Crow (Apsaalooke) Archives - Lewis & Clark Research Database

Pressing Past Grand River Without Hunting

Tue, 05 May 2026 14:23:52 +0000

took our leave of him and proceeded on. In a short time,
passed the mouth of the river Grand, and soon after over-
took the hunters, who had not killed any thing. We con-
tinued our voyage all day without waiting to hunt; gathering
some papaws on the shores, and in the evening encamped on
an island.
The 19th was a fine day, and at day light we continued our
voyage; passed the mouth of Mine river; saw several turkeys
288 GASS’S JOURNAL
on the shores, but did not delay a moment to hunt; being so
anxious to reach St. Louis, where, without any important
occurrence, we arrived on the 23rd and were received with
great kindness and marks of friendship by the inhabitants,
after an absence of two years, four months and ten days.
FINIS.
INDEX
A
Adams, Point, 191
Aird, Mr., 233
Aleis Indians, 212; dress of squaws, 212
Allum, 21
Angelica, 137
Antelope (Cabre), 28, 32, 33, 36, 50,
76, 107, 108, 115, 121, 256-258,
266, 281.
Aricaris Indians, see Rickaree Indians
Arrow creek, 6
Arrows, Prairie of, see Prairie of arrows
Ash, 5, 8, 166, 206, 211
Ash creek, 4
Assiniboin Indians, 65, 75
B
Badger, description of, 17; mentioned,
46, 66
Bald-pated prairie, 284
Barbarole Indians, see Jonkta Indians
Baskets, willow, 133
Beans, raised by Indians, 47, 48
Bear, 8, 9, 76, 87, 95, 99, 104, 105,
210, 231, 234, 241-243, 249, 259,
268, 270
Bear, Black, 209.
Bear, Brown, description of, 82; men-
tioned, 83, 84, 86, 93, 104, 106,
247, 269, 271
Bear, Grizly, 232
Bear, White, adventure with a, 260;
description of, 80; mentioned, 52
Bear creek, 5
Bear island, 259
Bear meat, Indian method of cooking,
232
Beaver, 15, 17, 30-33, 75-79, 83, 118,
121, 124, 132, 203, 222, 223, 268,
269, 274
19
Big-bellied Indians, see Grosventres In-
dians
Big Devil river, 6
Big Goodwoman’s creek, 6
Big Muddy creek, 5
Big Rock creek, 6
Big-White (Indian chief), with his fa-
mily, goes to Washington with explor-
ing party, 276
Bighorns, see Mountain sheep
Birch, 166, 222
Blackbird, king of Mahas, 19
Black-bird creek, 7
Blackbirds, 104
Blue-water creek, 10
Blustry point, 177
Boat of iron, description of, 103
Boiling spring, 262
Bonum creek, 3
Bore-tree, 142
Brants, 167, 170, 175, 177, 178, 180
Brarow, see Badger
Breastworks, 26, 27
Buckeye, 8
Buffaloe, 22, 23, 29-33, 34) 51, 52,
57, 59-62, 65, 66, 76-79, 81, 83, 89,
91, 92) 97) 102-104, 107-109, 258,
259, 266, 268, 270-272, 274, 281,
282; night adventure with a, 92
Buffaloe prairie, 22
Burnt bluffs, 272
Butterfly creek, 14
Buzzard, 178
Cc
Cabre, see Antelope
Calamex (or Callemax), Indians, their
characteristics, customs, and dress,
204; mentioned, 192
Cannon-ball river, 51
290
Canoe camp, 111, 177
Canoe deposit, see Deposit, Canoe
Canoe, Indian, see Indian canoes
Canzan river, see Kanzas river
Cape Disappointment, see Disappoint-
ment, Cape
Cape Swell, see Swell, Cape
Catarack river, 215
Catfish, 20, 22, 24, 286
Cathlama Indians, their characteristics,
customs, and dress, 204
Cathlama village, 205
Cedar, 28, 83, 113, 116, 146, 210
Cedar bluffs, 21, 22
Cedar fort, description of, 35
Cedar island, 35
Cerwercerna river, 45
Charlotte rivers, the two, 7
Cherries, 14, 117, 129, 135, 140, 211,
230
Chien Indians, 58, 278
Chien river, 43, 280
Chilook Indians, 206; dress of women,
207
Chiltz Indians, their characteristics, cus-
toms, and dress, 204
Chinkook river, 177
Chinook Indians, their characteristics,
customs, and dress, 178, 204; their
hats, 198; mentioned, 188, 192, 198,
200-203, 206
Chinook Indian squaw saves life of one
of exploring party, 192
Chischeet river, 52
Chononish Indians, their method of
cooking bear meat, 232; some char-
acteristics, 255; mentioned, 226-230,
232-234, 240-242, 244, 248, 249,
252
Christmas, celebration of, 62, 63, 187
Clarke, Captain William: Takes com-
mand of expedition and proceeds up
Missouri river, 1; goes hunting, re-
turning next day with game, g; trav-
els by land, 13; holds council with
Indians, 17; goes hunting, 18, 19;
Index
Clarke, Captain William (Coztinued)
goes fishing, 20; goes hunting and
kills two elk and a fawn, 21, 22;
names Buffaloe prairie, 22; goes with
Captain Lewis to examine hill where
little people are said to live, 22, 23;
holds council with Sioux Indians, 24;
goes to view knob of a hill, 29; visits
prairie dog village, 29; goes hunting
and kills an antelope, 31, 32, 34, 353
threatened by Sioux Indians, 37;
holds council with Sioux Indians, 38;
goes to see Indians dance, 39; goes
hunting, 45; holds council with Rick-
aree Indians, 47, 48; visits Indians
and returns with corn and _ buffaloe
robes, 55; goes buffaloe hunting, 59;
goes hunting, 60, 61; gives brandy
to men for Christmas celebration, 63;
gives whiskey to men for New Year’s
celebration, 64; goes hunting, 68;
kills a hare, 75; kills an antelope, 76;
travels by land, 76; kills tliree black-
tailed deer and a buffaloe calf, 78;
measures Missouri and Yellowstone
rivers at mouth of Yellowstone, 795
measures Missouri and Muscle-shell
rivers at their confluence, 86; his ex-
pedition up south fork of Missouri
river, 94, 95; surveys road for a port-
age, 101, 102; measures portage and
Falls of Missouri river, 105; has nar-
row escape ina hail storm, 106; goes
in search of timber to build boats,
108, 109; goes ahead of party, 1123
leaves note informing party which
branch he had taken, 117; illness and
recovery, 117; starts for Columbia
river, 126; goes to Cape Disappoint-
ment to view the Ocean, 177; returns
from Cape Disappointment, 178; vis-
its the Ocean, 184, 185; gives men
tobacco and handkerchiefs for Christ-
mas, 187; visits salt-makers’ camp,
192; goes to examine tributary of the
Columbia, 209; goes hunting, 214;
Index
Clarke, Captain William (Continued)
purchases horses from Indians, 21 5—
217; journeys on foot so that men
with sore feet may ride, 220; kills
two pheasants, 222; doctors the sick
Indians, 226, 229, 2373; ascends
Clarke’s river, 254; ascends Gallatin
river in order to cross over to Yellow-
stone river, 262; account of his ex-
ploring trip, 274; holds council with
Rickaree Indians, 278; mentioned,
56, 57, 60, 69, 73, 88, 102, 113,
114, 11g, 121, 128, 130, 132-135,
146-149, 186, 197, 215, 235, 245,
2.53, 261, 271-274, 285
Clarke’s river, 139, 140, 159, 176, 252
Clarke’s view, 191
Clatsop, Fort, 190, 205
Clatsop Indians, their characteristics,
customs, and dress, 204; mentioned,
179, 180, 193, 194
Clear-water river, 112
Clover, 126, 257
Clover, red, description of, 220
Columbia plains, 211, 216, 219
Columbia river, exploration of, 125, 127,
158, 175, 177) 183, 205-219, 2525
falls of, 162, 163, 177, 218; mouth
of, 1745; narrows of, 163, 177, 216—
218; rapids of, 164, 167, 177, 212,
213
Columbia river Indians, see Indians of
the Columbia river
Columbia valley, 210
Commas, description of, 242;
tioned, 252
Commas flat, 242, 244, 248, 249
Commas root, description of, 148; men-
tioned, 222, 230
Copperas, 21
Coquallaisquet river, 256
Corn, raised by Indians, 47, 48
Cotton-wood, description of, 57; men-
tioned, 5, 8, 18,23, 28, 29, 56,81, 90,
92, 93, 100, 103, 112, 117, 166, 168,
170, 222, 223, 230, 256, 259, 266
men-
2g1
Council Bluffs, 17, 284
Cowas root, 230
Crab-tree bark, used as substitute for
tobacco, 201
Cranberries, 163
Crane, 139, 169, 175
Crow, 155, 161
Crusate’s river, 214
Currant bushes, 104
Currants, 112, 113, 117, 119, 129
Cutteau (Knife) river, 73
D
Dead, Indian custom of burying their,
204
De Chirn river, see Chien river
Deer, 4-6, 8-10, 12-18, 22, 24, 28-31,
33> 35» 46, 50-52, 57, 59, 61, 65,
66, 68, 75, 77, 78, 81, 83, 91, 96,
99, 101, 102, 108, 113-117, 119—
121, 123-126, 130, 134, 135, 137,
138-141, 151, 164-166, 168, 169,
175,177, 178, 180, 188, 193, 194,
201-203, 207-209, 213-216, 223,
2275 233, 235) 237-244, 247-249,
251-259, 269-272, 274, 276, 277;
279-281, 285, 286
Deer, Black-tailed or Mule, description
of, 33; mentioned, 34, 78, 269, 281
Deer creek, 4
Deer island, 206, 207
Deer-lick creek, 7
Depie creek, 9
Deposit, Canoe, 274
Deposits, 97, 98, 259, 260
Disappointment, Cape, 177
Divide between Missouri and Columbia
Trivers, 127, 257
Dog river, see Chien river
Dogwood, 211
Dogs, as diet, 163
Dogs, Indian, see Indian dogs
Du Bois (or Du Beau) creek, 9
Du Bois river, see Wood river
292
Ducks, 136, 147, 155, 156, 162, 166,
168, 169, 171, 175, 180, 182, 207,
211, 216, 233, 249
E
Eagle, 155
Elk, 13, 16, 17, 19, 22, 23, 26, 28, 30,
31, 36 51, 57, 65, 67, 68, 76-78,
91, 92, 96, 99, 101, 102, 104, 105,
113, 118, 139, 182, 185, 188, 190,
191, 193-199, 201-203, 205, 209,
210, 251, 2595 269, 270, 272-274,
2775 279, 281, 283, 284, 286
Elk island, 13, 36
Elm, 24
Elm creek, 34
Experiment, The, 108
Exploring party, start, 1; encamp for
the winter on the Missouri, 56-73;
find game scarce and are forced to
subsist on their horses and portable
soup, 142-147, 229, 238; dine at
head-waters of Missouri, 126, 127;
begin voyage down Lewis river, 152;
begin voyage down Columbia river,
160; reach the end of their voyage,
1753 prepare to encamp for the win-
ter on Pacific coast, 186-188; move
into winter huts and celebrate Christ-
mas, 187; leave Fort Clatsop and begin
return trip, 205; separate to pursue
different routes, 252; reunited, 274;
reach St. Louis, 288; number of elk
and deer killed by, Dec., 1805, to
March, 1806, 203
F
Fawns, 17, 22, 30
Fir, 144, 194, 195, 211, 255
Fire-prairie creek, 9
Fish, 20, 135, 155, 1733 petrified, 30;
see also specific names
Fish camp, 176
Fish creek, 51
Index
Flathead Indians, their lodges, 155;
their method of making bread, 147,
148; some characteristics, 204; men-
tioned, 137, 138, 140, 150, 151,
153, 155
Flathead river, see Clarke’s river
Flattening of the head, Indian custom
of, 165
Flax, 96, 101, 126, 133, 256
Fleas, 215
Flies, 190; horse, 249
Flounder, 177
Flowers, 206
Floyd, Sergeant, death and burial of, 21
Floyd’s river, 21
Fort Clatsop, see Clatsop, Fort
Fourth of July, celebration of, 11, 107
G
Gallatin’s river, 121, 262, 274
Garter snakes, 207
Gaskenade river, 4, 5
Gass, Sergeant, builds canoes, 70; finds
petrified log, 77; helps Captain Lewis
build his iron boat, 103; goes in
search of material for canoes and kills
two elks, 104; visits Falls of Mis-
souri river, 106, 1073 joins Captain
Clarke’s party in search of timber,
1093 goes with Captain Lewis to look
for Snake Indians, 118; ill, 149; re-
covers from illness, 151; has narrow
escape by canoe sinking, 153; has
