Who is Chief Plenty Coups?
Born more than 150 years ago, Plenty Coups was a Crow Indian chief. He did many great things for his people which is why he was called Plenty Coups, or many accomplishments. Many famous white leaders respected him. Plenty Coups was especially instrumental in helping the Crow Indian people adapt to life on the reservations. He strongly believed in preserving the Crow Indian traditions and was a living example that these traditions and the white man's lifestyle could coexist. Many people during the time in which Plenty Coups lived believed he was particularly gifted in this way. From: Rich Pittsley Museum Tour Content

Why did Chief Plenty Coups leave his home for all of us to share?
Many years ago, Chief Plenty Coups agreed to leave his home and the things in it to be used in a museum. His house and the spring beside it were special to him and to the Absaaloga people. He wanted to share how they lived with everyone.
His home, possessions and the sacred spring are now part of a state park in Montana. The museum facility was built in 1972 and by Plenty Coups' direction does not only tell the story of himself, Alakchia Ahoosh, but of the Absaaloga people. From: Rich Pittsley Museum Tour Content

Why was the chickadee important to Chief Plenty Coups?
In Native American traditions, the animal has special abilities and gifts. One of Plenty Coups' medicine helpers was the chickadee. The chickadee was special because he used his mind rather than physical abilities to address the world. From: Rich Pittsley Museum Tour Content

Meet Richard Pittsley
This is a picture of Richard Pittsley. Rich is curator of the Plenty Coups Museum and State Park in Pryor, Montana. One of the things he does is give tours of the museum to school children.

Meet Vincent Goes Ahead, Jr.
This is a picture of Vincent Goes Ahead, Jr. in a traditional Crow dancing outfit. Vincent is a descendant of Plenty Coups. He lives in Pryor, Montana, where Chief Plenty Coups lived, and gives tours of the museum and house.

Welcome to the 2nd Station : Plenty Coups as a Child

Where was Plenty Coups born?
We believe that Plenty Coups was born in 1848 in a place that Absaaloga people called "the cliff that has no pass." This very much resembles the area around Billings, Montana, with its large sandstone cliffs. The Absaaloga, or Crow Indian, people in their language call this area BOPWAH which means "where they shoot the rock with arrows." This name BOPWAH is based upon one of the Crow Indian's legends of sacred places found here in Pryor Gap. If the Crow people were talking in the English language, they would probably say Pryor. If they were talking in their Crow language, which is their predominant language, they would say BOPWAH. To them this means: "That place over there where they shoot the rock with arrows." They all know that as the Pryor vicinity. From: Rich Pittsley Museum Tour Content

How did Plenty Coups live as a child?
He was raised in the way of a typical young boy with a lot of swimming and running as they traveled from place to place and different camping and hunting areas. Hunting the buffalo was the preferred Indian lifestyle. The young people had to learn to hunt and become physically developed in order to be strong powerful hunters and warriors. From: Rich Pittsley Museum Tour Content

Some of the Crow traditions, such as hand games and arrow games, originated as activities to keep the hunters and warriors physically skillful during the long winters and springs. From: Vincent Goes Ahead, Jr., Museum Tour Content

Why were dreams important to Plenty Coups as he was growing up?
Native Americans believe that dreams have meaning. Before warriors went to hunt or battle, they went on vision quests where they would dream and learn from the things that they saw in their dreams. Plenty Coups had many important dreams that shaped his life.
As a Crow Indian young man matured into adulthood, he was challenged to go on vision quests. That means he goes for four days and four nights into a very difficult environment, ideally a mountain top. He has on very little clothing. He is entirely offering himself to the elements in the hopes of receiving a vision or a dream. This dream is divine guidance or knowledge that he will need to assist him in his lifetime or that his tribe will need to know.

The Native American belief was very strong that dreams had meaning. They were encouraged to dream. Adults, including women, went on vision quests, just as young men did. Plenty Coups had very significant visions. Some took place in the Crazy Mountains by Big Timber, Montana. Some took place in the Highwood Mountains near Great Falls, Montana. Some took place in the Pryor Mountains and specifically at the Castle Rocks which are the three rocky buttes directly to the south of the community of Pryor. From: Rich Pittsley Museum Tour Content

How did certain animals help Native American people?
Native American peoples also believed that certain animals, such as eagles or grizzly bears, had special abilities. Some had a lot of courage; some were very smart. They watched for these animals in their dreams and called them medicine helpers. The chickadee came to Plenty Coups in his dreams, and many things that the chickadee told him came true. The Native American peoples believed that animals were connected to the spiritual world. Animals that had the attributes of courage and intelligence as well as the abilities to defend themselves and their territories were very highly regarded. The eagle, the grizzly bear, the mountain lion and the wolverine were animals that were very highly respected by these people. One of Plenty Coups' medicine helpers was the chickadee. Unlike other animals, the chickadee used his mind rather than physical abilities to adjust to the challenging world ahead of him.

