Chapter 5, Present Day Life

By Luella Brien

Basic Statistics

The Crow Reservation is 2.2 million acres between the Wolf, Bighorn and Pryor Mountains. The Big Horn, Little Big Horn and Pryor Creek each cross through the boundaries of the reservation.

U.S. Census and Tribal Enrollment records show that there are 11,357 enrolled tribal members, 8,143 members live on the reservation. Area schools, the tribal administration, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Crow/Northern Cheyenne Indian Health Service and private business make up the primary employers on the reservation. Unemployment on the reservation hovers close to 80%. The tribe itself owns a number of stakes in natural resources, including land, sand, gravel, water, timber, coal, oil and methane gas. In October of 2004, the Apsáalooke Nation contracted Koski Geophysical Consulting of Billings to conduct seismic testing, evaluation and interpretation of data. With the findings, the Tribe was able to market its potential for oil and methane gas production at trade shows in Houston and Denver. In May 2005, the Tribe secured a minerals lease agreement with Golden Arrow Energy of Wyoming to begin production on 7,680 acres south of Crow Agency.