attack ofague, 154; helps build quar-
ters for commanding officers, 186;
goes to salt works, 190-192; goes
hunting with companion and spends
a night out-doors in the rain, 1973 is
ill, 263; with companion, starts by
land to mouth of Maria’s river, 266
Geese, 75-77, 130, 139, 155, 156, 162,
166-169, 171, 175, 202, 207, 209
Geesem, an interpreter, 276
Glade creek, 252
Gnats, 247
Index
Goat creek, 28
Goat-pen creek, 76
Goats, 28, 32, 33, 35, 44, 50-52, 62,
76, 121-124, 266
Gooseberries, 100, 109, 117
Gooseberry bushes, 243
Grand Bend, see Missouri river, Great
Bend of
Grand Point, 76
Grand river, 7, 287
Grapes, 13, 31
Grapevines, 5
Grindstone creek, 5
Grosventres (or Grossventer) Indians,
55> 7% 73) 74) 117, 267, 275, 276
– Grouse, 159, 2333 see also Prairie hen
Gulls, 161, 162, 169, 172
i
Haley’s (Hailey’s or Hayley’s) Bay, 177,
Ig1, 200, 207
Hares, 32, 65, 75, 159
Hawks, 155, 177
Haws, 129, 141
Hazlenut, 166
Heath hens, see Grouse
Herrings, 198
Hickory, 5
Hidden creek, 45
Hood, Mount, 168
Hot Spring, 141, 251, 252
Hudson’s Bay Company, 61
Hungry creek, 245-247, 250
Hysop or hyssop, 77, 133
I
Ibex, see Mountain sheep
Independence creek, 11
Indian baskets, 133
Indian bread, 130, 134
Indian canoes, 208
Indian customs: burial of the dead, 204;
method of making fire, 133; mode
of worship, 81; use of cedar bark for
293
Indian customs (Continued)
food and clothing, 210; see also names
of nations and tribes
Indian dog poles, 35, 36
Indian dogs, 41
Indian saddles, 235, 236
Indian spears, 131
Indian war-mallet, 233
Indians, see names of nations and tribes
Indians hold council to decide about
accompanying exploring party to
Washington, 275
Indians of the Columbia river, burial
customs, 160, 161, 204; dress, 131,
170, 176; form of salutation, 127;
lodges, 162, 164; mentioned, 127—
131, 133, 158-167, 169-179, 186;
see also Chiltz, Chinook, Clatsop, and
Flathead Indians
Indians residing between Falls of the
Columbia river and the coast, rascally
and thieving, 227
Indians residing between Rocky moun-
tains and Falls of Columbia, honest
and well disposed, 227
Tron ore, 14
Isquetcoqualla river, 254, 255
J
Jaune river, see Yellowstone river
Jefferson river, 121, 122, 126, 127,
262, 274
Jitk, 9
Jonkta Indians, 44
K
Kanowa Indians, 286
Kanzas river, 10, 286
Kanzon river, see Kanzas river
Kilhouanakkle river, 200
Kimooeenem river, 154, 159, 162, 177
Knife river, see Cutteau river
Kooskooske river, 154, 159, 176, 224,
226, 232
294
L
Labenile creek, 9
Landselle’s fort, 280
Lewis, Captain Meriwether: Joins ex-
pedition, 3; kills a deer, 6; holds
council with Indians, 17; kills a peli-
can, 19; goes fishing, 20; goes with
Captain Clarke to explore a prairie,
22, 233 holds council with Sioux In-
dians, 24; views knob of a hill and
visits prairie-dog village, 29; passes
trading house built in 1796, 30; kills
a strange bird, 33; goes hunting and
returns with game, 3 3-35; holds coun-
cil with Sioux Indians, 38; persuades
Indians to return women prisoners
taken in battle with Mahas, 39; goes
to see Indians dance, 39; gives pres-
ents to Indians and persuades them to
allow exploring party to depart in
peace, 40; visits Rickaree Indians,
holds council with them, and presents
them with American flag, 46-48;
gives presents to Rickaree Indians,
50; holds council with Grossventer,
Mandan, Sioux, and Watasoon In-
dians, 55; visits Mandan village, 56;
goes buffaloe hunting, 59; gives
whiskey to men for New Year’s cele-
bration, 64; calls for volunteers to
pursue Indian robbers, 69; sets out
by land for Yellowstone river, 78;
rejoins exploring party, 79; kills a
white bear and an elk, 80; his expe-
dition up north fork of Missouri river,
94, 96; sets out for mountains, 98;
visits Falls of the Missouri, 100;
helps men to make an iron boat,
103; bleeds sick man with pen-knife,
104; goes to look at spring, 105;
goes to mountain to take observation,
111; goes ahead of party and en-
camps over night alone in the wilder-
ness, 118; goes ahead with party to
look for Snake Indians, 118; journeys
as far as Columbia river and returns
Index
Lewis, Captain Meriwether (Continued)
with Snake Indians, 125; buys horses
for party, 133; ill, 1495 goes hunting
by moonlight, 168; takes specimen
of Indian language, 177; gives medal
to Chinook Indian, 178; trades blue
beads to Indians for sea otter skins,
1793 goes in search of winter camp-
ing place, 181; returns and reports
place for camp, 183; gives men to-
bacco and handkerchiefs for Christ-
mas, 187; buys canoes of Indians,
214; strikes Indian for stealing, 2173
journeys on foot so that men with sore
feet may ride, 220; doctors sick
among Indians, 226, 229, 2373 de-
scends Clarke’s river, 254-2673; as-
cends Maria’s river, 261; and party
have encounter with Grossventress’
Indians, 267; has skeleton of bighorns
prepared to take to Washington, 268,
269; wounded accidentally by one of
the party, 273, 274; recovering from
wound, 277; mentioned, 1, 60, 71,
86, 99, 108, 109, 112, 117, 119—
I2I, 124, 128, 132, 133, 140-142,
146, 150, 160, 163, 173-175; 184,
197, 213; 215, 235; 253; 260, 270,
271, 285
Lewis river, 152-159, 177; 224, 240
Little-bow creek, 23
Little Goodwoman creek, 6
Little Missouri river, 74, 75, 79, 275
Little Osage river, 3
Little Sioux river, 18
Loos Indians, see Loup Indians
Loup Indians, 14, 285
Lucelle, Mr., 35
M
Mackenzie, Mr., 36, 41
M’Clanen, Captain, 287
M’Clelland, Mr., 285
Madison river, 121
Magpie, 243
Maha creek, 12, 20
Index
Maha Indians, 19, 20, 23, 39, 285
Maha village, 20, 254, 283
Mandan, Fort, 58, 63, 65, 79
Mandan Indians, their method of hunt-
ing buffaloe, 59; superstitions regard-
ing buffaloe, 66, 67; burial customs,
54; characteristics, 71, 72; method
of wintering horses, 64, 65; men-
tioned, 47, 48, 52, 53, 55-73, 275
Mandan villages, 53, 54
Maple, 168, 170; soft, 211.
Marapa river, 46
Maria’s river, 96, 97, 99, 260, 261,
266-268
Marrow creek, 6
Medicine river, 101, 103, 104, 257-259
Milk river, 83, 270
Mine creek, 6
Mine river, 287
Mississippi river, 1
Missouri Indians, 17
Missouri river, ascent of, 1-55, 73-1273
description of country through which
it flows, 89~91; descent of, 257-288;
distance from mouth to Pacific Ocean,
176,177; Falls of the, 99, 100, 105—
107, 254; Great Bend of, 34, 35, 53,
280; north branch, 118-122; rapids
of, 100, 112; source of, 127, 257;
south branch, 120-122; three forks
of, 117, 121, 122; two forks of, 93,
94,96, 97; west branch of, 120-122
Moha creek, see Maha creek
Mombran’s tavern, 4
Mountain holly, 135
Mountain sheep, 80, 87-89, 93, 112,
240, 268, 269
Mud creek, 5
Mulberries, 8
Muscle-shell (or Muscle shoal) river,
86, 269
Musquitoes, 18, 19, 32, 104, 109, 115,
202, 243, 244, 247, 249, 253, 254,
256, 258-262, 272, 275) 2775 2795
282-284, 286
Myrrh, 137
295
N
Nadowa, 12
Namahia creek, 13
Nettles, 206
Netul river, 200
New Year’s day, celebration of, 64
Night creek, 34
North West Company, 61
North West Company traders, 54, 58,
61, 62, 66, 277
oO
Oak, 5, 24, 164, 166, 206
Onion creek, 75
Onions, wild, 114
Osage Indians, 5
Osage river, 5
Oto Indians, see Otto Indians
Otter, 52, 124, 203, 223, 274
Otter, sea, 164, 166, 172
Otter creek, 4
Otto Indians, 14, 16-18, 284
P
Pacific Ocean, exploring party arrive at,
174, 175; distance from mouth of
Missouri river to, 176, 177
Paint creek, 28
Pania river, 28
Panther, 149
Papaws, 287
Pelicans, 19, 51, 161, 283
Perch fish, 20
Petrified wood, 77
Pettit-ark creek, see Little~Bow creek
Pheasants, 131, 136, 137, 142, 147,
149, 222, 227, 248
Philosophy river, 122
Pigeons, wild, 10g
Pike fish, 20
Pine, 83-85, 113, 114, 116, 121, 126,
128, 131, 135, 136, 140, 142, 144,
146, 148, 152, 164, 166, 168, 170,
178, 184, 228, 242
296
Platt creek, 10
Platte river, 14, 15, 90, 284, 286, 287
Pleasant camp, 281
Plumb creek, 27
Plumbs, 281
Poncas Indians, 28
Pond creek, 11
Pond river, 49
Ponis (Panis or Poenese) Indians, 7, 14,
286, 287
Porcupine, 31, 32
Porcupine creek, 81
Porpoises, 172
Portage river, 263-265
Portages, Missouri river, 102, 105, 261—
264; Columbia river, 162, 164, 167,
213, 214, 216
Prairie dog, 29
Prairie hen, 131; see also Grouse
Prairie of Arrows, 6
Prarow, see Badger
President of the U. S., specimens sent
to, 71
Prickley pear, 95
Pumice stone, 13, 74, 77, 178
Q
Quail, 211
Quicksand river, 177, 208
R
Rabbit berries, 22, 52
Racoon, 203
Rainy, Mount, 169
Rapid-water river, 28
Ravens, 161, 202
Rat, wood, 11
Rattle-snake, description of, 116; men-
tioned, 216
Rickaree (Aricaris, Rickree, or Rees)
Indians, characteristics, 48; lodges,
45-475 superstitions, 278; mentioned,
42, 46-50, 54, 70, 73
Rickaree Indian villages, 48, 277, 278
Index
River de Bois, see Wood river
Rock camp, 215
Rocky mountains, 65, 80, 111-117,
119, 124-132, 137, 139, 140, 142—
147) 176, 231, 250
Rogue’s-harbour creek, 177
Roots, edible, 222, 238; see also names
of roots, and Shrub, edible
Rose river, 94, 266
Round-knob creek, 16
Rush creek, 4
Rushes, 5
S
Sacque river, 23, 24
Sage brush, 221
Saine creek, 6
St. Charles, 2, 3
St. Johns, 3
St. Louis, 1, 3, 71, 288
Salmon, 128, 129, 132, 136, 151, 157,
158, 161, 163, 172, 177, 182, 186,
188, 213, 240, 247
Salmon-trout, 247, 249
Salt spring, 30
Salt works, 188, 190-193, 195-198
Sandy river, 209, 210
Service berries, 117,
256
Service-berry bushes, 141, 142, 149,
243
Service-berry valley, 125
Shallow Bay, 171, 177, 181
Shapaleel (Indian bread), 215, 218, 219,
221, 222, 226
Sharbons creek, 75
Sheep, Mountain, see Mountain sheep
Sheep, unknown variety, 150
Sheep-sorrel, 202
Shoshone Indians, see Snake Indians
Shoshone river, see Snake river
Shotto, Mr., 283
Shrub, edible, 211
Sioux crossing-place, 34
UG EGS U5
Index
Sioux Indians, councils held with, 24,
55; dances, 25; declare war against
exploring party, 70; lodges, 24; mu-
sical instruments, 25; mentioned
7) 20, 23, 24, 36, 45, 52, $7, 2845
see also Teeton Indians, Yonktin
Indians
Sioux river, 21
Slate run, 46
Slaughter river, 268
Smoke creek, 36
Snake creek, 8
Snake Indians, 74, 125, 126, t40, 240
Snake river, 162, 176, 177, 218
Snakes, 11; see also Garter snakes, Rat-
tle-snake
Snow creek, 99
Soldiers creek, 18
Spear mint, 104
Springs, see Boiling spring, Hot spring,
Salt spring, Sulphur spring
Squashes (raised by Indians), 47
Squirrel, description of, 108, 216, 243;
mentioned, 136, 164, 165, 177, 191
Stony creek, 142
Strawberries, 100
Strawberry creek, roo
Strawberry island, 212
Strawberry vines, 141, 242
Sturgeon, 200, 202, 206
Sugar tree, 8
Sulphur, 74
Sulphur spring, 101