Plenty Coups had various visions, or dreams, which came to be true later in his life. One of the visions included a huge storm that came from all directions and blew down all of the trees of the forest, except one tree, the cottonwood tree. This tree held the nest of the chickadee. The interpretation of that vision was that the storm represented the coming of the white man into Indian country, and the trees represented all of the various tribes. The trees being blown over by the storm told them that all the tribes would be defeated if they tried to stand against the strong winds of change. However, the cottonwood tree represented the Absaaloga people. It had the ability to be flexible and bend with the elements or to bend with changes which meant that the Absaaloga would survive. It also showed them that they could survive just as the chickadee had by using his mind rather than his physical ability to adjust to change.From: Rich Pittsley Museum Tour Content

Plenty Coups also envisioned where he would live someday. He saw the castle rocks located above Pryor and the three springs in the area as the place he was going to settle. From these three peaks, he looked down into this valley, and he settled at the head one of the three springs, just as his vision had indicated. There's a lot of history just in this valley alone. That's why you feel that certain aura about it because it holds a certain sense of beauty. Those of us who live in this valley really consider ourselves blessed for having what we have; all our needs are met right here. The mountains, the springs, the valley: we just say it's meant to be.From: Vincent Goes Ahead, Jr., Museum Tour Content

Another of Plenty Coups' visions also signified that he would live in a log house like the white man does and wear clothing as the white man does. In his dream, he saw an old man in white man's clothing. This was in approximately the 1850s or ‘60s, long before many Indian people had seen these types of things. The interpretation of that vision was that someday Plenty Coups would live to be an old man; he would be a great leader of his people. However, there was going to be a major transition in their lifetimes, and he was the one who would lead his people through that very difficult transition.

Part of that vision also emphasized no children nor family around Plenty Coups. This was very significant to Indian people because they are very social, very family oriented. The interpretation was that Plenty Coups would never have children of his own. Some say that though he did not have children of his own he considered all people, especially all Native American people, his children and was a very serving, very kind and generous leader of his people.

His significant visions saw the buffalo disappear from the face of the earth, replaced by a spotted buffalo. The spotted buffalo are the cattle of today. From: Rich Pittsley Museum Tour Content

Where did Plenty Coups live and hunt?
Crow Indian stories describe how the people migrated great distances in war parties and to hunt. Some stories even suggest that the Crow Indian people traveled far north to Alaska and far south into the area where the Navajo Indian people lived. Many of the Crow Indian people believe they originated in the Pryor area, and that is where they maintained their communities. There are stories, however, of the large area that they covered in war parties and to hunt. Plenty Coups himself related stories about going on a war party where the ground was covered in white, and it was so cold that if a man spit or got off his horse to relieve himself after riding all day everything froze. People took this place to be Alaska.

They told of migrating from Missouri through the plains, to Canada and north to the big river, which is the west end of the Americas, and south to the dry lands, where they encountered the Navajos. There are stories from what back before we can remember that my grandfather and my father still tell us today. These stories tell of the migrations of powerful men, gods and such. Just like the history of the Greeks, I guess.From: Vincent Goes Ahead, Jr., Museum Tour Content

When did the white man come to the area where the Crow Indian people lived?
Almost 200 years ago, explorers and fur traders began to come into the area where the Absaaloga people lived. The famous explorers Lewis and Clark floated down the Yellowstone River into this area. While they camped over night, the clever Crow Indians captured their horses. Lewis and Clark continued on in special boats, called buffalo bull boats. There were certainly a few explorers and fur traders coming into the area where the Crow Indian people lived, but the most notable were Lewis and Clark from 1804-1806. William Clark came down the Yellowstone River on the return trip from mapping and exploring passage to the western coast of the United States in 1806. He and his party had an encounter with the Crow Indian people. In fact, the Pryor Mountains, Pryor Creek and the town of Pryor get their name from Sergeant Nathaniel Pryor of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Nathaniel Pryor was in charge of the horse herd. As he came down the Yellowstone one particular evening, half of his horses disappeared. They tried to track them, but they realized they should put their efforts into trying to save the other half of the horses. The next morning the other half of the horses also disappeared. The Crow warriors were notorious for capturing horses, and many believed it was probably the Crow Indians who relieved Sergeant Pryor of responsibility for them. Sergeant Pryor and his men then made buffalo bull boats and floated down the Yellowstone to meet with William Clark and Merriweather Lewis.

