The Crow Indians (Second Edition)

Robert Lowie first published this book in 1935, from his research living with the Crow Indians. This is a detailed account of a fading lifestyle, soon to be gone. It is worth reading to get an idea of how Amerindians thought and lived. Something I like about the book is that you can tell Lowie respected the Crow. In too many recent anthropology texts you feel that the researcher could be studying just any old group, has little real concern for them as people, and is in it mainly for tenure. I got the feeling that Lowie enjoyed being with the Crow. Also I like the way he relates their beliefs and concepts at face value, rather than qualifying by saying, "The X tribe believes that this and that," or "According to Y tribe superstition, this and that." He simply tells it as the Crow would. I learned a lot from this book. Frankly, I know little about the Crow beyond the scope of this book, so I carefully read Phenocia Bauerle's excellent Introduction before and after I read the book. She is a Crow, an insider, so she pointed out some of Lowie's mistakes. Some were obvious even to me, such as the way he was using his own religious frame to understand the Crow: an understandable error. I think that even if Lowie did make some mistakes, the book still stands as a valuable record. Maybe the Crow could issue an annotated version, with their comments and corrections!

First published in 1935, and written by one of the most respected American anthropologists of the twentieth century, The Crow Indians is a classic, brief, and highly accessible introduction to Crow Indian culture, challenges, everyday life, traditions, and much more during the early nineteenth-century. Memorable anecdotes of individual Crow such as Grayboll the great visionary and Yellow-brow the gifted storyteller embellish the more general information drawn from the author's thorough fieldwork and interviews from 1907 to 1931. This superbly presented edition of a classic resource is very highly recommended for inclusion on Native American Studies reading lists and acadmeic library reference shelves, now offers a thoughtful introduction by Phenocia Bauerle, a member of the Crow Nation and the editor of The Way Of The Warrior.

Back in the early 1900's, Robert Lowie lived with the Crow, listening to the elders, men & women, speak of the old times. Even though forced to stay on a tiny portion of the original Crow territory and no longer having any buffalo to hunt, the people still practiced their language, religion, beliefs & customs as always. This is an excellent, book sized "glimpse" at the Crow or Absalooka worldview; clan relationships, marriage customs, religious ceremonies, warrior societies, coyote stories and more.