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Pelicans and Dead Salmon at a Large Island Camp

Tue, 05 May 2026 13:47:41 +0000

early; passed along a handsome part of the river; saw some
pelicans and gulls. And as the shores are lined with dead
salmon, there are abundance of crows and ravens. Vast
quantities of these fish die at this time of the year. At noon
we came to an Indian camp on the point of a large island,
where we stopped and got some fish and other provisions.
We here saw some articles that shewed that white people had
been here or not far distant during the summer. They have
a hempen seine and some ash paddles which they did not
make themselves. At 1 o’clock we proceeded on again, went
42 miles, and encamped without any of the natives being
along, which is unusual on this river. We could not get one
single stick of wood to cook with; and had only a few small
green willows.

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Flathead Chiefs Aboard; No Game Spotted

Tue, 05 May 2026 13:47:39 +0000

early. Two of the Flathead chiefs remained on board with
us, and two of their men went with the stranger in a small
canoe, and acted as pilots or guides. We saw some ducks
and a few geese, but did not kill any of them. There is no
four-footed game of any kind near this part of the river, that
we could discover; and we saw no birds of any kind, but a
few hawks, eagles and crows. At noon we halted, cooked
and eat some fish and then proceeded on. The country and
river this day is much the same in appearance as what we
passed yesterday. A little before sunset we came to a bad
rapid, which we did not wish to pass at night, so we encamped
above on the north side, having made 30 miles.
Some of the Flathead nation of Indians live all along the
river this far down. There are not more than 4 lodges in a
place or village, and these small camps or villages are 8 or 10
miles apart: at each camp there are 5 or 6 small canoes.
Their summer lodges are made of willows and flags, and their
winter lodges of split pine, almost like rails, which they bring
down on rafts to this part of the river where there is no
timber.

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Bighorn Sheep Encountered on the Open Plains

Mon, 04 May 2026 16:46:15 +0000

on eairly a head, we took an eairly breakfast, and proceed on
through a large plain & groves of pitch pine where the hunters
had killed 2 deer we took the meat and proceed on crossed Sev-
eral creeks one so large it Swam Some of our horses, about 12 we
Saw a large flock of Mount” Sheep or big horn animels. they run
so near us that Some of the men fired at them. Shortly after we
halted at a branch to dine, dined and proceeded on without find-
ing the road, as we cannot ford the river yet. towards evening
one of the hunters killed a deer. Soon after we Camped near the
forks of the creek.3 one of the hun ters killed a fat buck this evening.
were to await the arrival of Captain Lewis, who was to be joined at the mouth
of Marias River by Ordway’s party and the men left by Lewis at the falls.
The plans thus outlined were carried out, in the main, but the following im-
portant modifications occurred. Lewis’ projected exploration of Marias River
was curtailed, partly because he found that stream did not extend as far to the
northward as he had supposed, partly because hostile Indians compelled him
to beat a retreat to the Missouri; Clark with his detachment descended the
Jefferson with Ordway’s party before crossing over the Yellowstone: and
the plan for Pryor’s parly was defeated through the theft by the Crow Indians
of all his horses,.
1 Modern Bitter Root River; in the journals it is more frequently called
Clark’s Liver.
2 “In the vicinity of Corvallis but on the other side of the river.” Cones.
3 The camp was at the junction of West or Nez Perce Pork with East or.
Loss Fork of the Hitler Root.
1806] SERGEANT ORDWAY’S JOURNAL 373

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Clark Hunts Ashore; Black-Tailed Deer Taken

Mon, 04 May 2026 16:44:48 +0000

eairly. proceeded on passed a steep clay Bluff on S. S. Some
ceeder on the edge of the Bluffs, a fine Timbered Bottom oppo-
site on N. Side. J° Fields who was with the horse killed a black
tailed Deer & hung it on the Bank, we took it on board, we
landed for Breakfast on N. S. Cap* Clark & 3 men went out
hunting, we proceeded on passed a Timbered Bottom on S. S.
about 11 oC. Cap* Clark Shot a fat Brown Buffalow cow oppo-
site to us on the N. S. a large Gang of them Swam the river near
the Boats we Shot a fat cow likewise & a small Bull, took the
meat & hides on bord the pearogues, we proceeded on under a
fine Sailing Breeze from E. S. E. passed 3 large Creeks (called
the Souix 3 river pass) on N. S. which came in behind an Island2
1 The camp was about three miles above Chamberlain, on the opposite side
of the Missouri.
2 “Called Prospect Island.” Clark. Coues says this was its “present or
recent” name, but that it is also called Laurel Island. It is shown on the
M. R. C. map at the 1,080 mile point. Opposite it (on the east) are the mouths
of Crow and Wolf Creeks, and a mile or two above is the mouth of Campbell
Creek. These three streams constitute Ordway’s “Souix 3 river pass.” Here,
according to Clark, “all nations who meet are at peace with each other.” White-
134 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS [Sept. 20
(along a Bluff) passed a long Timbered bottom on N. S. passd
a large Creek on S. S. & Camped after Sailing 24 miles on S. S.
above Sd Creek1 Cap* Clark joined us late in the evening had
killed an Elk & a Deer, the men who went with him returned also
much fatigued &.C. Drewyer killed 2 Black tailed Deer on S. S.
near a range of Bluffs &.C.

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Camp Chosen to Dry Cargo and Rest the Men

Mon, 04 May 2026 16:44:47 +0000

Cool & clear, proceeded on in order to find a good place to camp
& dry & arange all afairs on board & refresh the party &. C.
passed a large Creek on S. S. called [blank space in Ms.]6 we
1 Immediately below the mouth of Ball Creek, in Lyman County.
2 A male antelope.
3 Modern Ball Creek, which joins the Missouri in Lyman County, about
two miles below White River. Clark notes (September 14) that this was
“the place that Shannon the man who went a head lived on grapes.”
4 Still so called. It flows in a due easterly direction to the Missouri, drain-
ing much of western South Dakota.
5 In Brule County, opposite the mouth of American Crow Creek and the
town of Oacoma at its mouth.
6 The captains named it Corvus Creek, “in consequence of having kiled a
beatiful bird of that genus near it.” Lewis. Coues affirms that this is “the
solitary instance of our authors venturing a technical Latin name in zoology.”
Ordway discreetly concluded, evidently, not to make such a venture at all.
With like discretion his white successors turned Lewis’ Corvus into plain Crow,
to which in some way the adjective “American” has been prefaced.
132 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS [Sept. 17
Camped on S. S. in a handsome bottom of thin Timbered land,1
lately burned over by the natives, it had grown up again with
Green Grass which looked beautiful, we Saw several Deer in
this Grove. Cap* Clark killed one Cap* Lewis one G. Drewyer
one. Collins who had been with the Horse joined us had killed
two Deer, one yesterday 1 this morning. We found a large
plumb orchad back of this Bottom of fine large ripe plumbs.
Cap’ Lewis went on an Island2 little above the camp to hunt.
Battest Decamps killed one Buffalow, Roie3 killed a faun Deer.
Cap1 Lewis killed a buffalow. Saved the Skins to cover the load-
ing in the pearogue. Greater part of the loading taken out of
the Boat and aired to day — the large red pearogue loaded out of
the Batteaux & are to continue on with us to the Mandan Nation
of Indians.4

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Snow Falls Five Inches; Twenty-One Horses Retrieved

Mon, 04 May 2026 16:43:40 +0000

hunters went out, and we proceeded on for abaut six
miles, when’ we | came to the old chief. 8 lodge, ae 2
as family. ise ncamped to gather roots. WE 3 are ae”
2 Sot into a part of the country where uberis plenty,
ue Mie: Nexo pine. he aa
“Jour WALL : ee iS ait
the’ preat ‘tlis” Oi the: Citambia’ and this.
* saw more horses, than [ever before saw
in the same space of country. They are not of the —
largest size of horses, but very good and active. at
“toon two of the Indians went fo look. for our horsey a
io) gad the | old chief with one of our men who. KNEW.
_ « where some powder and bail was buric d, went to bring —
our packsaddles. In the evening they all returned |
with 21 horses and about as many packsaddles. Our .
“horses are generally in good order. Our” hunters _
: also returned but had killed hothing. 4
– os “Saturday 10ch. At dark last night the weather be-
| came cloudy and it rained about, an hour when the
rain turned to snow, and it continued snowing a
night. In the morning the weather became clear. i
Where we are lying in the plains the snow is about
five inches deep ; and amidst snow and frost we have
nothing whatever to eat. Without. breakfast | ane
started to go to a village of the natives, who live on”
a braneh of the river, about a south | course from t is
place. We travelled through the snow about 12. ae
miles, and then went down a a long stecp descent ys ees se
the branch where the village i is situated: When we ae
—. were about half way down the hill there was not abe
ee particle of show nor the least appearance of: it. ae 3 a
was about 3 o’clock when we arrived at the village ey
co ia: ete Commanding Officers held. conversation
_ with the natives, who informed them that they had — as
‘ not more provisions and roots, than they wanted GF ee
_ themselves. | They, however, divided their stock
with. us; and: told us what they had. given was all
eee “they could spare ; but drove up. some horses, and told — ae
_ “us to shoot one, which we did. They then offer eae
* another, but that: was reserved for ancther time,
hae re dressed, the ‘one we had killed ; ‘ and n
. tion Sen af Er gone eating. – We.
212
Sundae 11th, T his wes a hs lean arompide : . and oy
we lay here ali day. The natives treat us Wery. well}: 28
the Ollicers practice as physicians imong their. sick, a
and they gave them avery handsome mare and colt. _
About 12 o’clock our hunter came in and brought
. two deer with him. We now find a great many
more men among the Indians than when we went.
down last fall; and several chiels, which had then
been out at war. In the evening tie natives kpponent :
in six more of our horses. |
ae Afinday 12h. We had another eee morning and
remained here also to day. The natives in the
.gourse of the day gave us four horses, one of which
-. => wekilled to eat. We also got bread made. of POOLS,
_ which the natives call Co-was. and sweet roots which
they call Com-mas… In the afternoon they brought
ta three more of our oid stock of horses.* a
i J : 2 of
” ; { 5 “pi LPS i —
f The information yet acuured: furnishing: but few cer-
“tain data, on which a correct general view of the country
~avest of the Rocky Mountains could be founded, especially —
on the south side of the Kooskooske,. Lewis’s river, and the q
Columbia after its confluence with that river, it would only
_be attempting impostureto pretend to be able to § give it. A
few observations, however, may be of some ‘use to such rea-
crs, as have paid but little attention to the Seeger of
eae our country, and prompt to further m@uiry..
| Between the Rocky Mountains, whieh: ranning a ‘north.
west. course, are said to enter the North Sea in latitude Coe bas
‘north, and longitude 135° west from London or 60° west
from Philadelphia (about 11° west of the mouth of the Col ~
: . ~Tumbia) and another range of high mountains, running nearly |
_ . iu the same direction along the coast of the Pacific, there
$s a large tract of open country extending along # here
ies vivers. and towards the north, in breadth fror
«350 or 400 miles; but wi oh by Mr M’Kenzie’s – a
Cae appears: to be contracted in the latitude of his’ rout near eke ta
A 3 Grd degree to the breadth of dbout 200° miles, wherethe
– country is rough and covered with timber. Mr:
– represents some part of these mountains | to. be of
Wa or thei soelat suinmits 108 n the
=.
te 2
‘
ait,
Be cb ton ck
JOURNAL. – Nei al
13! A We had a thie morning with white
; ing collected our horses we found we had
and a pretty! good except 4, which were studs
ae id had sore backs. At noon we proceeded down
ap the branch, which has ae good deal ‘of cotton wood,
“giblogtlte situation of bin paler < oittihey round a acne fire”? the first evening of the day, which they had begun to ascend » _ these- mountains on their return, and which was that. of the” > 26th of July; he observes ‘even at this place, | whieh is
only, as it were, the first step. towards gaining the summit of
the Tountaihs, the climate-was very sensibly changed. Thal Se
air that fanned the village which we left at noon, was mild
and cheering ; the grass was verdant, snd the wild fruits .
Pipe around it. But here. the snow was not yet dissolved,
the ground was still bound by the frost; the herbage had
= gearce begun to spring, and the crow berry bushes were jis
ss to blossom.”
e ts the T@coutche or Columbia viver from finding a direct.
: course to the ocean, and forces it in a direction somewhat
east of, south; to traverse by various windings that large: tract.
try, until it arrives near the 46th degree of latitud a,
~ when it) curns to the west, and at Ienpth hinds its Way PtO t ne
_ Ocean through the Columbis waney.
the nformation gained by the Fie espe dietih | by
oyage, the discoveries of ‘Captain Cooke and.
others, it- appears there are great quantities of timber, .
chiefly « of the pine or fir kind, between the shore of the Pa |
– cific and the chain of mountains which ran near it ; but be-.
tween these and the Rocky for untains, €8 pecially ‘Sputh ee
_ M’Kenzie’s s rout, a great part is open prairie or plains al-
most totally’ without timber. Mr M’Kenzie says of the in-
F Giamaation of the chief, who delineated for hima sketch of
_the river and country on a piece of bark, ‘As far as his know- —
ledge | of the river extended, the country_on either side was
devel, i in many places without wood, and abounding in red >
ie
leer, al id. some ofa small fallow kind.” e.
Ace ing to’the yerbal relation of Mr Gass, the land on
~ the Columbia i is generally of a better quality than on thee
– Missouri ; i and where a greater number of roots grow, stele
_ asthe natives subsit on. The Missoiiri in its general course —
ork, rooked and rapid than the Columbia ; but
BS Ses
; ‘ ter has
x 4
:
eae He hi) a ae
This range of loft y mountains pre-
ore. bi ae or “cataracts y and its water is .
ee
‘os, ey
o« bring in the meat; and we set about forming a
» Mee is
x
we
* encamp until the show shall have sufficiently melted
‘to admit of our crossing the mountains. At dark
the canoe came, but it being too late to cross we en~«
x
OMe Rt. JOUR NAL:
willow and cherry tree on its brane 3) pers isa Sadia:
vapid stream about 15 yards wide. V Veskept diva
the branch about four miles ;: and then came to the
river where it passes through a beautifill plain.
Here we halted to wait for a canoe, which we expect-
ed that some of the natives would bring up the
river, to assist us in crossing ; when we intend to
camped on the south side.

