Crow Indian Historical Collection

Accession Number
0304111
Processor
Jon Ille
Access Restrictions on Use
None
Preferred Citation of Materials
Crow Indian Historical Collection, Little Big Horn College Archives, Crow Agency, MT

Physical Description

Linear Feet
2.5
Comprehensive Dates
1870-2001
Materials Included
Correspondence, federal records and reports; censuses; tribal resolutions and meeting minutes; petitions and speeches by tribal members; and treaties and agreements between the U.S. government and Crows.
Organization of Materials
The Crow Indian Historical Collection is organized chronologically.

Provenance

The Crow Indian Historical Collection is an artificial collection that incorporated unprocessed material that could not be definitively linked to an existing collection in the Little Big Horn College Archives. Due to the value of the information to tribal members and researchers, the decision was made to create a collection that provides access to the included material. As more unidentified archival material becomes available, it will be included in the collection utilizing the chronological processing model already created.

Scope and Content

This collection covers the period from 1870 to 2001 and includes material related to Crow political and economic development from the pre-reservation period to 2001. The collection’s content includes material generated by the federal government and its employees along with a great deal of correspondence generated by Crow tribal members before 1948. Later material in the collection details the actions of the Crow after the creation of a tribal government after 1948. Robert Yellowtail speeches and writings in the collection provide important insights into Crow political thought during this time period.