The importance of this event and others like it is that it marked the beginning of the inevitable encroachment of other civilizations into Indian land. Spain was claiming this area from the south and west, and France actually owned the region until it was sold to the United States in 1803. At that time, it was called the Louisiana Purchase. From: Rich Pittsley Museum Tour Content

Did the Crow Indians and Plenty Coups fight in the war against the white man?
About 60 years after Lewis and Clark came to the area where the Absaaloga lived, the Indians and the whites began to fight over the land that the Indians used for hunting grounds. Some Indian tribes chose to fight while others, like the Absaaloga, choose to be helpful. One of the most famous battles of this time was with General George Custer. Plenty Coups' vision of the chickadee and the wind storm had taught the Absaaloga to use the white man's knowledge instead of fighting him. The era when Plenty Coups became a warrior and a chief was an unsettled time. During the Bozeman Trail era in the 1860s, the Sioux, Cheyenne and the Arapaho began fighting to try to keep the white man from their hunting area located in Wyoming and Montana. This era is called the Indian Wars period with The Red Cloud Wars in the 1860s and the battles with Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse in the 1870s. In the Battle of the Rosebud in 1876, General Crook's forces battled and eight days later General Custer was defeated by the same combined Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho forces.

Plenty Coups was one of the major leaders of the Crow at that time. He was specifically involved in the Battle of the Rosebud as one of the leaders of 120 Crow Indian warriors who were serving as scouts for General Crook. There were also approximately 90 Shoshone warriors under Chief Washakie who were assisting General Crook. There were other Crow Indians who were scouting for General Custer at the Little Bighorn Battle.

In this battle, General Crook's forces came north from the Sheridan, Wyoming area to Rosebud Creek where the combined Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho forces attacked them. History reflects that had it not been for the Crow and Shoshone warriors who saw this attack coming. They made a counter attack which allowed General Crook to get many of his 1,200-man force rallied to defend themselves. Without the warriors' warning, General Crook and his forces possibly could have been defeated in the same way that Custer's forces were defeated eight days later. They essentially fought to a draw by the end of the day. General Crook's forces retreated to the Sheridan, Wyoming area along with the Crow and Shoshone warriors. The Indian forces then went back to their camping areas along the Little Bighorn, and it was General Custer who attacked them there eight days later. From: Rich Pittsley Museum Tour Content

Why did some tribes support the white man while some did not?

At the time when the white man and Indians were fighting, many Indian tribes were also fighting each other for the last of the great buffalo hunting areas. The Crow Indians and the other tribes did not have enough warriors to win. They chose to help the white man because they thought that it would help them survive. The Crow Indians made decisions very early to ally with the white men and assist them. They became allies because they were at the same time battling with the various tribes, such as the Sioux, Cheyenne, Arapaho and Blackfeet, who were all competing for this area: the last of the great buffalo hunting areas.

This alliance only made sense since the white men who came into this area were also battling those groups. Drawing upon the visions of Plenty Coups and others, they knew that because they were a less populace tribe they had to have a powerful ally to survive. There were many other commonsense reasons for them to help the white man. Gradually, more white men came into the area. They established military forts in the 1860s, such as Fort Phil Kearney in Wyoming, Fort Smith on the Bighorn River, to protect the Bozeman Trail. They built Fort Custer in 1877 at the confluence of the Little Bighorn and Bighorn Rivers in the Hardin area. This fort came into place after the Custer Battle and existed for about 20 years until it was dismantled in 1903. From: Rich Pittsley Museum Tour Content

Welcome to the 5th Station: Plenty Coups Becomes the Chief Among Chiefs.

When did Plenty Coups become the head chief of the Crow Indian people?

When Plenty Coups was about 55 years old, he became the head chief of the three bands of the Absaaloga. Each of the three bands, called the River Crow, the Mountain Crow and the Kicked In The Bellies, also had a sub-chief. The three bands lived in different areas, but they needed one chief to speak for them all. Plenty Coups became the head chief of the Crow Indian people in 1903 after Pretty Eagle died. Pretty Eagle was the major chief until that time. Plenty Coups was accepted as the head chief of the three Crow bands. The River Crow, the Mountain Crow of which Plenty Coups was chief and a third group, centered in Wyoming and called the Kicked In The Bellies, each had their own chiefs. During this era bands were negotiating with the United States government and different military groups. It was necessary to have one person who was looked upon as the head chief of all of the groups. It took a unique person to be accepted by all three groups, and Plenty Coups was one of those rare individuals. From: Rich Pittsley Museum Tour Content

