Crow religion

In the Crow language the Creator has many names, such as Akbaatatdia (One Who Has Made Everything/Maker of All Things Above), Iichíkbaalee (First Doer/Maker), and Isáahkawuattee (Old Man Coyote). All names refer to a singular, omnipotent god who the Crow believe to have created the universe.[1] This universe is believed to be made up of three worlds, the first is the physical world, thought to be the smallest of all the worlds, the second is the spirit world, and the third is where God alone lives.[2]

... Crow creation stories ... One of many Crow creation stories for the physical world recalls that Old Man Coyote (OMC) was alone in a large ocean when he saw two male ducks floating upon its surface. In conversation with the ducks the subject turns to what lies beneath the sea. Old Man Coyote encourages one of the ducks to dive, which he does, and after a nervous wait the duck finally surfaces with a root in its beak. Another dangerous dive brings up mud. With this soil Old Man Coyote builds first an island, and then all the lands of the Earth. However the Earth is empty, so Old Man Coyote uses the root to populate the planet with plants and trees. Despite this success the Earth was still not right, it was too flat, so OMC shaped the land to create the rivers, mountains and all geographical features. Again something was missing, Old Man Coyote and the ducks wanted friends, so he moulded Man out of the clay. But Old Man Coyote wanted Man to be happy so he created Women too so that they may be contented together and multiply. He then made female ducks so that ducks may be happy too. The story then develops where Old Man Coyote encounters another Coyote, and they decide to travel together, getting themselves into various situations that eventually creates all animals of the Earth.[3]

In the beginning it is believed that Crows were close to God, praying constantly to show their devotion, however as time progressed Crows forgot to pray and brought misfortune upon themselves. Crows believe that they must rekindle that bond through prayer if they are to be prosperous, many seeking a personal relationship with God to be individually successful.[4]

Crows will often use 'Grandmother Earth' as a way of expressing the physical things that God created, as God, although part of the physical world, transcends the first world. Because of this God is often referred to hierarchically as being 'Above,' as in superior, rather than physically in the heavens.[5] As God created everything Crows believe that the power of the Creator is in all things, and therefore, all things in nature are sacred.[6] As God created everything and is therefore omnipresent, Crows are in contact with God during every aspect of their daily lives. It is because of this omnipresence and omnipotence that Crows are religiously tolerant. One example of this tolerance is the overview of the world's religions provided by Thomas Yellowtail, a Crow medicine man and Sun Dance chief. Yellowtail used the metaphor of a wagon wheel to describe religious belief, noting that, each spoke represented a unique people and religion. If one spoke was removed, the wheel would not work, meaning all spokes must be present to form the circle of life. All spokes however are connected to the central beam, the Creator. Therefore, all religions and peoples are connected to God, and all equally valid as ways of establishing a spiritual relationship. As a result, Crows can participate in multiple religions, it is up to individuals to decide which methods they believe to be most effective.[7] What is now considered traditional Crow religious practices were most likely developed sometime between 1725–1770, at a time of great cultural change after the Crow acquired their first horses from the Comanche tribe during the 1730s.[8]

The sacred power of God is called Baaxpée, meaning "power transcending the ordinary." The physical manifestation of Baaxpée is called Xapáaliia, often referred to as 'medicine,' which represents and acts as a conduit of Baaxpée given to a Crow by God.[9]

For a Crow to acquire Baaxpée they must be given it by a spirit, a Iilápxe, a super-natural patron from the spirit world. As the spirit world is between the physical and the third world where God dwells, spirits are believed to be intermediaries between man and God and are therefore able to bestow Baaxpée. Crows believe that the world is full of spirits which often take the form of animals, with buffalos, birds and bears being especially revered. The stars, as created by God, are also considered highly sacred and their spirits can interact with humans in the same way as an animal patron. The manifestation of the spirit often defines the type of Baaxpée they gift, with an Elk spirit, as a strong and independent animal being associated with bestowing increased strength. A squirrel spirit, as it stores nuts for the winter to feed its family, is believed to do the same for humans, helping the tribe find food.[10] The individual features of each spirit will also influence the type of Baaxpée given, for example a grey haired patron will indicate a gift of longevity.[11] However, there is no set animal patron and Baaxpée for a Crow, each spirit is individual the person that received its vision.[12]