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Marvin Dawes on the Battle of Little Bighorn and Crow Nation History

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:36:08 +0000

e all right thank you first of all I’d like to say uh good morning how are you all doing this morning fine okay great that’s great um as I was introduced uh again my name is Marvin dos I’m with the L cor Battlefield National Monument uh and I’m with the inter division uh the lead park ranger um the battle A Little Big Horn you know is one of the most talked about battles it’s one of the most famous battles this battle was a mystery controversial why well you know because from what today that’s called the Reno Creek to the last than Hill you know there was no survivors there to tell of what happened all 225 soldiers annihilated there but it’s a accounts and then also uh archaeology in the field of archaeology uh archaeologists that were out here you know their their findings of artifacts you know spend cartrid cases and uh we we put those two together and this is what we assume of what happened on that day uh throughout the summer uh we have programs uh three three topics and those are uh repeated you know throughout the day uh one topic is the battle talk which uh talk about events that led to the Battle of Little Big Horn in 1876 uh the Battle of Little Bighorn itself then aftermath of the Battle of Little Big Horn other program we have is a US calvalry Soldier in 1876 uh talks about the soldiers uh in 1876 uh those that were at the battle at the time of uh of the battle uh we talk about their their way of life you know like Hollywood version you know you see uh big tall handsome soldiers you know like John Wayne and uh uh Charleston hon you know big fancy blue uniforms yellow stripes yellow bandana and black hats you know it life life wasn’t like that with the soldiers back then or the seventh Calvary by the time they reached his area they were pretty well Ted and uh by the way you know back then when uh you wanted to join the calvary as we see again movies you know John Wayne you know back then uh these these two guys would have made it as Calvary soldiers uh because there was a height limit back then when you wanted to join the calvary you couldn’t be no more than U 5’8 the average height of the soldier in 1876 the battle little Bigg horn is uh 56 so if you were over 5’8 you would have made it as a soldier they’ll send you to the Infantry so these uh two two gentlemen would have made it as Calvary the reason why is because that you know on these campaigns uh the military the Army back then you know the calvary Soldier the horse you know there was a weight limit on that horse with the equipment that they had to carry plus the height the weight of the soldier that’s why the soldiers were you know not that tall and uh so that’s what we talk about you know the life the calvary soldier in 1876 the other program is the Indian village uh this program started off with the cultural the ways of the Indians the tribes at the time Orin the area at the time of the battle of borns uh particularly the Plain Indians uh their way of life uh you know at that time the Indian the tribes the Plains Indians you know their their way of life was a buffalo you know the Buffalo was a Mainstay of the tribes at that time the Buffalo that provided them with food shelter you know every every part of that Buffalo was used for something and one of the things that I talked about in this uh Indian Villages you know the tribes that were here at the time of the battle in 1876 a lot of visitors come out and uh the thing that they have on their mind is this Hollywood version of the Battle of Little Big Horn you know cusser on top of the hill saber in one hand and pistol in one hand and thousands and thousands of mounted Warriors circling around him you know it wasn’t it wasn’t like that uh it didn’t counts shine in two moons so we dismounted and we did our fighting on foot once the soldiers or the remaining soldiers reach the top the bullets that were coming from the solders rifles were very deadly it was like humming bees as it wh by it’s pretty powerful weapon that every Cooling and every Ravine that led up to that hill was full of Warriors we crawled creeped up towards the top every once in a while pop up behind a brush fire up to the top top go down so that’s how the battle with big horn you know there’s there’s so much misconception about this battle and uh as as I mentioned uh the tribes another thing that visitors come out and uh they see the tribes at that time various tribes one of the largest Gatherings of the Plains you know in movies in Hollywood you’ll see the eve of the battle where these Indians dressed in their finest War paints weapons dancing around a bonfire you know Hooper and harling firing their rifles boom boom you know wasn’t like that you know this this Gathering is uh 1875 uh ultimum will be sent out to all the tribes they were told that all the tribes that were still roaming the plains they were told that you must return to your agency or reservation if not after January 1st of 1876 we will pursue you so a majority of the tribes uh will return to their agencies or the reservation in the spring six bands under the leadership of Chief syu refus to go back to the agencies on the agencies they will tell the government why should we sign a paper where you tell us you will put us on a land you will provide us with food you will take care of us they said pointing to the ground said This is Our Land and the Animals the deer the analou the elk the Buffalo those our food they provide us with food sheltered and pointing to the skies the heavens the roof over our home said this is our home so with that these bands they they’ll head out to the PLS as they were called rors so in 1876 America was gearing up for the celebration of the Centennial year you know four the gearing up for the Fourth of July Centennial last thing or least problems or problems that they want us to take care of is the Indian matter Indian policy say we got to these tribes back on the agencies so in 1876 this three military campaign will be lunched so those are tribes that were here and it wasn’t a gathering a largeest gathering and as Chief syu said last thing on our mind was Warfare even though we knew that we were being pursued by soldiers but for the time being we wanted to roam and hunt the planes freely like like our ancestors so in 1876 his campaign was launched pursuing the six bands of the Sue also the allies and Northern cheyen and handful of rap hole in sting we veed off into the Little Big Horn we knew this was Crow country the old men and women and children grew tired we veed off into the Little Big Horn and this is where the soldiers caught up to us tribes that were here you know questions about the tribes that were here about a year ago uh this gentleman had asked me a a question after my program said um you said you’re a crow and I said yes sir I’m I’m Crow I’m native of this area and uh also the scouts the other Scouts were ARA and I said yes sir said uh why didn’t the Crow and the ARA join the Sue and the Cheyenne and fight he said aren’t you all Indians and I said yes sir well we’re all Indians said why why why didn’t they join fight you know traditional enemies you know as far back as history from Revolutionary War war of 1812 and when France England were here they had tribes on their sides as allies but those tribes are traditional enemies in tribal Warfare so at that time the crow Su traditional enemies Crow arapo traditional enemies and Crow and cheyen traditional enemies later the crow shason traditional enemies Crow blackre traditional enemies we had a lot of enemies back then this leads to my uh program the topic of the crow at that time uh here in this area you know the plains the crow uh even though we were also a migratory tribe which we migrated or branched off uh the hia from Missouri Crossing Missouri onto Yellowstone as far as I remember uh through our uh ancestral uh you know uh stories uh that were told to us by our ancestors and as far back as I remember the crow Aboriginal territory at that time as far back as the late 1600s was a present day Milk River area from uh Montana North Dakota area cutting back across uh towards present day uh Glacier Park uh King Mountain Area uh there’s a lullabi in the crow uh lullabi where uh also a story of a young child uh grandmother who uh seeing a little saying that my child you know born inama Jes King Mountain uh today you know King Mountain Glazer Park so those are the stories that we you know the Lis those know how we know where the curl Aboriginal territory was and then from there straight down to uh Yellowstone present day Yellowstone Park cutting back into Wyoming uh down below Buffalo Thermopolis area then straight over towards black hills and then back up towards the Milk River so that was the Aboriginal territory through oral history of the crow now those names those areas were mentioned in a lot of the oral history and as I mentioned Lis and also songs sacred songs and that’s how we know and then in 18 As Time came out when the Europeans came a lot of changes and uh his word will start to see Fort ly treaties treaties that was sign government the tribes then we see the territories designating uh each tribe the headman or the chief as they had come together they would State their Aboriginal territory or where their ter territory was one of the earliest Chiefs a Kula Chief sits in the middle land said where my four poles sit is were my home today the present area of the Three Forks area to The Milk River and then down here uh Wyoming and then uh on this side of Wyoming back into ystone is what he as where the crow territory that time and then from there from the 1851 Treaty to 1868 on up um each treaty that was signed every time you know the the government would take away land here there so at one time the crow Aboriginal territory was about 33 million acres to what I had mentioned earlier to today 2.2 million Acres the Cronan reservation and uh you know we’re we’re fortunate you know the crow today that we still take our Aboriginal territory we’re fortunate that you know a lot of people think that just because the crow scouted for the government for lieutenant colonel George arms Custer that is why we are given this land no that was not the case as I mentioned Aboriginal territory again uh couple years ago one of my programs this guy uh who was European you know walked up to me and you know he was he was pretty ticked off you know he said uh you mentioned your you’re Crow and I said yes sir I’m I’m Crow goes well he said you know I believe the Sue and shyen should be the ones living here said they’re the ones that were here they fought for this land they should be put here on this land this should be their land not you not the crow and I want to know why why are you crows here is it because you scouted for Custer and I kind of look back and then people were starting to gather around me and pointing a finger and I me I said okay wait a minute I said let me tell you how we got this land I said in the for ly treaty you know all the tribes of the planes were gathered each headsman Chief was told to come forward so the government going down a line issuing land to the tribes first tell the shonis you live down here in Wyoming the rap hole the you can live in South Dakota area and Cheyenne’s down here black Peet and Seno is up here top Montana going down Nest per is over here in Western Montana and going around and finally it came to the crow said but this land here said this land here is very handsome it’s very beautiful and we’re going to give it to the one of the the most handsomest tribes the Plains and that’s a crow the guy kind of laughed and I went back in uh the late or late 1700s about 1800s one of the first explorers that came to the PLS in their first Contact the tribes were the crow and in their journals they wrote the most handsomest tribes that were Came Upon men were the men of the Crow tribe or the crow Crow people people and I I kind of threw threw that on him so again you know the crow uh here at the time of the battle the crow Aboriginal territory in 1876 the Army would start to use tribes as Scouts also for the tribes at that time when with the for ly treaties you know designate or uh put on the agencies some of them could no longer hunt or some of them couldn’t even weren’t allowed to carry firearms anymore a lot of things had changed the impact of the Europeans with Fort L treaties so in order to to maintain their their warriorship uh in 1868 in one of the treaties uh the treaty Pro uh prohibited to take arms against their enemies uh so that means that they could not carry the forarms meaning that they could no longer go out and raid you know capture horses and uh capture weapons from the enemies which gave them the warriorship you know meaning that they to gain status to be Warrior ship and uh they couldn’t do that so in order for them to to maintain that warriorship that you know status this is when the Army uh uh in uh 18 uh in 1866 the Army uh reorganization act said that Indian Scouts were enlisted men who while they were not solders were nevertheless declared by the Attorney General of the United States to be part and partial of army the service of Indians was provided for by the act of Congress approv approved June 22nd 1866 the language law of the law as it appears in section 1112 of the revised status 1873 being as as follows now this is what the tribes you know in order to maintain that warriorship where they no longer could go out you know their enemies so they join an army to maintain this warriorship and this uh act uh continues the president is authorized to enlist a force of Indians not exceeding 1,000 who shall act as Scouts in territories in Indian Country they shall be discharged when the necessity for their service shall cease or at the discretion of the department Commander it was further provided by the law that Indian Scouts so enlisted or employed by the president were entitled to to receive the same pay and allowance as Calvary soldiers which at that time and for many years thereafter these soldiers or the Indians serve as Scouts were paid $13 a month the same as the enlisted soldiers on this campaign in 1876 you know the C who uh were being pushed back towards West back further in their Aboriginal territory as I mentioned earlier you know the Sue would come in the shyen uh the rapos so at that time the South the East area the East territory of the cro uh Crow territory was literally occupied by the Sue at that time the crows would face crisis you know so this was a time for them to join the Army because they knew that the Army the United States Army was here to remove their traditional enemy puru out of the territories and take them back so that was an opportunity for them to join with the Army also the the Ross they too uh General alred cherry out of Fort Abraham Lincoln in his campaign he had acquired arikara Scouts the same as the ricra like the crow when the Sue came in they literally robbed the araras of their food capturing or you know uh stealing children and you know women so they they too that was an opportunity for them you know to join as Scouts cuz like M Crow they knew the government Army was here to remove their enemy so this campaign that was lach you know we see the crow um Fort Ellis present day uh Boseman Montana at that time the crow uh in the area of uh what we now call the Mission Creek uh this was where the first agency was and uh from there the Detachment of uh Scouts under Lieutenant James Bradley uh will be his the detachments of Indian Scouts total in about uh 50 in numbers as they headed down the Yellowstone later the majority of them will head with or ride down towards the mountains to join up with General crook uh one week before the Battle of Rose but or the battle Little Bighorn the battle Rose but um this 6 hour hour battle that was fought there present day uh outside Shon Wyoming the crows did fought in that battle here the Detachment of or the uh commanding officer uh General Cher uh John given and general Cherry will meet present day rosett Montana and this is where they’ll send Custer down the rosett with 12 companies of the seventh Calvary and in that command we’ll see six Crow Scouts and these Crow Scouts are uh curly white man runs him White Swan Harry mcon um half yellow face uh these will be the scouts attached to the seventh Calvary now as they March down the rose but early morning they arrived behind what we all call the wolf mountains uh about 4: 4: 5 a.m. now these Scouts will serve as uh these were the eyes and the ears of the command and the crow you know they they knew this area uh traveling at night you know they knew what area they knew what what was out there um in the records of uh this campaign the events uh later uh in the record of events said that these Scouts performed a duty in the field of Colonel gibbons’s wing of the Yellowstone Expedition until June 21st when uh Colonel Lieutenant Colonel kuster’s command arriving oppos it camp near mouth of the Rose but six of the scouts were detached to the company to his command they participated in the attack upon the Sue Village in the Valley of the Little Big Horn on June 25th five being with major Reno and one with kusser when one was wounded four had headed out from the field the one remained with major Reno these four four scouts or five Scouts would be with attached to Major Marcus Reno and uh except for one crow Scout Curley uh who at the time of the battle um by the way Curley uh the time of the battle was uh 17 years old uh he was the youngest of the crow Scouts um the other five would remain with Reno’s command C would ask uh C’s command if he stay with his command and permission granted and there um they’ll head up towards what we know call weird point today the highest point that uh you see up there from there into the medicine tail medicine tail and from there is where curlyy said later on the anniversary who was out here said this is where I last saw cusser and curly was considered as uh one of the survivors or the only survivor of the battle A Little Big Horn uh curle was told that uh this is not your fight you must leave who was told by uh the chief Scout Mitch Mitch Boer um I mentioned earlier or I read earlier that uh where it says they participated in the attack upon the Sue Village actually they didn’t participate it you know they were released once the village was was located um two of them will be heading out towards the other side of the bluff uh where there was a large horse herd uh the other four would remain up on top of bluff so these uh Scouts from uh we talk a little bit about the history of the crow to this point to uh to these four four Crow Scouts who uh served in the military with the Army status uh being recognized as soldiers being paid the same pay as a soldier which was uh $13 a month and when they were on this campaign they got an extra 40 cents per day average uh day of the campaign that time was from uh 225 or uh about uh about uh 225 days to 125 days so you know times uh 40 Cent plus of what they get paid so after this campaign later uh they they would be you know collecting you know pension or if they passed on a family the wife was likely receive that that pension um I like to read a little bit about uh the scouts they’re uh when they were born and what they’re served as Scouts uh first of all uh curly who uh ranked his rank was Private uh Indian Scout uh he was born in 1856 at the little roseb but creek near the roseb but area um who was with custers colum on June 25th possibly witnessed a fight of the Custer column and later carried the news to the streamer Far West later Curley uh would be interviewed you know after this battle he was one of the most popular uh when after this battle you know they the uh media would come out they wanted to interview somebody about this battle and of course the last Scout that was with kuster Curley so he had a lot of you know uh he had a lot of tension back then it was he was like a celebrity and uh it was stated that later some of the crow Scouts got a little jealous because of he got so much attention and uh these interviews uh later consisted of uh Lieutenant James row you know with uh Thomas leforge interpreter interviewing Curley on uh the uh curly uh passed away in uh May the 21st 1923 and uh he’s he’s buried at the Lorn Battlefield National Monument the Scout white man runs him who uh ranked private was with also Custer’s command um earlier accompanied Sir George Gore on the western hunting trip in 1856 with the Custer column then on June 25th he was here at the Battle of Little Big Horn um white man runs him was also later interviewed by uh Colonel Tom McCoy in the Grahams uh book uh Custer Smith um white man runs him passed away on June 2nd of 1929 uh is buried at uh lch grass and uh Harry marason uh private born un unknown uh served in the Army Detachment of Indian Scouts um who participated or was in the area the time of the battle and uh died passed away on October 9th 1922 uh buried at St an’s Cemetery in LG grass and goahead ranked private Indian Scout with Custer column uh who was on top of the hill um he is also uh when he passed away on May 31st 1919 uh he’s buried at the kuster battlefield National Cemetery and uh the last not least uh Scout who was also in charge of the scouts by the way uh under Mitch Boer was half yellowface now there’s a little story about half yellowface who uh was not recognized even to today where a lot of people think that he should received or be recognized half yellow face uh his rank was Private uh was in a valley and on the hilltop with major Marcus Reno uh he was in the Infantry with Lieutenant James Bradley uh when Reno reach a Hilltop uh they uh set up the second day uh water carrier um volunteers to go down the river bring up water for the wounded um in this um little little jail where um the soldiers went down under the protection of Sharpshooters on the side um filled up cantens and brought up to the top once they reach the top uh one of the soldiers a young Soldier by the name of Madden uh was shot in the hit Madden Rose down the hill by that time everybody was back up on top uh nobody didn’t want to go down there and save uh man half H face up on top he’ll drop everything without cover uh Sharpshooters or anything he’ll run down the bottom there and he’ll pick up half aace throw him on shoulder and he’ll walk up to the top uh half Hof face saves man later uh the Army DC uh the Army uh decorating these water carriers and the volunteers and the Sharpshooters Congressional Medal of honors all those soldiers were mentioned but nothing was mentioned of half yellow face a lot of people feel today that half face should be recognized for his heroic bravery at time the battle A Little Big Horn you know those mentioned uh well that you know just a little bit about the crow uh the Aboriginal territory of The Crow and how the crows came to be here um today as I mentioned you know 2.2 million acres and all the lands that were taken away you know section here here there you know we’re we’re fortunate that um that we’re still here in our territory um even though lands are taken here and there you know we see the big horn mountains the Big Horn Lake they are in the Cronan reservation uh there’s a little story about the Cronan reservation uh the cro the Big Horn Mountains and the Big Horn River you know Nam after the big horn sheep and uh we’re fortunate that those are still in the crow reservation and uh i’ like to thank um all of you here visitors um I hope uh shed some light on your story about the Battle and also the curl at this time uh we have a few minutes if you have any questions um go ahead and see some answer some questions here well in C we say it means it’s good means it’s good to see you may have a good day I hope thank you very much right and thank you Marvin Daws with the National Park Service from Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument so um we’ll give him a little round of applause for his efforts today thank you for coming out we appreciate it all right all Next program will begin in about 20 minutes we will have Wales bull tale and he will be speaking on the crow way of life so feel free to come again for e e