Just as in any political system, there are different kinds of parties, but it's not so much River Crow or Mountain Crow anymore. These parties evolved because they migrated along certain paths; they left certain bands due to deaths or births; or they mingled with different tribes. This is how the three largest bands originated. The River Crow died out in the 1600s, and the few that remained migrated to Mountain Crow which was this area. The original River Crow lived south of the Dakotas when the splitting of the tribe occurred. They stayed along the Missouri, and we now know had a village near Glendive, Montana. They lived in adobe huts. When they migrated, they found it easier to use teepees.
The Kick In The Bellies were the ones that adapted to white man's society and religions. They based themselves along the river to trade goods and sell lumber to the steamships. They were considered the most neutral of the tribes because they modernized while everyone else kept their traditional ways. Once the reservation was established, all Crow Indians had to settle as one. That is where they all became Mountain Crows. Even though, you will sometimes still today hear people referring to themselves teasingly as either River Crow or Mountain Crow. From: Vincent Goes Ahead, Jr., Museum Tour Content

Why did the United States government give Plenty Coups his own flag?
The United States government grew to respect Chief Plenty Coups' skill as a leader. They invited him to ceremonies and fairs to represent the Indian people. They even awarded him with his own flag. Plenty Coups' first visit to Washington D.C. was in 1879 as part of a treaty delegation. After that, he visited Washington D.C. on approximately 10 or 12 occasions. He went to many different parades and fairs and gatherings where he represented the Indian people.
In 1905, the United States government felt that he ought to have his own flag and awarded him a flag which he used for many years at the various ceremonies that he attended. On the flag, there were 13 stars, depicting the original 13 clans of the Crow Indian people. Also imprinted on the flag were a chickadee and an eagle, two of Plenty Coups' visionary animal spirits. Plenty Coups told the government officials what things were important to him, and they translated what he had told them to create the flag. From: Rich Pittsley Museum Tour Content
The flag is registered and recognized and has been passed down like a lot of Plenty Coups' artifacts, such has his pipe, his war bonnet and his coups stick. My father is the one that last had the original flag. He, in turn, donated it to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. where a lot of people would see it and where it would remain a lot longer than if we maintained it. We still ask them to bring it out for some occasions. From: Vincent Goes Ahead, Jr., Museum Tour Content

Why did leaders all over the world know Chief Plenty Coups?
Famous leaders all over the world knew Chief Plenty Coups. They considered him a great chief of his people and respected him for how he worked with other leaders during this time. Plenty Coups was known widely as a great leader of his people as well as a statesman and a negotiator. With those abilities and what he felt was spiritual guidance, he was able to negotiate very effectively with the leaders of the world during his time. The museum at Pryor has letters, photographs and documents from four different presidents to Plenty Coups.
The allied commanders of World War I recognized Chief Plenty Coups as an equal and a friend. These important leaders, General Ferdinand Foch of France, General Diaz of Italy, General Pershing of Great Britain and General Harbord of the United States, were the combined generals of the allied forces during World War I. By the same right, Plenty Coups was considered a leader of this country and a leader of the world during his time. From: Rich Pittsley Museum Tour Content

Why was it a great honor for Plenty Coups to speak at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier?
During World War I, many Native American warriors fought for the United States. The United States government created a monument to honor all of the soldiers who fought in this war and other wars. Plenty Coups was asked to speak at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to represent the Indian soldiers. In one of his greatest accomplishments, Plenty Coups represented all North American Indian tribes during the initial ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery in 1921. When he learned of the ceremony, Plenty Coups felt compelled to speak and proposed that the unknown soldier could possibly be a red man.
Even though Native Americans were not considered citizens of this country until a later date, their warrior military societies were such that it only made sense for them to fight in the United States military. There were many very successful Indian people who did great things in the wars of this country. Plenty Coups made the point that this unknown soldier could possibly be an Indian and that they had contributed greatly to the efforts of this country.
Only certain people, including President Harding and Plenty Coups, spoke at the first ceremony. Plenty Coups' speech was a good example of how influential he was. Plenty Coups was the type of a leader and diplomat who wanted not only to represent the white man to his people but also to represent the Indian to the dominant society. The museum at Pryor contains a replica of the headdress that Plenty Coups left at Arlington National Cemetery when he represented all North American Indian Tribes. From: Rich Pittsley Museum Tour Content

How did Plenty Coups come to know Buffalo Bill Cody and the Prince of Monaco?
Plenty Coups became a famous Indian leader in this area. In his travel, he met many people. Some of them were famous themselves, such as Buffalo Bill Cody and the Prince of Monaco. Plenty Coups represented Native Americans and became a very high profile person during his time. He associated with the leaders of this country and the leaders of the world. He also associated with many other individuals who were very prominent in the world at that time. In one particular instance in 1913, Buffalo Bill Cody who was hosting the reigning Prince Albert I of Monaco, invited Plenty Coups to participate in ceremonies and cultural activities. They awarded a rifle to Plenty Coups. It was a gift from the Prince. From: Rich Pittsley Museum Tour Content

Welcome to the 6th Station: The Move to Reservations.

