History
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The Missouri River valley in North
and South Dakota was home to Native
American village-dwelling peoples for nearly
the last millenium. These peoples included
the Siouan-speaking Hidatsa and Mandan and
the Caddoan-speaking Arikara. They lived
in semi-permanent villages of earthlodge
structures, with an economic system based
on a combination of horticulture and hunting,
supplemented by gathering wild plant foods.
For
the Hidatsa, the historic period was a time
of complex culture change and social interaction
with Europeans and Euro-Americans. The history
of the Crow-Flies-High band of Hidatsa is
a reflection of the drastic changes that
affected Hidatsa culture and social organization
between 1837 and 1900, the time when disease,
warfare, and relocation were having significant
impacts on the Hidatsa people. |
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Crow-Flies-High on horseback (Courtesy of
State Historical Society of North Dakota)
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From the first contact with Europeans during
the 18th century the people that became
known as the Hidatsa lived as three separate
and distinguishable groups, the Awatixa,
Awaxawi, and the Hidatsa proper. In 1837
a massive smallpox epidemic took the lives
of nearly two-thirds of all the villagers
living near the mouth of the Knife River
at what is today
Knife River Indian Villages National Historic
Site.
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Map showing Hidatsa and Crow-Flies-High
Band village locations.
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By 1845, the extreme
mortality rates suffered from
the small pox epidemic and continual
warfare with Sioux and Blackfeet tribes
necessitated the merger of the three
Hidatsa groups, and along with the Mandan
and Arikara tribes, they set up a new
settlement named Like-A-Fishhook Village
on the left bank of the Missouri River.
Soon after the assortment of tribes
settled at Like-A-Fishhook Village,
Euro-American fur traders from competing
companies established two trading posts
(Forts Berthold and Atkinson) at opposite
ends of the village. |
| This created a truly multi-cultural
environment with intensive interactions
between many Native American groups
and Euro-American fur traders, which
would have profound effects on Hidatsa
culture. |
| By 1862,
Like-A-Fishhook Village
had taken its final form with
individual sections for the Hidatsa,
Mandan, and Arikara groups living
at the village. During the 1860’s
and into the 1870’s, the
three tribes were becoming increasingly
dependent on government allotments
because of the reduced numbers
of bison herds and other animals
important for trade. This led
to a decline in the standard of
living through diminished trading
opportunities with Euro-Americans
and other native tribes. With
the increasingly squalid conditions
becoming prevalent at Like-A-Fishhook
Village, unrest began to manifest
itself in the form of infighting
between tribal members. Numerous
individuals began to assert themselves
through military accomplishments
and were at odds with traditional
tribal leaders who held status
based on inheritance and ownership
of sacred medicine bundles. |
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Hidatsa section of Like-a-Fishhook
village; (photograph by Stanley
J. Morrow 1872). Courtesy of
the State Historical Society
of North Dakota
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Political disputes
and disagreements surrounding
the traditional modes of status
acquisition caused the factionization
of the Crow-Flies-High band
of the larger Hidatsa Tribe.
Crow-Flies-High was
a radical chief who
refused to accept the traditional
authority of the medicine bundle
holders and led his band of
followers into self imposed
exile in the early 1870’s.
Historic accounts documented
from band members also suggest
that Crow-Flies-High was in
danger of being murdered by
two sub-chiefs, Poor Wolf and
Crow Paunch, and took refuge
by leaving the reservation and
moving his band to the confluence
of the Missouri and Yellowstone
rivers near the site of the
then abandoned Fort Union. With
the earlier establishment of
Fort Buford in 1866 at the river
confluence area, the Crow-Flies-High
band was able to build an initial
settlement nearby sometime between
1869 and 1872 to continue traditional
ways of hunting, trading, and
growing limited amounts of crops.
The soldiers stationed at Fort
Buford were able to provide
some measure of protection from
the Sioux tribes that frequently
raided the Hidatsa and Mandan
villagers at Like-A-Fishhook.
Archeological and ethnographic
studies have located at least
two of the Crow-Flies-High villages
on the Missouri River. The first
village, known to archeologists
as the Garden Coulee site (32WI18),
was located a short distance
east of the then abandoned Fort
Union. Ethnographic accounts
describe a substantial village
with seven log cabins and twenty-three
earthlodges. Archeological evidence
in the form of numerous “bell
shaped” storage pits similar
to those commonly used by Plains
Village tribes such as the Hidatsa
and Mandan were also recorded
by archeologists working at
the Garden Coulee site.
In the summer of 1884, the
Crow-Flies-High band moved down
the Missouri River from the
Garden Coulee site to what is
known as the Crow-Flies-High
Village (32MZ1) near the mouth
of the Little Knife River. The
site, located on a high bluff
overlooking the Missouri River
to the north, was archeologically
excavated in 1952 as part of
the Smithsonian
Institution’s River Basin
Surveys program. Numerous
log cabin remnants and storage
pits were uncovered at the site
during the archeological excavations.
Although heavily disturbed by
plowing, site 32MZ1 provided
insight into the nature of archeological
remains associated with the
Crow-Flies-High band.
By 1893, game had become scarce
and the Crow-Flies-High band
had little choice but to accept
government food rations. However,
the U.S. Indian Agent Captain
William Clapp would not provide
the band with any rations unless
it moved back to the Fort Berthold
Reservation and accepted land
allotments. The strong stand
made by Clapp forced the Crow-Flies-High
band to return to the reservation
in 1894 under U.S. Army escort.
When they arrived, 126 Hidatsas,
23 Mandans, and 1 Arikara accompanied
Crow-Flies-High. Once settled
on the reservation, the Crow-Flies-High
band continued to function as
powerful faction of the Hidatsa
tribe into the 20th century.
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