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Howard Boas on Crow History and Lewis & Clark

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:36:08 +0000

well good afternoon everyone and welcome to the tenam many voices I encourage you to come in and have a seat and join us we’re just about to get started with our 1:00 program the tenam Min voices is part of the cor Discovery 2 traveling loose and Clark exhibit it’s a m agency exhibit with a National Park Service being the lead agency if you spend some time here today if you go out to the keelboat for instance you talk to members of the Army Corps of Engineers if you go out to the Dugout canoe you talk to someone from the Bureau of Reclamation so it’s a multi- agency exhibit and it’s a multi- partnership exhibit here in the tenam many voices we have a wide variety of presenters that share with us a wide variety of perspectives both on the lwis and Clark expedition itself but also we like to hear from the PE from the descendants of the people that were living there long before Lewis and Clark arrived we’d like to hear from these indigenous or American Indian nations to share their story their perspectives and that’s what we have today with our 1:00 program we have we have Howard bogus who is an enrolled member of The Crow Nation he’s going to share some of his people’s history and culture Howard is a oral historian has been learning his history and culture of his people since he was six years old so we’re very privileged to have him here let’s give him a warm welcome to the tanam voices so you got me on oh okay all right thank you uh want to thank the National Park Service for allowing me to come here to speak with you and uh talk to you about the history of the people who were here when lisis and Clark came uh one of the things that people don’t see in the in the Diaries and and of the Louis and Clark and and stuff like that that there was people here there was culture there was societies there was religion all of that was here and it was all basically the same as the stuff that Lewis and Clark brought here and uh Jesuit priests and uh other religions that brought religion to the crow people afterwards but uh anyway uh I’m an enr enrolled member of the Crow tribe of Indians and uh at the age of 6 years old I was designated by a cow cro Indian Elder my named George Washington Hogan and uh when you go down on the Crow Nation you will find many Washingtons you will find many Lincoln and uh things such as this because at that time the Indian people named almost all of their children after a president or somebody that was very very important so you find them types of names down there but Mr Hogan when he adopted me uh that does not mean that I left my my family and went to live with the Hogan Family whoops my outfit fell off here my uh speaker fell off in the back of my belt but uh anyway uh when uh Mr Hogan when he adopted me um I became a a member of the Hogan family so I had okay so I had two families uh to bring me up and when Mr Hogan uh adopted me he he he he asked my parents if I could be brought up as an oral historian so I’ve studied oral histories all my life plus the written histories I’ve put together a library of over 8 around 800 books on the cow Indian people and the other Indian tribes of Montana and in thousands of loose leaf pages I I don’t know I I got so much I don’t even know what I have anymore but uh anyway when when when he uh asked me to do this then he and in Crow tradition then he designated two people that would be my tutors when I was very young and one of them was one of the people was Robert suar yellow tale who was actually the first American Indian that became a superintendent of a of a tri of a tribe of Indians in the United States and he was one and Mr yellow tale became came back and he became the superintendent of the Crow tribe of Indians uh and the other person who he designated was Robert Summers how who was who was my my mother’s older brother so I had a clan uncle and and and and an uncle who were my my teachers and these old these gentlemen would take me out and through the hills and stuff you know and you know I can remember now you know when you in the 40s and 50s men we had we were still driving Model A and old junker cars and stuff such as that you know battle tra around the hills and these guys would take me along and say you know this is what happened here on this hill side this is come and look at this these rocks and this the the rocks that this marks a prayer site or a battle site or or it’s a trail marker or something such as this you know and so I’ve actually spent most all of my life hiking the hills and looking toward uh my friend Mike penfold here goes with me all the time anymore because I have I lost all my peripheral vision so I only have central vision also they don’t allow me to drive but old Mike here he takes me all the time and and uh but anyway we go out and we we we uh find the paintings and stuff out here we we visit paintings here that have been carbon dated at 1,000 years old so the you know there was a culture there was you know and that was here a long time uh we we we walked the trails we have a highway system today the Indian people had a highway system one of the main highways is just right out here just west of Great Falls it goes from Alberta Canada to New Mexico and all you do is you follow little piles of rocks all the way um one of the things that’s always uh very interesting to me is that the I I believe that the Indian people got along a lot better before the white men came along before they was being pushed into smaller groups uh because at at in in our beliefs no one owns the land the land is there for everybody and the land is there to to take care of everybody uh in our and we and in our structure of Life uh our structure of life is a family is is a family structure because I pray to my my father the sky I pray to my mother the earth I pray to my grandfather the sun I play I prayed to my grandmother the moon these are the things that brought us into this into this life in this earth they’re the ones that brought us up they tutored us they taught us they fed us they took care of us so our our really our our way of life and our religion was our family and our Earth our Sky our sun our moon you know it’s it’s like uh my father this guy he looks over my mother the the Earth he showers with the rain my mother the Earth brings up the green grasses the trees whatever it takes to feed us or to feed the animals that we’re that we are going to consume without it our grandfather the son without our grandfather the son this could not happen because we need the sunlight to take care of it but you know we need time to rest so our grandmother the Moon she watches over us while we rest at night so that we can get ready for our new life that begins in the morning because in our cro in in our croad tradition our lives are one day at a time a life is one day at a time and it is for all of us yes we always plan for the future but our life is still only one day at a time and so that’s this is how our belief our culture was and this was a belief in a culture that was going on at the time when Lewis and Clark came up through the Missouri River I drew this map right here this map right here this is Mandan right here and uh I drew this map off in Crow Indian oral stories I drew it off of the information that was given by sits in the middle of the land when he signed the 1826 treaty at Mandan with the United States government that was the first treaty that the C Indian people ever signed with United States government so when uh they signed this treaty uh the general he says well sit in the middle of land he says what where where do you live how can I find you if I need to contact you because the 1826 treaty it didn’t say I’m going to give you something I’m going to take anything it was a treaty of friendship because the crow were recognized as a nation by the United States government not as a tribe of Indians not as a reservation we were recognized as a nation one of the very few tribes of there was only a eight to 10 tribes in the entire United States that were recognized by United States government as a nation but anyway when uh when we signed this treaty here and he said where do you live well he says my Crow people live under my Lodge we as Crow when we set up our lodge we use four main polls all of the rest of the tribes use three main poles to set up their lodges but Crow used four so we set up one he says my one pole sets at thei River Big River the Missouri River or the Yellowstone the AA runs into it this is up here on this my second pole it’s down here and it’s what where the it’s the Gap Where the Buffalo come through Spearfish South Dakota that’s where the second pole was set for the coration the third pole was set way down here in the southwest and uh it’s at a place that is called that you can visit today it’s the gurgling Waters pooo Papa Waters and it’s where the waters are boiling from the ground it’s a beautiful place to go to our fourth pole set where the rivers mix the headwaters of the Missouri River where the Jefferson all three of the rivers come together here at the Three Forks and this is our cron Nation sets under our law L because our lodge is round if you noticed the the the reserv the the nation was in a shape of a heart and I couldn’t figure it out I I study father desmid quite a little bit and uh father dmid went back to uh St Louis when he got to St Louis they asked him that where have you been where’ you come from he says I just came from the heart of the cron Nation we have to remember that father dmid drew a good share of the maps of the American West he was a priest a Jesuit priest but yet he you know he had to have a a way to finance himself because uh the Catholic church was not financing the Catholic church was not financing uh father dmet father dmit was a renegade study him oh he’s fun he is fun but uh anyway when when when he got back to St Louis he said he was he had just came from the heart of the crow country when I use the oral stories this country over here this is Plat River Country this water all runs into the Big Horn River this run water all runs into the Yellowstone River this water runs into the from the Missouri into the Missouri here into the Yellowstone and then Yellowstone Park up here yeah Crow Indians at one time Yellowstone Park almost 80% of Yellowstone Park was in The Crow Nation we should have kept that and give them the rest of the reservation but uh no it’s it’s it’s very interesting of the history and the people who went here but one of the things I like I always like to talk about uh the culture uh we had artists and our artists when they made a painting a thousand years ago you can read it today and it tells you a story um that’s one of the things I forgot to bring along with me I was going to bring along some photographs of of of some of the paintings and uh there one of the things what I find in the paintings when I see them all the time is that they generally have they generally have the number 13 marked into it there’s generally 13 little marks you if there’s a whole circle of marks you divide them they’ll divide out into because the 13 moons we have 13 full moons in a year the Indian people use that as our calendar the 13 full moons we even had a calendar believe it or not the 13 moons on the Turtles back the next time you see a turtle count the little squares on his back there is 13 that is our calendar that was our calendar yes so you know they was we was doing the same thing as a white man different way uh the other thing that was very interesting it was you know like I say you know the the religion part of it is how how when we prayed when actually when it going to come all when when it all comes down we all prayed to the same person up here when we die I I was buried on the top of the ground because of the fact that if I was buried down under the ground my spirit can’t rise and go up and I need to do that and and uh you know it was until 1894 that the United States government passed the law and said I had to have 5 ft of dirt on my face yeah one of the things that uh the non-indian people I don’t say I don’t I don’t use the term of white man very much I don’t I I I think it’s a derogatory term but I I generally say the non-indian and one of the ter the things that the non-indian people did uh get from the Indian people you go to any the cemeteries you’re always buried so you face the east Indian people were always tried buried so that they could fa they they would face the Rising Sun when I set up my Lodge I would set up my Lodge my openings when I set in the back of my Lodge I would sit there in the morning and I could sit in my Lodge and I could had watched the Rising Sun from the back Lodge so East was a very very important part of of of our of our way uh 13 you know like I say everybody thinks 13 is a great a bad number ah not for us it’s great no fact is I was in Washington DC a couple of years ago and I was visiting Nick rhof West Virginia and uh when when we were visiting Mr Mr Ray Hall he says uh well you know this might be a bad time for you to have propably to do cuz we was trying he’s actually put together a bill to try to uh put protection on uh cultural sites historic sites Across the Nation Indian and not Indian but he’s getting a lot of flak over it because I mean it it it protects a lot of land so but anyway when uh when we was talking to Mr Ray Hall he says well this is my 13th term he says this might be a the beginning of my 13th term he says this might be a bad time I says no this is the most wonderful time for us I said because 13 is our is our good number and like I say when you go around the the paintings you will find them always have 13 in some way or another uh in in the paintings uh some of the paintings I mean you you read them uh you get them get them and as you see on my belt buckle here I have lodges beaded into my belt buckle and the lodge is my home my home is very very sacred my home is my church because uh in in American Indian people we don’t go build a million dooll building so we got someplace to go on Sunday anytime that I go go out here my feet touch the Earth and I can see the sky I’m in my church I’m in my church and and I go there quite often to do this but uh what a lot of times you I like to talk a little bit about the prayer okay I do a prayer something happened in my life I don’t know maybe a death maybe I’m not getting along with people or somebody who got hurt that’s very close to me or something like this I go out to do a prayer and when I go out to do my prayer I go Before Sunrise to where I’m going to do my prayer I do a prayer twice a year on top of pompy’s pillar and I go up there I have my little place that I can set I can sit there the entire day people don’t even know that I’m there but I go Before Sunrise and I don’t come come back down off until sunsight at night and when I up there I I pray for what was is is going on happening in my life but I don’t sit there and pray the entire day I’m sitting there and I’m thinking what is the bad things has happening in my life what is what is the way that I can can can fix this uh this more it’s in our belief is we we need to know who we are within we need to know who we are as long as we know who we are we will do well but the day that we don’t that we find that we’ve lost ourselves and we became you know uh maybe we start drinking maybe we start using drugs maybe we do you know we we start doing things but you got to remember who you are and take care of take care of that that person as long as you always know exactly who you are you will do well but when uh I like to talk a little bit about Lewis and Clark now Lewis and Clark entered Crow country right here right here they traveled up Crow country right through here Crow people people were on the Sun River which is west of Great Falls the two Medicine River Crow people were living up there at that time there was Crow people living on the Milk River which is way up here but Lewis and Clark they entered cro country right here traveled up here and out the other side of cro country down at three fors then they returned Lewis made this entire trip back Clark P just drip down to Yellowstone uh there was one of the groups went down to through the Missouri River here again and uh prior made the journey with the horses across over here on these yellow lines so they traveled about 1,700 miles