Why did the Crow Indians need a leader when they moved to reservations?

The Crow Indian people and other tribes were placed on reservations to make way for the great number of people coming from the East. It was difficult to change their habits and their ways. Leaders, such as Plenty Coups, helped to guide them into a new way of life. The move to reservations meant the Crow Indians had to change their attitudes and ways of life. One fact is that the reservation decreased in size fairly consistently. As each tribe tried to define its ancestral lands and as more demands were put upon this limited resource, the reservation decreased from approximately 38 million acres in 1851 to approximately 2.5 million acres today. There was a great transition in how they lived during the early reservation years to the traditional living culture they have today. Certainly, the leadership of some of their great chiefs, such as Sits In The Middle Of The Land, Pretty Eagle, Medicine Crow and Plenty Coups, helped them to change.

During Plenty Coups' time, the main government was at Crow Agency which is approximately 70 miles east of the town of Pryor. However, the Crow Indians found that they needed to have a governmental center of business in the Pryor vicinity because Plenty Coups was the head chief. They created a sub-agency which was essentially where the town of Pryor is today. They built residences around the sub-agency which became the town of Pryor.From: Rich Pittsley Museum Tour Content

What part did the chickadee play in bringing schools to the reservation?

The chickadee came to Plenty Coups in his visions. It showed him how he and his people must use their minds and not their physical abilities to survive. Plenty Coups thought this meant that the Crow people must go to school.

One of Plenty Coups' great quotes is: "Education is your greatest weapon. With education you are the white man's equal, without education you are his victim and so shall remain all of your lives. Study, learn, help one another always. Remember there is only poverty and misery in idleness and dreams - but in work there is self respect and independence."

Plenty Coups encouraged the Absaaloga people to attend the white man's schools. He emphasized to them that they must educate themselves to function in this new society so that they could protect their own interests. Without education, Plenty Coups said that the Crow Indian people may not survive and that they might lose their language and traditions.

Plenty Coups was very committed to his visions and led by example. He pressured the government and the different religious groups that were functioning on the reservation to provide schools for his people. The early schools evolved from religious boarding schools to public schools and, eventually, to the established school systems on the reservation today. From: Rich Pittsley Museum Tour Content

How did certain religious groups help the Crow Indian to adjust to change?

One of the first Christian religions to come to the reservation was the Catholic religion. They helped build schools and introduced Absaaloga children to white man's education. From: Vincent Goes Ahead, Jr., Museum Tour Content

The first schools on the Crow Reservation appear to have been started by Jesuits. A mission was built at St. Xavier thirty miles south of Hardin in 1887. It seems that the children often ran away from the boarding school to return to their families. Accounts from both missions in Pryor and St. Xavier tell of some families who were not convinced that school was what their children needed. Plenty Coups, however, wanted all his people to be educated. He asked several times for a school to be built in Pryor.

The school in Pryor was built in 1891 and was also run by Jesuits. The first teachers were Crow men. The Jesuits had to defend the Crow teachers to the Superintendent. They were not formally trained, but were more effective teachers because of their command of the Crow language. Both of the schools were closed and reopened several times in early days. The only written records today appear to be diaries kept by the Jesuits. The stories that come from the students themselves have been passed down to their children and grandchildren. These stories stay with the Crow people.

Schools are still in operation at both locations. They are run by the Catholic Church and are attended by most of the children in the area. From: St. Xavier Mission A Century of Catholicism among the Crow People 1888-1988.

What is the sun dance?

The Crow Indian people kept many of their traditions alive. The sun dance was one of the special ceremonies where many people would gather to pray or ask for guidance. Although the ceremony was not allowed for a period of time, the Crow Indian people often have sun dances today. The sun dance was a significant part of the Crow Indian people's spirituality. It was a spiritual retreat in which a large number of participants would fast, pray and dance for a period of days. They asked for answers to events going on in their lives. They might offer a prayer for someone who was ill in their family or for the needs of other people who asked them to represent them in the sun dance experience. For many years, the United State government and different religious groups did not allow the Indian people to hold the sun dance. In the 1940s, the Crow Indian people reintroduced it, and today, they frequently hold sun dances on the reservation. In the Pryor area, there is at least one each year. The Crow Indian's sun dance grounds are about one mile south of Plenty Coups State Park. The water from the sacred Plenty Coups spring is one of the most spiritual places. They come to the spring to get the water to break the fast of the dancers at the sun dance. From: Rich Pittsley Museum Tour Content

In the original sun dance, the Crow Indians pierced themselves, and through the suffering of one's physical pain, they were to experience a vision quest. The sun dance let them see the spirits that evolved from their medicine bundles and helped them to use the power, or medicine, of the bundle. From: Vincent Goes Ahead, Jr., Museum Tour Content

How are sweat lodges used?