According to the Crows, in the pre-reservation world, there were two primary ways that a Crow may go about acquiring Baaxpée, the first is by going on a vision quest. There are many reasons why a Crow would want to attain Baaxpée through a vision quest, some may be sick and wish to be cured, others may want to gain strength with which to defeat their enemies in battle, and many want to be blessed by God to guide them throughout their life.[13] Generally the Baaxpée a Crow wishes to attain through a vision quest is personal and specific to the individual.

Before embarking upon the quest a Crow might visit a medicine man to help determine what type of Baaxpée would most aid them, and to go over the rites and prayers to ensure their endeavour follows the rituals.[14] For the quest itself, a Crow will go alone to an isolated and prominent place, often the peak of a hill (Crows especially favour the Wolf Mountains), to gain complete solitude for their ritual prayer.

In Crow the ritual is called bilisshíissanne, which translates as 'to fast from water,' as the participant vows not eat or drink for two to three days to show their devotion to God through their sacrifice. Self-mortification is also sometimes practiced, the most common being the removal of a finger, as an offering to God and as sign of their dedication. The purpose of these tortures is to show their willingness to give themselves completely to God and gain the pity of a spirit, a representative of God.[15] When a spirit pities the participant they will induce a vision in which the patron adopts the Crow, bestowing Baaxpée. The relationship between the spirit and a Crow is conceived as being paternal, where the spirit as a father guides the Crow child through life, hence spirits will often be referred to as 'Medicine Fathers.' However the Baaxpée the quester gains is loaned by the spirit, not given entirely, requiring the Crow to pray to their patron to confirm the bonds between them and keep the Baaxpée strong.[16]

Once the quest is complete and Baaxpée gained, the Crow quester would return home, often visiting a medicine man to talk through their vision to fully understand its meaning. To commemorate their experience the quester will create a Xapáaliia to represent their patron, the power they have gained, and to help a Crow in channelling and maintaining their Baaxpée.[17] For the individual the Xapáaliia can be anything they deem sufficient to represent the bond between them and their patron, for example if an eagle was their spirit a Crow may decide to take an eagle's feather as their Xapáaliia. For each Crow their Baaxpée and their vision is unique and cannot be transferred. However the Xapáaliia is a physical, powerful, and sacred object which can be passed between Crows, often bestowed upon death to family members, or given to Crows who cannot receive a vision of their own. If a Crow's Xapáaliia is known to be especially powerful, proven by its ability to influence life, they may find themselves inundated with requests to use it, the decision however it is ultimately up the owner as to who they give it to.[18] The powers that Xapáaliia bestows to its owner usually reflect the pragmatic concerns of a Crow's daily life, whether this be to gain food, good health, wealth or to bring victory over one's enemies. To keep their Xapáaliia pure and their patron happy, it is vital that it does not come into contact with menstruates, if it does, this would offend their Medicine Father and bring disease upon the owner.[19]

The second way in which nineteenth century Crows may attempted to gain Baaxpée was through a Sun Dance (aškišširissu-a). Unlike the vision quest the Sun Dance is performed by individuals in a public ceremony for the benefit of the whole tribe, performed to ensure the Crow's links to God remain strong, therefore bringing prosperity and happiness.[20] Leslie Spear believed that the Sun Dance ceremony most likely came from the Cheyenne, Blackfeet and Atsina tribes as these groups had the most complex Sun Dance ceremonies.[21] The Sun Dance was banned on the Crow reservation in 1887 as part of the 'civilising' effort that the Indian Office embarked upon during this era.[22] The practise was revived in 1941 when William Big Day, after having attended a Shoshone Sun Dance where he felt an intense connection, performed the first Crow Sun Dance in fifty-four years, believing that its resurrection would bring happiness to the tribe.[23] The practice grew so that by the 1990s an average of five Sun Dances were conducted each summer. In the late 1980s a Teton-Sioux version of Sun Dance was introduced to the reservation, resulting in some dances displaying a hybrid of Shoshone and Teton characteristics.[24]

