traveled on an extensive migration in search of the Sacred Tobacco.
The trek eventually led them to their historic homeland, present-day
southeastern Montana and northern Wyoming. This group became known
as the Ashalahó/Many Lodges or the historic Mountain Crow |
| 1490 |
Oral tradition: The
Mountain Crow were firmly established in their homeland, displacing the
Shoshones and allying themselves with the resident Kiowa's |
| 1600 |
Oral tradition: The
next band of the Crow developed out of a separation from the Hidatsa.
Sometime after No Intestines group had become established on the Plains
and argument arose between two factions in the Hidatsa villages on the
Missouri River. The quarrel was over the distribution of a drowned
buffalo, the wife of the leader Bad Heart Bear felt that she had not
received enough of the tripe. The ensuing dispute led to a
permanent separation when the followers of Bad Heart Bear joined the
Ashalahó Apsáalooke on the Plains. This group became known as
the Binnéassiippeele/Those Who Live Amongst The River Banks, or the
historic River Crow. |
| 1700 |
Oral tradition: The
Apsáalooke acquired their first horses from a Shoshone camp near the
Great Salt Lake. |
| 1743 |
A group of Apsáalooke camped at
the confluence of the Bighorn and Little Bighorn Rivers meet with the La
Vérendrye Brothers, French-Canadian traders, most likely the first
encounter between the Apsáalooke and the Europeans |
| 1805 |
Lewis and Clark Expedition
travels across Apsáalooke territory |
| 1805 |
On their return trip in 1806,
the horses meant for Clark, being held by his sergeant, Nathaniel Pryor,
are taken by Crow warriors |
| 1824 |
Beginning of mountain man fur
trade era |
| 1825 |
The first treaty between the
Crow and the United States is signed by Crow leader Long Hair and Major
O'Fallon of the United States. The other prominent Crow leader
Rotten Belly refused to sign |
| 1830 |
Female warrior Pine Leaf killed
four Blackfeet at Fort Union and was named Woman Chief by Rotten Belly |
| 1833 |
Killed more than 200 Cheyenne in
revenge battle; contracted smallpox from a wagon train |
| 1840 |
The Crow were afflicted smallpox
epidemic, end of mountain man fur trade era |
| 1846 |
Attacked and virtually destroyed
the Small Robes band of Piegan Blackfeet under Chief Rotten Belly |
| 1848 |
Caught smallpox from Northern
Shoshoni tribe |
| 1849 |
Lost 600 to influenza |
| 1851 |
The Crow participated in the
first Ft. Laramie Treaty signed by Chief Big Robber which stated that
the Crow controlled over 33 million acres of land in present-day Montana
and Wyoming, caught smallpox from Northern Shoshoni |
| 1853 |
Indian agent estimated that Crow
owned 20 horses per adult male |
| 1856 |
Woman Chief killed by Gros
Ventre |
| 1864 |
The outnumbered Crow
successfully defended themselves against the combined forces of the
Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho on East Pryor Creek north of present-day
Pryor, Montana, the largest and most dramatic battle to protect eastern
Crow lands from the Lakota invasion of the 1860's |
| 1865 |
The Crow assisted the United
States military in protecting travelers on the Bozeman Trail, three
forts were established in Crow territory. |
| 1866 |
Chief Big Robber killed in duel
with Northern Shoshoni Chief Washakie in Battle of Crowheart Butte |
| 1868 |
The Crow participated in the
second Ft. Laramie Treaty, and their land holdings were reduced to 8
million acres in present-day Montana |
| 1869 |
The first government agency is
established for the Crow on Hide Scraper Creek (present-day Mission
Creek, Montana) |
| 1872 |
Crow land holdings were reduced
again and the government agency is moved to present-day Absarokee,
Montana |
| 1876 |
The Crow continued to support
the United States military by supplying the scouts to the columns of the
Centennial Campaign |
| 1877 |
The Crow repelled constant
attacks against the invading Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho, with and
without the assistance of the United States military, even pursuing the
fleeing Lakota's into Canada |
| 1882 |
The Crow agreed to another land
cession and the government agency is moved to its present site at Crow
Agency, Montana |
| 1887 |
Aided Nez Perce in flight to
Canada |
| 1950 |
Water rights to Yellowtail Dam
lost by tribe |
| 1983 |
Crows win inherent sovereignty
case in Supreme Court |