Sweat lodges are used to clean the body, mind and spirit. The warriors would spend time in the sweat lodge, where they would pray and ask for good fortune. This was in preparation for the vision quest cermonies and battles. From: Vincent Goes Ahead, Jr., Museum Tour Content

What are Medicine Bundles?

The Crow Indians made bundles out of animal skins or cloth. They placed objects that were special to them, such as eagle feathers or talons, in the bundles. A feather might represent an eagle that came to them in a vision. The Crow Indians thought that these packages, called medicine bundles, had great power. The medicine bundles were another part of the Crow Indian people's spirituality. The Crow Indians believed the objects that they placed in the bundles brought them good luck or were a part of their animal medicine helper. In the past, they put the objects in an animal skin, such as a weasel or a black footed ferret. More recently, they put them in rawhide bags. At other times, they placed them in leather possibly lined with cloth as trade materials became available. From: Rich Pittsley Museum Tour Content

There's good and evil in everything. In that point of view, Crows do not want to disturb something that's not theirs. Each medicine bundle is shaped how the owner wanted it. There are people who fear disturbing the bundles because they do not know what harm the bundles can do to them as well as what good they can do with the bundles. They do not want to handle them or bother them without going through the proper procedures of traditional incense burning to identify who owned each bundle. Plenty Coups received quite a few medicine bundles from Crows who wanted him to keep them. As long as they are within all his collections and are maintained in this place, they are okay. There's a lot of historical value as well as spiritual value to this process. From: Vincent Goes Ahead, Jr., Museum Tour Content

What are the sacred medicine springs?

A vision led Plenty Coups to a place where he would settle. In the vision, he saw that there would be three sacred springs at this place. The dream told him to build his home at the head of one of the springs. The Crow Indian people believed that the water of these springs had special power or medicine. There are three sacred springs in the area where Plenty Coups settled. Plenty Coups' spring near the museum and his home is one of them. There are two more springs against the base of the Pryor Mountains. The Crow Indian people believed that the water was sacred because Plenty Coups had envisioned this place. They used the water to purify themselves during ceremonies, to perform sweats and to break the fast of the participants in the sun dance.

The Crow Indian people have always known these mountains as the Arrowhead Mountains long before it became known as the Pryor area. The area we call Pryor Creek today they knew as Arrow Creek or also Horse Creek. There are many sacred sites to them in this area, such as the Medicine Rock or Arrow Rock and the Castle Rocks where many visions took place. This place is also special because of the Little People's Cave and the Baby Place as well as the different battle sites. Therefore, it was logical that a Native American community would be established here.

The Pryor area was a gathering place for Indian people for thousands of years. There is archeological evidence of people living in this area as far back as 11,000 to 12,000 years ago. The Pryor Valley was a huge gathering place for especially Crow Indian people from prehistoric to more recent times. They would gather in this exact vicinity by the hundreds and by the thousands at certain times of the year. Photographs of hundreds of people gathered at Plenty Coups' home or in the Park for different ceremonies verify that this was also a gathering place during Plenty Coups' time. From: Rich Pittsley Museum Tour Content

How did Plenty Coups set an example for the Crow Indian people?

The chickadee quietly listens to what is going on around him. He learns from others what is best to do and what would be a mistake. Plenty Coups was like the chickadee. He listened, he learned, and he passed these lessons along to the Crow Indian people. The chickadee to Plenty Coups and to the Crow Indian people was a symbol of using your mind rather than your physical strength. They observed how the chickadee listened to what was going on around him and how he learned from the successes or failures of others; so he would not make the same mistakes. Plenty Coups followed the chickadee by being quiet and respectful and by not interfering with others. Instead on many occasions, he practiced listening to what was going on around him.

Some people say that Plenty Coups could not speak or write English, but there is much evidence that he understood a lot more English than he let on. He could certainly sign his name and understand or write some English words. Maybe Plenty Coups was living as the chickadee did, just being quiet and learning about what was happening and what he had to do to be successful. This was a direct tie to education and how the Crow Indian people needed to use their minds rather than their physical abilities to succeed. From: Rich Pittsley Museum Tour Content

Why did Plenty Coups give up his teepee to live in a log home?

