What are Medicine Bundles?

The Crow Indians made bundles out of animal skin 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 the 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: Chief Plenty Coups State Park 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 Interpreter, Vice Chairman of the Crow Tribe