Both in the past and the present, performing these rituals without the correct religious attitude would prevent the participant from having any benefit. The greatest gift to God is to do each ceremony with diakaashe, 'he really did it,' that a Crow believed wholeheartedly in God's power, and therefore conducted themselves with sincerity and determination.[43] "If a person expects to receive something great, then that person will probably never receive anything. The Medicine Fathers do not owe anything to anyone. We must realise this and dedicate our lives to living in accordance with the directions given to us from Above – not just once a year, but every day and year after year."[44]

Tobacco is also an important component of Crow religion, the plant being honoured in a Crow sect called the Tobacco Society, the Bacu'sua. Crows believe that tobacco was first discovered by Chief No Vitals at Devils Lake in eastern North Dakota, having been instructed to seek the plant by God, the worship of which would help Crows honour God.[45] Because of this tobacco is perceived as being fundamental to the welfare of the tribe and has been describe by Crows themselves as their 'means of living.' As the plant is especially revered, the Tobacco Society ensures that all the rites and rituals are performed correctly, cultivating it so that the tribe may be successful.[46] When the sacred plant is smoked it is believed that the smoke aids in carrying prayers to God.

For those Crow who consider smoking especially holy there is the Sacred Pipe Society. In this society smoking is performed daily allowing is members to become closer to God. Once the pipe is lit the stem is pointed above as an offering to God, then down to Mother Earth, and finally in all four of the directions of the wind. When the prayers are over the pipe is returned to its special place in the tipi. Thomas Yellow was a proponent of this method of honouring God as he believed it was a way praying as part of a Crow's daily life, which he consider especially important if God is to be properly respected.[47] Yellowtail used Black Elk's description of the sacred pipe to demonstrate what he believed to be the importance of scared pipe to Crows. "With this sacred pipe you will walk upon the Earth; for the Earth is your Grandmother and Mother, and she is sacred. Every step that has been taken upon Her should be as a prayer. The bowl of this pipe is of red stone; it is the Earth… The stem of this pipe is of wood, and this represents all that grows upon Earth… all things of the universe are joined to you who smokes the pipe – all send their voices to Wakan-Tanka, the Great Spirit. When you pray with this pipe, you pray for and with everything."[48]

Today Crow religion includes more than traditional Crow beliefs. Over the past 100 years, several Christian sects have established themselves amongst the Crow people. The origins of Christianity among the Crows can be traced to the reservation era, when the Crow were confined to a relatively small tract and carefully supervised by white missionaries and government agents. The first and initially most successful Christian denomination were Catholic Jesuits, who established the St. Xavier mission in the Bighorn Valley in 1887 under the leadership of Pierpaolo Prando, after the Catholics had itinerantly preached to the Crow for seven years.[49] Prando was respected by Crows for his determination to learn their language, which allowed him to have conversations with them and enabled him to translate sermons into Crow so that they could understand the Christian God.[50] In October 1888 the Jesuits consolidated their mission with the building of a school, which further brought Crows round to their denomination. Key to the Catholics success was their ability to deal with Crows on their own terms, that the missionaries respected traditional Crow beliefs, even allowing Crow converts to make Christian Xapáaliia.[51]

The Protestants were in the beginning less successful in converting Crows to Christianity. Although supported by the Indian Office in the belief that Protestantism would 'elevate' Crows, the first Unitarian mission established at the Little Bighorn in 1886 by Henry F. Bond failed to win support from the Crow community. Bond practiced a strict form of Protestantism, and therefore refused to acknowledge traditional Crow beliefs and culture, thereby alienating the tribe. The America Missionary Association's mission established in 1895 under James Gregor Burgess also suffered a similar fate.[52] Success came in 1903 however when a Baptist mission was built at Lodge Grass, and a school constructed in 1904 under the leadership of Rev. William A. Petzoldt. This school proved especially popular as it was located in the heart of the Crow community, enabling students to study but stay at home, something which the far away boarding schools of the other Christian missions did not allow. This mission at Lodge Grass proved so successful that the Jesuits, weaken by the withdraw of Indian Office funding to their mission in 1895, established a school there too.[53]