Plenty Coups lived in a teepee for much of his life. He liked his teepee best and continued to live in it even after the United States government had built him a log house. It was not until he became very old that he lived in the log house. Plenty Coups grew up in the traditional Crow Indian way as a nomadic buffalo hunter. He lived in a teepee, just as the Absaaloga people had for thousands of years. After the United States government moved the Native American people to reservations, they decided that the chiefs needed to have a permanent log dwelling. They built these dwellings so that the chiefs would set an example for the rest of the people by living in a modern home.

The government built Plenty Coups a home, but he still lived in his teepee for many years. Some say it was not until his later life, as his health became poor, that he finally adjusted to living in the house full time. He might do most of the cooking in the house but actually stay overnight in the teepee. He kept some of the rooms in the house well furnished because he had important people visiting him in those days. Visitors did not just travel to Pryor and go home that night. The roads were so bad that visitors might stay overnight, or they might stay for two or three days. He kept a room upstairs for the Catholic priests who traveled through the area. Some think that government officials and probably some very important people stayed overnight in his home also. Although no documentation is available at this time to verify these visits, the Crow Indian people believe that someday they will be. From: Rich Pittsley Museum Tour Content

Why did Chief Plenty Coups leave his house for all of us to share?

Before Chief Plenty Coups died, he gave up his home; so it would become a nation's park. He also left many of his belongings; so people would be able to learn about the Absaaloga people. Today, everyone can visit his home, a museum and the sacred spring where he settled so long ago. The two-story log structure located at Plenty Coups' State Park today was built in a series of separate building projects. The original two-story portion, found in the middle of the structure, was built in 1884. The United States government built this log dwelling specifically for Plenty Coups. The government was building homes for the leading chiefs of the Crow Indian tribe, including Medicine Crow, Pretty Eagle and others. The portion of the house to the south was added on to the original structure in about 1890, and the structure to the north was added on in 1903. The date of the north addition in 1903 is considered accurate because it contains materials from Fort Custer which was dismantled in that year. Some of the door frames and the stairway are more decorative than some of the other portions of the house and are directly tied to Fort Custer prior to 1903. The bricks in the fireplace are also from Fort Custer.

Plenty Coups agreed in 1928 after negotiating with advisors to leave his home as a nation's park. He got the idea when he visited Mount Vernon, George Washington's home. He said that the day he visited Mount Vernon he was very affected by the respect shown by people there. The deep thinking that people did while they were at George Washington's home was also acknowledged. He said a prayer that he tried to fulfill in his later life. He prayed to also leave a small place for all people to visit to think deeply about the course of their nation. He hoped that when they came to his home they would think about the difficulties that all cultures struggle with and about how to deal with those things. From the idea of leaving his home as a nation's park, he also conceived of the importance of leaving his possessions to be used in a museum someday. He left his belongings so that others would learn from the story of the Absaaloga people.

In 1928 with General Harbord accepting on behalf of the United States government, he gave his home as a nation's park. In 1932, Chief Plenty Coups died, and in the Indian way, they say that he went to, as the Crow Indians call it, the other side of the camp to live as Indian warriors were always meant to live. His home was developed later on to be a park that represents cultural understanding and the bridge between different cultures. From: Rich Pittsley Museum Tour Content

Welcome to the 10th Station : Preserving the Past

What was in the chief's special room?

It was a Crow Indian tradition that men have a special place of honor in the teepee. This place was at the back of the teepee. Plenty Coups' had a room of honor in his house where he kept the things that were important to him. His room contained photographs, medicine bundles and many other objects. The upstairs room in the Chief Plenty Coups' house became his place of honor. In this room, he placed the possessions that were important to him. They were belongings that he held as an honor or as part of his spirituality, or they were items that meant something special to him. Using a photograph, the museum has tried to recreate the colored wallpaper in the room and has tried to put certain items in the same place that they were when Plenty Coups was alive.

Some of the items from Plenty Coups' room of honor include photographs from famous people, such as those from General Harbord and from President Theodore Roosevelt to Plenty Coups. He also accumulated medicine bundles that were very important to him as well as ribbons and awards and other objects. Many people ask about some of these items, such as the midget photo and the albino person photo. The only thing the museum can gather is that these unusual people were probably members of some of the touring circuses and side shows that Plenty Coups encountered as he traveled around the United States.