and never spoke to a crow and a lot of people wonder so why did they travel all these miles right through the middle of the crow people they seen signs of the Indians all the way they never met a crow for one reason one reason only mosquitoes these crows they was smart enough that you get back away from the rivers into the hills the high mountains you get away from the mosquitoes and mosquito time they left they left the River Country this was the time when Lewis and Clark was doing all of their things in Crow country and they stayed on the rivers they stayed down in the mosquitoes they got ate up the croww gone what was very interesting at this point right in here where they made the canoes or they made the canoes they camped there 3 days Lou and Clark did or Clark did in his group within 12 miles of where Clark was camped there was a crow Sundance going on at the very same time there was thousands of Indians there it was on the Clarks Fork River as we know it today but then to the to the crow people the Cheyenne the sue the blackbeat this is the river where we all come to dance this meant all of the tribes of Indians come there to the Clarks Forks River they would do Sund dances and they would hunt they would they would take care of their hides their meat and think and get a year supply of meat and then then they would start venturing back home nees Pur I mean there was many many tribes shonne all of the tribes would come there because the Clarks Fork River we didn’t didn’t fight on that River when we all came to that River we know that that was a place that you could set down beside your enemy break bread eat hunt together maybe we even got together and we went off and raided somebody’s horse P horses see we never stole a horse I want you to know that we never ever stole a horse we captured a horse because to capture a horse was a very honorable thing for a crow yes to capture a horse is a very honorable thing when I be when I when I wanted to become a chief I had to do four things to capture a horse from within an enemy’s Camp was one of the things I had to do within the camp that didn’t mean that he was running on the hillside out here I stuck into the camp and I cut the the rawad that was holding that horse my friend Mike he’s a sue over here Mike’s laying in his lodge he’s sound asleep but he has that cord tied around his belly cuz he don’t want to lose his favorite warhorse I sneak into his camp and I steal his horse see but really in Crow I captured that horse because I did a very honorable Brave thing I took his horse while he was hanging on to the end of the light the cord yes and so when when when we got the when Clark came down the river we uh we didn’t get the first nine that was taken further west of the of the Three Forks it was nine that was taken over there and uh the black feet claim them them nine horses that that was taken I want you to I want you to know these guys had Shon and nesp horses Shon got most of their horses a good share of their horses from the NES Pur because the the NES Pur immediately started breeding horses to get a certain type of a horse they wanted a particular horse the apaloo so they started breeding to get the appolo that’s what the Appo came from and uh but they were strong horses small horses very very good horses us Crow knew a good horse when we seen one you know and here comes Clark down the Yellowstone River you know he’s just rambling along and he’s making maps and he’s doing all of these good things you know that he’s supposed to be doing but us Crow are sitting up on the hillside counting horses and you know and one of the things that in all my years of studying the military might protect their encampment but they would put their horses over here on the hillside three miles away to graze you know so they would just very easy to get to so we would just come down and we would relieve him of these horses and uh where uh according to the Diaries uh Clark left his horses approximately one mile from the camp where he was making the canoes uh we found a site that pretty much fits the entire diary as to where the horses was being kept because it uh says that from that position there it was one mile approximately one mile to the river crossing for the where the Indians who took the horses crossed the Yellowstone River and going south in in down into Crow country and uh so we we pretty much believe that we found the spot pretty much where the horses was being held but uh no they was they was nice horses and you know we was good the first time you know we only took half of them you know and do Gunn it he went on down the river you know and they got down near where Billings is today and that’s where they crossed the river with the last 25 head of horses that they was left we’d already get took 24 in a CT and when they crossed the river prior traveled about six 7 hours and he was at a place called fly CRI today uh fly Crick is is is a is is starts from a basin this Basin is large like this 200,000 acres in it but it only has one little dry stream that goes out of it to drain it one of these big old Montana Cloud bursts come along and here was Prior he was camped on this little Dry Creek and all of a sudden I mean he has a Roaring River between him and his horses and so he spends a a few hours trying to get his horse her back together but when he went to bed he was tired and he was sleepy so he really went to sleep and he got up in the morning and when he got up in the morning he just didn’t have any more horses uh one of the crow guys wanted to let him know who got the horses so he left a moccasin and uh so we had we we had a pretty good h of her of of horses but now I’m going to tell you a story about these horses uh the crow horses the horses that the crow T took from the Clark they were taken so easily there was no danger of any kind in us taking the horses so in our Crow tradition we could not keep I could not I I’m I’m the person that took the horses I could not keep the horses I had to give them away as gifts so you know really you know Clark he made a lot of pro Indian people very very very happy because I we gave away 50 horses 49 horses in a CO as gifts because in Crow tradition we were not allowed to keep the horses because there was no risk to our life we could only keep a horse for ourself that we risk our life to get but anyway when uh after after that you know then the crow they just took took off and and took the horses and they went kind of into the Southwest Mike and I been working on a trail that goes into Big Horn Canyon National Park called the bad Pass Trail these horses was headed right for the bad Pass Trail bad Pass Trail is a is an area that when you walk you step over this rock and you stumble over the next and you have next step you have a a rock roll under your foot I mean it’s a it’s a it’s a bad Trail but it’s a it’s a trail that’s probably 10,000 years old and uh very very well marked but and it’s marked with piles of rock some of the the the the rock piles in badp Pass Trail they are 10 15 ft apart from here to the other end of the camp they may be five or six piles of rock they will be this High probably a ton or two Rock in in this pile but you know what every one of them rocks are every one of them rocks is a prayer as I’m going down the trail I pick up this Stone I carry this rock it becomes part of me my my sweat gets on this rock I carry this rock for a while and I talk to this rock and then when I get to where the places where the prayer where the prayer piles of rocks are I get up to this pile of rocks and I spit on the Rock I put part of me on my saliva I put the rock in the pile when I put the rock in the pile I say thank you grandfather for the good journey behind me give me a good journey forward and I go on the next Indian person that comes along behind me does exactly the same thing I can take you to piles of Rock down in the crow country that is growing yet today because in our belief we cannot go go past these piles of rock and we we have to stop and do prayer say a prayer Sandy and I one time we was going up into the prior mountains and she was driving along and and uh I said stop we need to stop and do the prayer well let’s we’ll do it on the way way back and I you know I said no you got to do it now Sandy and I went up onto the prior mountains we spent the entire tail on the prior mountains had a wonderful day we was coming back down off of the prior mountains that night we got within 300 ft of that that that that rock pile she blew a right front tire just blew the whole side of it out I didn’t stop and say my prayer on the way up and ask for the good journey yes no we we believe in this very very strongly we do it yet today but uh you know that’s that’s why I like to talk you say tell you a little bit about Le and Clark when they came here I mean we had people who were painting the history on the Rocks the paintings that are on the Rocks today that are a thousand years old uh right now I we’ve got near 400 located on the Yellowstone River and his tributaries uh when you sat there and you you look at these and I don’t come come up here and say okay I’m going to paint on the rock 5 minutes I’m going down the I’m going down the trail no Takes Me Maybe years to choose my spot because I want absolute perfect light at a certain time of the year things such as this I go up here I abrate the wall Till It’s Perfectly smooth I take a a black Riverstone almost every abrasive stone that we have found so far is a Black River Stone so they packed this rock a long ways to do their do their paintings but they abrak this wall perfectly smooth and these walls in this one particular spot that has been carbonated 950 to 1,000 years old this Rock today is absolutely perfectly smooth Sandstone they have break this perfectly smooth they would have put a lot of House Painters out of business business if the house painters could figure out how they made the paint because they paint their paintings on the walls the paintings we we think are just something but no that painting is part of me it tells a part of a story it tells it it tells something about my people and uh some of the paintings we one of the paintings that we find it has a circle it has inside of the circle coming to the middle the shape of lodges all the way around in series of 13 there is 13 lodges make to make the circle on the bottom of each Lodge on the outside of the on the outside of the circle there is 13 fringes but the lodge is our home is our church that the lodge means people that’s where the people live so that that that that particular painting is very sacred to us because it tells us of of of the people okay there’s another one there and that’s right beside excuse me but uh there’s another painting that’s right there beside of it and uh the painting that’s right beside there it’s got what we call a two-headed water monster on it anytime that we find something that has two heads in the paintings it means one thing I actually it means two things actually good and bad good and evil one one head is for good one head is bad and I’ll tell you a little story uh that the time took time about in the late 1800s uh Chief plenty C had been on a raiding party we went down come down in Nebraska and he got some good Sue horses I mean you know our neighbors always had good horses and Crow always needed more cuz to to to to Crow horses were wealth the more horses I had the wealthier I was because I could always trade horses for anything that I wanted but anyway when plny cluz was returning he uh got back to the Big Horn River the Big Horn River was being flooded man he got to the river and oh man we can’t get across and we’re only a day and a half Journey from home good long day we could probably make it it didn’t know what quite to do to do big shoulder blade big shoulder blade was a very tall man uh at that particular time most inro Crow people were 6 feet and more taller very very very big people not fat just tall thin people but anyway big shoulder blade he was a very big man he was riding a very very large horse and he said well I’ll go into the river and he says I I’ll I I’ll find find the way to get across so he went and chose his place for where where he entered the river when immediately when he got into the river big shoulder blade and his horse was caught by the water and it started washing him down so immediately big shoulder blade he starts singing a chant this chant song it is to the good and the the evil of the water monster he’s chanting and he’s praying that the good the good water monster will get a hold of him and the good water monster will take him to the land the bad water monster will take him into the water this is the belief this painting is on the wall thousand years old that story is a thousand years old uh the other pain painting is there is just of a lodge but the painting that’s in the center the ball in the middle of it is green do you know that in the state of Montana there is only five paintings that have green in them one is over here at Hela along the lake the weather the other four are on the Clarks Fork River the other four are all within probably less than 30 feet distance of part now it’s it’s uh uh and so green is was something that was kind of hard but we we feel that that green was for Earth the mother the grasses cuz the land the Earth turns green so that that that’s part of this part of that particular prayer that big shoulder blade was was talk was singing when uh when uh the crow people would travel like I say they would Mark the trails with the markers and they had this highway system you can go out right around I I can go around here just about any place in the country out here and I can can choose a valley a river and I will find a a trail that is marked along that river valley maybe a ridge uh one of the things about the American Indian people was they were never afraid of anything that I can see I was never afraid of anything that I could see but I was afraid of what I couldn’t see that was what was bothered me more than anything so when I traveled most of the time I traveled on a High Ridge I Could See For Miles nobody could sneak up on me no that’s the way and that’s where I we find most all of the trails and we’ve followed these Trails crossed Wyoming Montana I have a friend who followed the same particular tra in Colorado and New Mexico no it’s it’s a I can get I can I can go out here probably within one day in this area right here and find the trail right here that takes you to Manan you know why the black feet the crow that’s just shown where Nomads we don’t stop to plant to grow the Mandan down here in the river they grew the stuff that we want the English the French everybody brought their stuff here the Mandan when they brought it to Mandan all of the tribes come here there is many many trails that come to and down am I getting out of time okay I I I always talk to the last second so you know that’s that’s one thing I always tell people you know about crow about Crow history we don’t we don’t have short songs we don’t have short prayers we don’t have short stories because in our songs they talk about our history in our life our prayers talk about our history in our life our stories talk about our history and our life and as an oral historian I have to tell you in detail as to what’s going on this is why I’m talking about something and all of a sudden I’m over here talking about something else because I have to tell you the details because otherwise you’re going to get the story messed up you you need you need the details and and and that’s how an oral historian is taught I’ve been taught all my life that when I tell a story I have to tell the details but the Lis and Clark Venture was interesting to the American Indian people uh I call it the beginning of the end it was the beginning of my of the of the American Indian way of life see I I I call you a Native American you are Native Americans I am a crow American Indian Columbus gave me the name of an Indian when he came and I’m proud to be called an Indian I’m always very proud to be called an Indian because I’m very very proud of my Heritage and I’ve studied my Heritage my entire life I just turned 66 years old two days ago and I’ve got 60 years of history behind me yeah yeah thank you Howard thank you for sharing your history and your culture and your accumulated years of knowledge with us we appreciate that very much here in the ten many voices there are regular programs every hour on the