Inventory

  1. Box 1 - Covers a variety of topics from 1870 to 1941
    1. Information on Crow Scouts, 1876-1889
    2. Fellows Pease Letter Book 1870-1873- Copy
    3. Brief Outline on the History of the Crow Indians- Joe Medicine Crow
    4. Historical Timeline of the Crow Indians, 1742-1880
    5. Blackfoot of the Crow, Lee Paul
    6. English-Crow Vocabulary, 1868
    7. Crow Students at Carlisle Indian School, 1879-1918
    8. Letter, Diaries, Presbyterian Church Ledgers, Pine Ridge Reservation (1901-1903), Crows mentioned
    9. Examination of Scolds the Bear, J.E. Edwards, 1901
    10. The Indian Sentinel, Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions, 1901
    11. Charles Kappler, Crow Treaties
    12. The Wet, Wife’s Adoption into Tribe- 1917
    13. Allotment Records- 1905-1920
    14. General Crow Reservation Conditions, 1928
    15. Petition to President Elect Franklin Roosevelt by Montana Indians, 1933
    16. Letter, Charles Rhoades to Calvin Asbury, 1931
    17. Letter, Charles Rhoades to Argo Oil Company, 1933
    18. Analysis and Explanation of the Wheeler-Howard Bill, 1934
    19. Council Minutes from the 1930’s
    20. Crow Petition to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs Regarding Political Autonomy, 1934
    21. Letter, Harold Ickes to Max Big Man, 1934
    22. Letter, Zimmerman to Bear Claw 1934; Minutes of Crow Tribal health Council, 1935
    23. Schedule of Crow School Children, 1906-1935
    24. Tribal Council Minutes, 1935; Reservation Issues, 1941
    25. Letter, Max Big Man to John Collier, 1938
    26. Frank Yarlott Manuscript, Partial Autobiography, 1937
  2. Box 2- Covers a variety of topics from 1938 to 1992
    1. Indian Census Rolls-1938
    2. Letter, E.J Armstrong to Robert Yellowtail, 1939
    3. Letter, Bureau of Indian Affairs to Minnie Williams, 1939
    4. Letter, John Collier to Robert Yellowtail, 1940
    5. Remarks by Representative James Frances O’Connor of Montana, 1941
    6. Letter Regarding Finances at the Crow Agency- 1941
    7. Speech by Robert Yellowtail Regarding Flood Control on Big Horn and Yellowstone Rivers, 1941
    8. Bureau of Indian Affairs to Crow Delegates, 1941
    9. Letter, John Collier to Robert Yellowtail, 1941
    10. Notice of Tribal Council Meeting, 1947
    11. 1948 Crow Constitution
    12. Robert Yellowtail, “The Crow Side of the of the Yellowtail Dam Controversy,” 1950
    13. Reservation and Montana Indian Issues, 1950’s
    14. Robert Yellowtail, Testimony before Congress, 1954
    15. Robert Yellowtail, Radio Broadcast Against Yellowtail Dam (Transcript), 1955
    16. Crow Tribal Constitution, By Laws Amended, 62-11 and 12
    17. Crow Tribal Council Documents, 1962-1981
    18. Robert Yellowtail, “Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty,” 1964
    19. Resolution 65-10
    20. Letter, James F. Cannon to Edison Real Bird, 1969
    21. Crow Tribal Elections, 1967-68
    22. H.P Howard, Crazy Horse: Great Warrior of the Oglalas, (1975), Crows mentioned
    23. Tribal Affairs, 1977
    24. Natural Resource Development, 1977-1981
    25. “An Open letter to the Crow Tribe,” 1977 Election Material
    26. Resolution 80-17
    27. Crow Tribal Resolution, Undated
    28. Kahee, 1981
    29. Tribal Affairs, 1981
    30. Forrest Horn- Duties of Crow Tribal Officials, 1982
    31. Resolution 82-04
    32. Resolution 82-06
    33. Resolution 82-07
    34. Resolution 82-09
    35. Resolution 82-18
    36. Resolution 82-19
    37. Resolution 82-20
    38. Resolution 82-21
    39. Resolution 82-23
    40. Resolution 82-25
    41. Resolution 82-26
    42. Resolution 82-28
    43. Resolution 82-29
    44. Resolution 82-30
    45. Resolution 82-31B
    46. Resolution 82-32
    47. Resolution 82-34
    48. Crow Fair Program, 1982
    49. Newsletter, NiJean Bear Crane, October and December 1987
    50. Crow Tribal Council Meeting and Resolutions October, 1982; Tribal Council Budget Narrative, 1983
    51. Little Big Horn College Progress Report, 1987
    52. Crow Tribal Newsletter, 1986-1988
    53. Robert Yellowtail Memorial, June 22, 1988
    54. Crow Tribal Council Notice, 1990
    55. Crow Tribal Resolutions, 1991
    56. Crow Tribal Council Meetings and Resolutions, 1992
    57. Little Big Horn College Accreditation, 2001
  3. Box 3- Covers land issues on the Crow Reservation during the 1930s and 1940s, along with Crow language materials for use in the classroom from the 1970s.
    1. Land Acquisition Under Indian Reorganization Act of June 18, 1934
    2. Charles P. Davis to Crow Indian Agency; May 6, 1935 (Robert Yellowtail’s Response Included)
    3. Correspondence, Grazing, Crow Indian Reservation, 1937
    4. Photographs, Crow Reservation, Preliminary Project Plan, 1938
    5. Correspondence and Map, Northern Pacific Land Purchases from Crow Indians, 1939
    6. Grant of Exchange Assignment, 1943
    7. Robert Yellowtail to John Collier, 1943
    8. Crow Culture, Family Relations (In Crow)
    9. Environment, Food Shelter, and Clothing (In Crow)
    10. Crow Language, Developing Language Arts Skills and Science Concepts
    11. Crow Language, Developing Language Arts Skills and Counting
    12. Crow Language, Developing Language Arts Skills and Science Concepts- Colors
    13. Baawaalaatpuuche, March 1979
    14. Absaloka: Stories from the Little People
  4. Box 4 - Additions
    1. Lloyd Pickett Papers (Donated January 25, 2011)
    2. Annuukaaxuwua: Living Within a Line Drawn on the Ground, Absaroka Agency Rediscovery (Incorporated May 23, 2013)
    3. Indian Claims Commission, Vols. 6, 10, 13 (Incorporated April 22, 2014)
    4. Membership List, Crow 107th Committee, December 2013
    5. Crow Indians Baseball Team, Box Scores, 1907
    6. Crow Fair Program, 1990
  5. Box 5 - On February 16, 2015 the Little Big Horn College Library and Archives received a large donation of material from the family of Faith Bad Bear Bartlett, who worked as the Archivist at LBHC from 2005 to 2010. After appraising the donation, the Archivist and Librarian pulled selected material they determined to have archival value. The archival portion of the donation deals with Crow cultural and historical matters, particularly pre-reservation history, early reservation history, and the Crow clan system. The photographs included in the donation have been transferred to the Crow Indian Photographic Collection.
    1. Program, Crow Fair, 1968 (Photocopy)
    2. Congressional Testimony, Sits in the Middle of the Land, 1873
    3. Biography, Sits in the Middle of the Land, NA
    4. Joe Medicine Crow, Crow Cultural and Historical Writings
    5. Crow History Pamphlets, Crow Bilingual Program, ND
    6. Crow Grammar, Crow Bilingual Program, ND
    7. More Crow Lullabies, Crow Bilingual Program, ND
    8. Pension Records, Crow Scouts, 1927-1929
    9. Description of Elements of the Crow Flag
    10. History and Environmental Analysis, Big Horn Canyon
    11. Packs the Deer Helps the Thunderbird, Joy Toineeta
    12. Crow Objects Collected by William Wildschut
    13. William Wildschut, The Crow Indians, Intro to pg. 224 (Unfinished Manuscript)
    14. William Wildschut, The Crow Indians, pg. 225 to 536 (Unfinished Manuscript)
    15. Timothy McCleary, The Stars We Know: Crow Indian Ethnoastronomy, Manuscript
  6. Oversized Boxes - The contents of the two oversized boxes in the Crow Indian Historical Collection contain sets of annuity records and per capita payments to Crow individuals and households from 1904-1909 and 1953-1958.
    1. Annuity Payments 1904-1909
    2. Per Capita Payments 1953-1958