The Indian people believed very strongly in little people who were part of the spiritual world between their God, Ak-badt-adia, and themselves. Plenty Coups may have thought how blessed these people are that the little people live right among them. The significance of the albino person may point to a Native American people's belief that unusual people had very special gifts and special knowledge of the spiritual world. Everybody was taken care of in the Indian traditional ways. People with various handicaps or impairments were considered people with special gifts. As Plenty Coups saw some of these people, he probably felt that way also.

There are photographs in his room of honor from government officials and Buffalo Bill Cody as well as some of himself at various treaty delegations and trips to Washington D.C. If the museum had photographs showing all four walls of that upper room, we would see the other walls very similarly decorated. He certainly had many things that he considered either sacred or very important. From: Rich Pittsley Museum Tour Content

How are people today carrying out Plenty Coups' vision?

Many groups have joined together to take care of Chief Plenty Coups' house. They have built a museum for his belongings. They try to learn from the things that they find there and to teach this to others. Plenty Coups encouraged people to come here from all over the world to learn about his people. In one of his quotations, he said he wanted to leave his home "...as a gathering place for all cultures, to learn how to live and work together harmoniously." He certainly did all he could during his years as a leader to live up to that goal.

After his death a lot of people believed that this facility needed to fulfill the commitments that were made to Plenty Coups. There were groups, such as the Kiwanis Club of Billings, that operated Plenty Coups' house as a public facility during the 1940s and 50s. It became a Montana State Park in 1965 and has been administered as a historical cultural facility in the State of Montana since that time.

In recent years, a group called The Friends of Chief Plenty Coups Association has formed for people who believe in the legacy of Chief Plenty Coups. They also believe that this facility has incredible value that can be carried forward. There are a number of activities at the facility each year with people who feel strongly that this place is meant to be a bridge between cultures and to promote peace and understanding between all people, as Plenty Coups wisely said while he was alive.

The fact that many good things are happening to the museum, to the house, to the park as a whole and to the Friends of Plenty Coups Association, is evidence that the facility is emphasizing values needed in the world today. This facility functioning as a peaceful effort between the Indian and non-Indian cultures is becoming reality.

The current museum facility built in 1972, replaced a museum that was operated out of the south room of the Chief's house for approximately 15-20 years by the Billings Kiwanis Club. Many of the artifacts that Plenty Coups left are either on display or in the museum's storage vault. Displays use some actual artifacts and some copies. Copies are used when the original artifacts are too delicate or sensitve to display. From: Rich Pittsley Museum Tour Content

What are the Day of Honor and Crow Fair?

Every year, the Crow Indian people hold celebrations to remember Plenty Coups and to keep the Crow Indian traditions alive. People get together to camp out, visit friends and relatives, hear music, watch dancers or go to a rodeo. The Friends of Chief Plenty Coups Association holds a Day of Honor in memory of Chief Plenty Coups. The event, staged around the Labor Day weekend, is open to everybody in the area and may offer a presentation by local high school students, a prayer or a dance. In the past, guest speakers who have associated with Plenty Coups, such as writers and elders, tell stories or describe a segment of their lives in which they encountered the Chief. It turns out pretty well because we also have a buffalo feast. Volunteers from the community help to feed everyone at the event for free that day. We are starting to grow as a community into different agendas which may include more dancers, drum groups, more speakers and state representatives in the future.

Crow Fair is an annual event held every third weekend in August. Everyone on the reservation goes to Crow Agency and camps under teepees or under traditional brush arbors for the four-to-seven day event. They can participate in rodeos, dances and powwows or just visit relatives they haven't seen for quite awhile, like they did long ago. People also come from all over the country to Crow Fair, which has been called the "Teepee Capitol of the World." From: Vincent Goes Ahead, Jr., Museum Tour Content

How is Plenty Coups' home being cared for today?

Plenty Coups' house is in excellent condition today. Not long ago, the outside of the building was repaired, and now the inside is being fixed up. These projects will keep the house in tip top shape; so many more people can see it in the future. In 1993, the park completed a stabilization project on the exterior of the building. Approximately $122,000 was spent to support the foundation, repair logs that had rotted, repaint, re-roof and re-chink the entire exterior of the building.

In 1997, the Friends of Chief Plenty Coups Association began a stabilization project on the interior of the house which includes taking out linoleum, wall board and other items that were added after Plenty Coups died in 1932. The museum is also removing the electrical improvements and lighting added by ranch families during the 1940s, '50s and '60s. Eventually, the house will be basically the way it was during Plenty Coups' time in the early 1900s. The next phase is a project to restore certain rooms to the way they were during Plenty Coups' time. The highest priority is, of course, Plenty Coup's upstairs room of honor which needs a lot of restoration work to save the wall coverings and to make it look like the photographs that the museum has of that time period. From: Rich Pittsley Museum Tour Content