Although these Christian groups met success in converting Crows they found it far harder to get their converts to worship the Christian God exclusively. This resistance was because of the Crow belief system, that Christianity was considered one of many ways to establish a relationship with God, allowing traditional Crow beliefs to coexist with Christian practices. This Crow reluctance was made all the more frustrating for the Christian missionaries with a Crow cultural and religious revival at the turn of the century, pushing what they saw as 'primitive' religion to the fore.[54] The only successful Christians sect to get Crows to worship only God was Evangelicalism, which in the 1980s experienced a religious boom, establishing churches in districts throughout the reservation. Members of these churches rejected any form of traditional Crow religion, however this was the exception to the rule.[55]

Part of a wider spiritual reawakening was the growth of the peyote religion which reached the Crow reservation in 1910.[56] Peyote ceremonies involve the consumption of the dried tips of the peyote Cactus, native to northern Mexico and the far south of the United States. Once eaten the peyote creates feelings of euphoria, visual distortions and a sense of timelessness. The use of peyote in ceremonies originates in pre-Columbian Mexico, with Seventeenth Century accounts by Catholic missionaries recording its use in all night ceremonies by the native peoples of that region.[57] Traditionally peyote is taken for many reasons, some being the desire for longevity and good health, to purify the body and soul, as well as to bring good luck and protection from harm.[58] Although still debated by academics it is believed that peyote ceremonies were brought to the US by the nomadic Apache and Comanche Native Americans who would often travel south of the border to raid and graze their horses. It was the concentration of these native peoples into the reservations of Oklahoma that allowed this indigenous practice to endure and grow. For the first time many tribes were living in proximity, able to communicate with each other as they were forced to learn English to deal with the Indian Office. The US government then further helped peyote rituals by sending Native Americans to boarding schools. The schools were a melting pot of Native tribes, with students sharing their knowledge of the peyote ceremonies. These youths would then go on to be educated and influential members of their tribes, putting them in positions that would allow them to promulgate the use of peyote in their communities.[59] The use of peyote spread so rapidly on the reservations of Oklahoma because it was an element of indigenous culture that had not yet been destroyed by whites, providing Native Americans with an invaluable link with their past.[60]

In 1918 peyote practitioners, facing a government crackdown, organised themselves into the Native American Church, hoping that as a formal organisation the US would be forced to recognize peyote as a legitimate religion.[61] In the Church, members consume peyote and then sing and pray to God throughout the night. The Comanche chief Quanah Parker commented on the difference between the Native American Church and mainstream Christianity, remarking that, "The White man goes into his church house and talks about Jesus, but the Indian goes into his tipi and talks to Jesus."[62]

The Indian Office, believing peyote to be addictive and harmful to 'civilisation', banned the plant's sale in Montana in 1923. When it was found that Crows were driving to Wyoming to get the cactus, a ban on peyote was enacted there in 1929. However, due to the campaigning of Bird Above, who showed that peyote fostered virtue by encouraging monogamy, hard work and temperance, at a time when tests showed the plant not to be addictive, had the ban repealed.[63] The peyote religion proved popular, with despairing missionaries commenting in the 1930s that most of their members would attend Christian sermons and yet practice peyote beliefs.[64] At the turn of the millennium it is believed that around one hundred peyote ceremonies are performed on the Crow reservation each year.[64] Other Native-Christian religions are practiced among the Crow, including a Native form of Pentecostalism which was initially introduced on the reservation by Crow believers in the 1920s, but today has many adherents.[65]

The medicine people of the tribe are known as Akbaalia ("healer").[66]

The Mannegishi, also called little people, are bald humanoids with large bulky, pretty eyes and tiny, tan bodies. They were tricksters and may be similar to fairies.

• Joseph Medicine Crow (1992). From the Heart of the Crow Country The Crow Indians' Own Stories. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8032-8263-6.