The post Howard Boas on Crow History and Lewis & Clark appeared first on Lewis & Clark Research Database.

Burton Pretty On Top on Crow spirituality and history

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:36:07 +0000

well good afternoon everyone and Welcome to our final program here in the tenam Min voices for today and welcome to core Discovery 2 core Discovery 2 is a national traveling exhibit it’s been on the road since January of 2003 traveling on the Lewis and Clark Trail and we’re actually now on our return Journey we’re on the home stretch we’ll finish up in September in St Louis and that’ll wrap up core Discovery too as we travel all these different communities along the Lewis and Clark Trail we set up this 10 many voices and we invite in a wide variety of people to share different aspects of that Lewis and Clark expedition but also to share the history and the culture of all these indigenous Nations all these American Indian nations along the Lewis and Clark Trail and we have with us this afternoon Burton pront and verton is a crow spiritual leader uh he was telling me back in 1986 he represented the indigenous peoples of the Americas in a c Italy for a world peace and prayer day was it World Day of Prayer world day of prayer and he was there with the dolly llama with Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa and representing the crow people and the American Indian people in general he’s going to talk about Crow history and culture religion and spirituality so let’s give buron a warm welcome to the ten many voices thank you very much first of all I’d like to welcome all the visitors that came to abala Country we call ourselves abala in our own language our traditional name abala back in the day when a fur trapper came out here our first encounter with the non-indian was a fur trapper that came to our people before mon existed before Wyoming existed at that time the fur trapper came to us and connected with us and asked us who we are what are we called and we told him that we’re called abala in our traditional language and then he said what does that mean and we told him it means very simply Children of the long beaked bird the long beak bird so from that encounter he went back east and told the other non-indian people back East that he met a group of Indians out in the Plains area that call themselves abala then they asked him what does absalan mean and he was very proud he says children of long beak bird and then they asked him one other question they said which bird is that and a Gentleman says you know scratching his head he says I I forgot to ask him that question but you know there’s a lot of crows out there so they must be the talking about the Crow tribe so today 2006 we’re still called the Crow tribe the correct interpretation of the long beak bird is the Raven we are always called The Raven people by the other planes Indians so at least that fur trael didn’t misinterpret it that long beak bird as being the turkey right somehow Crow sounds a little better than turkey otherwise we’ would call The Turkey tribe today anyway as a gentleman introduced me I was part of uh a world gathering for peace in a CZ Italy in 1986 Pope John Paul II at that time had gathered the different traditions of the world to assemble in ay Italy to pray for world peace I found it very interesting that that day in October of ‘ 86 a selection let me go back just a little bit a selection committe in New York City knowing that the PO had invited the indigenous people from the Americas to represent them nominations were made of about 75 people spiritual leaders across the Americas from January of 1986 they met several times in New York City where there was a kind of an elimination process eventually in June of 1986 they selected the two individuals to represent the indigenous people from the Western Hemisphere my uncle John pretty on top myself were the two that were selected so in in order to prepare myself for this big undertaking for World gathering for peace in a SE Italy I followed my Crow tradition as a child growing up by my grandfather I was told that our leaders in the past Chief PLU died 1932 uh medicine Crow two leans um bellrock all of our great Chiefs among the obala went and fasted up in the mountains receiving a vision from the Creator they came back home and became prophets for our people this is pretty much the same way as the one that was nailed to the cross that you call Jesus Christ he too went into the desert didn’t he for 40 days and 40 nights fasted thought food and water eventually receiving a vision came back and became a prophet became the savior of all people with that in mind there was a connection with that spirituality and our spirituality here in abala country because of our history as a child growing up with my grandfather him sharing the stories with me how these individuals in the past leaders of the crow went and fasted for 4 days and four nights without food and water came back and became leaders for our people I was fascinated as a child growing up so I too at the age of 27 or 28 I went up the mountains and fasted since that time until the present day I’m standing in front of you I have fasted 12 times without food and water and each time there was a different experience that the Creator blessed me with on the fourth morning with that in mind before I went to AI back in 1986 I went to the Crazy Mountains behind Big Timber Montana before Big Timber existed before Montana existed the abala that was one of our sacred mountains The Crazies we call in our traditional language aaia translation means Jagged Mountains if any of you are familiar with the Crazy Mountains there are about 11,000 th000 ft high and it’s above the timber line those Jagged Granite Peaks our language is very Des descriptive so that back in the day absal called that sacred Mountain aaia Jagged Mountain often times our young leaders at that time went up in the mountains faster and came back home our connection with that sacred mountain is very strong going back in our human history to the point point where being a small tribe tribal people other Plains tribes would often come and challenge us for our what we considered as absalan land our hunting areas at that time when we were outnumbered and chased by the enemy we would often go into the Crazy Mountains aaria and knowing the other tribes knowing of our connection with that sacred Mountain they would turn away and leave us so that was kind of like a fortress for us with all that in mind I went up the crazies before I went to Ay Italy and fasted for four days and four nights to prepare myself mentally physically and spiritually to represent the indigenous people that day I was very fortunate to be selected so I went in that way after my fast we traveled to AI landed there the Vatican came and welcome us at the Rome airport and the Vatican picked up our tab of going and coming back also uh 10 years previous in 19 we went in 1986 so 19 I think no no I take that back a short two years before that time which would have been about 1984 Omar Gaddafi had went to Rome airport with his terrorists and shot everybody up and there was over 100 people that were killed that time Omar kenafi made a threat in 1986 that he was going to come back to Rome and do the same thing so when we arrived in Rome all the people that were there welcome us from the Vatican representing the pope and they took us to the side area where the normal entry into that country they took us to the side area and they put us into limousines and they drove us to the Vatican during that time of N9 days they had three plain clothed Italian police they with us so they were with us for the N9 days we were there eventually we came back now I met Mother Teresa the doy Lama John Paul II all the Archbishop runs from canbury England was there but we gathered together with one voice the Buddhist the Hindu the Muslim the Shinto Faith zorran the Jewish the Christian churches into one and we represented the indigenous people from West hemisphere with that in mind the respect that was shown to us was something that I didn’t expect they laid out the red carpet for us that day when we wore our headdress and our buckin outfits and we raised our pipe in prayer for peace I can always remember the audience I can remember the the cameras flashing all around us and when we prayed in in our tradition language when we raised the pipe in that outdoor Plaza outside of St Francis Basilica you could hear a pin drop the media couldn not come near us because of the security we’re a section off I sat here Mother Theresa sat right across from me that was quite an experience afterwards I met Mother Teresa and I told her I says Mother Teresa Native American I come to you in peace she she was only about this tall very small lady she says Americano IND Diego and I said that’s close enough and I extended my hand I said it’s an honor for me to meet you I extended my hand she took one step away from me like this put her hands together and went like this she was greeting me in her way so I took a step back from her and a both of us are going like this now with all the media around us and she had that big smile on her face and then she went like this so I took a step forward we shook hands and she gave me a bear hug I always remember that she gave me a bear hug and I told her I says Mother Teresa can you please give me a blessing and for such a small lady she’s my color for such a small lady she had big hands she put her hand on my forehead I had my headdress on I went like this so she touched my H head and gave me a blessing then she took a step back and says you give me a blessing I said yeah I can so I asked her open your hands like this which she did and I had my pipe with me so I took out my pipe and I stood in front of her like this and I pointed at her forehead and I made a circle around her and at the conclusion we gave each other a bear hug and about that time security took her away and took me away but that was what an experience also I want you to know this that our C culture has taught us that all people on the face of this Earth our brothers and sisters our elders have taught us that there’s no distinction between God and all of his children on this Earth no distinction between color races of people nor there’s any distinction between male and female therefore with that in mind I went with open arms to pray in the C traditional way using the pipe it’s a experience in my life I will not forget thereafter I met John Paul two more times John Paul II it’s history now because John Paul has passed on Mother Teresa also has passed on so that’s part of history now in the November 10th issue of the Time Magazine if you open it up right in the center of that article November 10th issue of the time you’ll see a full page it calls a summit for peace in a Cy Italy John Paul is pictured with Archbishop runy from Canterbury England Russian Greek Orthodox priest on either side of him picture of Mother Teresa down at the bottom as a picture of my uncle and myself and I’m the one with the white buck skin raising that sacred pipe that’s something that is part of history and I’m I’m very proud of that and I thank the Creator for that in our cow culture and in our history going back to our C creation story Upsala creation story we’re told that God has made us the Absa people out of Earth formed us into his image and breathed life into us and set us on this Earth at that time he put us in this place where we exist today this is our c human history our Origins our beginnings as human beings our creator blessed us and put us here with that in mind the Creator told us in our human history that there will be times when there are skirmishes coming into other people coming into our area of land to try to take it away from us but he told us in the Covenant that one of our great Chiefs back in the 1700s Chief no vitals sheep de Chief noal was one of our great leaders and from that Vision Quest that he had made as young man God gave him the gift of tobacco told him that if you use this tobacco to pray with me and to smoke with me I will listen to you that Covenant that he had made as long as you are a people on this Earth you’re not going to number in big population wise but rather other people will come to your neck of the wood to take away the land that I have given to you because it is the best that I have created so with that in mind in our human history our encounters with our surrounding Plains tribe the Su the shine the arap would often team up and come to our neck of the woods to annihilate us but through The Graces of the Creator there was a battle that occurred outside of PR Montana all the s had come to us to annihilate us they had us cornered and it was the creator of that day that saved us riding a pinto horse a red pinto horse when they had us completely surrounded this gentleman that rode a red pinto horse rode fearlessly and attacked the enemy went into their ranks killing the Su the sh and rapo came came back to us joined us and the second time he went in there the people knew that the second time he came that their arrows could not touch this person it hit and fell he went through killing some came back and the third time he attacked all the crows being outnumbered some have said 20 to1 that day some have said 17 to1 but we were completely surrounded and on the third attack all the crows gathered their courage and follow follow behind all those people they chased back to the dtas and that’s part of our history that we still exist today and from that Covenant of the Creator blessing us in that way that he will come to us in time of need for us to call him by his first name IG Bala his name translated means first maker that he has blessed us in that way and that Covenant that he has said with our people still exist today back in the uh after our first encounter with the non-an people that came to us we’re told that the B the yellow eyes that came to us came to us in big numbers it was best for us to make agreement with them become allies with these people which we’ve done PLU on his vision quest was told that you need to shake hands with the Bosa and be friends and be out I with them therefore you have a better chance to exist in this world for x amount of years so survival we shook hands with the US government 1825 we signed the Friendship treaty with the US government that day we became allies with the US government by shaking hands we helped them when they came across our abala land in turn when we had a skirmish with other tribes they too would support us so this friendship treaty was put in place in 1825 in 1851 our first treaty with US Government Fort larmy Treaty of 1851 set aside what we considered as absal land at that time the four areas that set aside the absal land would be the Three Forks area going in a direction where it meets the Big River we call OBS solid Big River would be the Missouri to the north it goes downward to the Powder River into the Black Hills so that was our boundary to the east to the South was the area that what is called Wind River today which takes you halfway into Wyoming that was our boundary to the South and to the West the boundary was the headwaters of the Yellowstone River which takes you into Yellowstone National Park that covers 38 million Acres at that time consequently in 1851 when we signed that treaty with our leaders thumb imprints back in 1868 the G government came back and told us that they gave us too much of land so from that treaty that they had broken with us they took away 30 million left us with 8 million from other sessions of land with the government today we have 2.2 million acres and also today we have 11,000 Pro enrolled members we’ve never been big we’ve always been small compared to the Navajo over 250,000 navajos in Arizona and New Mexico area compared with them we’ve always been small but the Lord has blessed us the creator has blessed us in a way that we still speak our absal language today which is other Plains tribes have lost their languages and losing their language they have lost pretty much their culture as well here in abala we still speak the ABS language my brothers and sisters what I just said with you inala is very simply along with the color of the skin that God has blessed blessed me with is my language and my spirituality we’re told that our language is sacred because it came from him so we still speak our language today probably 90% of our people that are 35 and over speak the absalan language our challenge today is a 34 down to the newborns they’d rather speak English than they would Absa because we have technology that has kind of put a r B in front of our our people because from early morning we turn the television on our children watch television they hear the English language up until the night when it’s time for bedtime we shut it off so today our challenge is our young children we need to somehow get in touch with them and have them speak the Absol language that’s so important for us part of our history we have Rich human Traditions among the Absa and and strong in spirituality that too has a place within us this morning there was a dance presentation that I MCD and we saw little babies that were 2 years old with their little traditional outfits out here dancing that’s the emphasis we put forth to our children emphasizing that it is good to near your culture and your traditional teachings as I speak today I have in my computer I’m the public public relations director for the co- tribe in my computer today I have put in place the traditional teachings of our elders given to us from generation to generation oral history oral Traditions teachings and those that I remembered for my grandfather when he was still alive and I was a little boy growing up with him I remember the dos and don’ts do this do this do this he just don’t do this don’t do this don’t do this I call them the dos and don’ts of our traditional teachings and I put into my computer the ones that I remembered number one listing number two and I have 92 dos and don’ts at this time we no longer teach them among the abala today the reason I recorded all this is that in time when I’m finish with that project I’m going to get a copyright have it printed and I’m going to sell that but I’m going to make that free for the abala so they will never go without our traditional teachings today within our culture we emphasize not only our language but our traditional celebrations such as dancing such as Indian hand games Indian games that we compete against each other within our cruel spirituality today and within our culture ladies and gentlemen we have seven clans that we follow each and every Tribal member belongs to one of these seven clans were a tribe that followed their mother’s Clan at Birth I belong to the whistling water because my mother is a member of the whistling water so all of her children including myself are a member of the whistling water at Birth but our father’s Clan has are pretty much like in the Catholic church I’m also a Roman Catholic by the way being asked to be a Godfather a God parent at baptism we have that responsibility when we stand next to a child or an infant during that baptism that we will be their spiritual directors with that in mind within our structured Society we live in today the clans of our father become our spiritual advisers and those people that pray for us we call them our clan uncles and aunts of that same Clan so with myself my mother being whistling water at Birth I became a whistling water but my father’s Clan belonging to the big Lodge the big Lodge Clan within the obala today are my extended family of spiritual advisers and spiritual people that pray for me it is often times when we go into the sweat lodge within our spirituality that we go to cleanse oursel mind physical the four beings so so that once we cleanse ourselves in that extreme heat in that Dome that looks like an looks like one of them Igloo from Alaska that round Dome this one that’s made out of Willow covered with u canvas and blankets and rocks are taken into that small area enough for about seven or eight people in that one area they dig the ground about this deep heat the Rocks outside they bring it in and put it into the that deep cut off area and when the men all go in there together the men would say a prayer and splash water on top of that to provide this sauna for us this is a cleansing that we do for ourselves today anyone that is going and traveling and doing something extraordinary often would use that way to pray for each other to give guidance for that individual another way of prayer also among our people as youth the piote the Native American church this too is held in the teepe we go inside we pray all night and within this sacred way I’m because I’m a Catholic I’m going to use the comparison of the two ways being a Catholic when I enter the the church we sit down often times the priest will pray and then smudge the area with incense to purify US during that Mass the Catholics believe and I too believe that the bread that he puts into that sacred cup and blesses it and becomes the body of Christ much in the same way when he blesses that wine becomes the blood of Christ with that same analogy in the Native American church when we take that peity button and we bless it it becomes the body of Christ when we bring in water and bless that water that too becomes the blood of Christ so we we take that in that sacred way there are sacred songs that are sung and prayers that are used for that night we give up our sleep so in exchange the Creator will bless us with our prayers for our family and relatives among the abala to day not only the the Clans but there’s individuals that go into the sun dances they will Fast for three or four days without food and water that too is used today as I speak Again part of our spirituality the tobacco society that God gave a covenant made a covenant with us that if we use the tobacco to pray to him that he will bless us that too is being used today I am one that goes up in the mountains and fast for four days and four nights and that too is part of my spirituality to me if I go into a Catholic Church in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome or St Patrick’s and billings Montana or St Dennis Parish here in cow agency when I prayed to the Creator in that environment or whether I’m outside on top of the Crazy Mountains when I pray to the Creator it is to the one creator that I have I’m praying to whether I’m in a Catholic church or up on top of a mountain so with that in mind God is everywhere he is near us as in those special times God as we pray to him will connect with us and bless us in that good way this is our spirituality also on the flip side we have the games that I mentioned we have the hand game tournament uh every year around April and May we have the hand game tournament where all the six different districts among the abala will go and represent each district with a team by team I mean young men and women some young men will sing the guessers up on the main floor right up in front and back will be all the women that participate so it’s for men and women they have the junior category which will be 30 and under 31 on up is the adult category we have the arrow throwing tournament each spring they have arrows about this long with a pointed iron attached to the the base which is pointed then feather is attached to the top so when they throw they throw out a Target arrow that they throw first and everybody throws their Arrow to try to hit that Target Arrow there again this is a game that the Absol used there are many others like that that we still use today going back to our human history our first encounter that I shared with you with a nonin person that came among us we call him BOS cheeta today standing here 2006 we still call the non-an people B translation means yellow eyes apparently that individual at fur chop that came Among Us that day that connected with us asked us who we were and went back East apparently had some type of disease where the yellow of his or the white of his eyes were yellow so they call him Bida translation means yellow eyes so to this day it’s not a put down it’s just the way that things happened back then that we still call the non- people Bia yellow Wise It’s not a put down don’t take me in the wrong way also today in our history as in the past to the present day animals are very important for us we have horses before the horses arrival we use dogs dogs would often be used in transferring one from one location moving camp following the Buffalo herds to another Camp the dogs were used in that way to car the travels with personal belongings that were put on top of travels and then when the horses was introduced to us it meant easier for us to move from place to place because horses are bigger and much stronger than the than the dog so with that in mind during that time when the horses were introduced to us it was like getting into to the new era of our people we went from the dog days to the horse days and then from there we went another step forward and that was the introduction of elala goes by itself the word that we have for cars Vehicles the old modalities that you crank up front like this back far as they start up and use those automobiles Fords were out here before John Dillinger was John Dillinger was out here but those are different transitions between one generation to another from modalities today we have what is used by everyone Vehicles four-wheel drives and all this one of our traditional teachings is to respect aawa the mountains were told that back in the day before the arrival the Europeans out here the medicine herbs that were taken from the ground to doctor each other with different ailments we would often go to the ohawa the mountains to get those herbs the medicine people would take those herbs with the different mixture of things that they would help each other with common coals coughs and others that was among our people back then so as you can imagine people today going to the pharmacy get their medicine the mountain back in the day was our Pharmacy that’s where our leaders went to get those herbs and plants to mix and to help people we’re told to respect the ohawa Crazy Mountains the Big Horns the wolf mountains the big horns on reservation also we’re told in our tradition to respect each other and to respect all people this is again one of our traditional teachings one must respect themselves and respecting others and we’re told in our tradition I said earlier to respect all people because the white race the yellow the black and the red all those four races of people are brothers and sisters this is what is taught to us as children growing up so with that in mind the oriental people the yellow the white people the black people African-Americans and the red the indigenous people of this land were told that all these four colors are created by Him and put on this Earth to live in peace and harmony with each other so that is our traditional teachings which we’ve still follow today so when we see our brothers and sisters that come among us we welcome them we embrace them sharing good things with them our culture has taught us that our history is so important that it has to be printed today this oral history that we have used from day one up until up until recently of oral history has often changed so with that in mind we’re told and reminded we need to record it on paper black and white and we have done this I’m very happy that we’re starting to do all this also we’re told in our tradition that every morning when the sun comes up from the East all people are on this Earth need to recognize that God has blessed you with another brand new day that has never been used by anyone be thankful to the Creator that he has blessed us with a beautiful day again raise your hands to the Creator and say ah hope thank you and be the best that you can be not necessarily for yourself but for other people around you it is good when you share good stories and use your words very carefully in a way not to hurt anyone but rather rather build someone up it is good that we do this in that pipe ceremony I’m going to emphasize the importance of understanding about that ritual when I use the sacred pipe in prayer and I pray sun people often ask oh these uh abala or these indigenous people must have many gods that’s untrue when I raise that pipe to the sun my question is this who created the sun some rocket scientist and Einstein the Creator made that sun and put it in its place therefore because God created the sun his spirit is within that son when I lure to the mother earth I smoke with Mother Earth when I smoke with her who made the Earth God his fingerprints on Earth therefore God’s spirit is within that Earth when I prayed to the water with that pipe who created the water e first maker I prayed to the winds in the four directions who created the air Peter therefore his spirit is within them so it’s through them that we reach the Creator with our prayers much like in the Catholic Church being a Catholic when he used the Rosary in prayer it is through that Rosary that we reach the Creator when we open up the Bible read the scriptures the Sacred Scriptures it is through that we reach the Creator much in that same way our interpretation of life and our spirituality is in within those elements sacred elements of those four sacred elements if God at this moment took all the air from the atmosphere who can survive what can survive nothing if all the water that’s here that God has put in place if the water has all disappeared who can survive nothing and if the sun quit coming up from the East to provide us with this heat give us energy without fire we’re nothing all those four sacred elements including the Earth is within our bodies when you touch each other hold hands you feel the heat that is inside us that fire is within us the water when you move around sometimes you feel the water slushing around you can feel that as well how does Earth come into us all of our food comes from Earth into our bodies therefore Earth is part of us and all of us as we sit and breathe that sacred air is within all of us this is our spirituality I’m going to leave a portion of this time for questions and answers at this time I’m going to conclude see if there’s any questions at this point from anyone if you have a question for Burton please do raise your hand I’ll bring the microphone around that way everybody can hear your question any questions for Burton pretty on top any part that I that you like for me to talk about that I have not discussed please bring it out and I will share that with you all right well it doesn’t look like any questions Burton okay I’m going to pass off the question here at this time they have to take a test and if they pass it they can go they fail it they have to stay here for another hour I’m just easy all right well that’s

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