How long has the crow Indians been around?

Answer 1

The Crows became a tribe when they separated from the Hidatsa (also called Minnetarees or Gros Ventres) - legend says that the reason was an argument over a buffalo stomach which resulted in about half the tribe leaving for a life on the plains. The problem is that this same story is also told by several other native groups who split into different tribes such as the Arikaras and Pawnees.

When this event took place (if it ever really did) is also subject to much disagreement. Edwin Thompson Denig thought that it happened around 1780, but it may have been 100 years earlier, or even more. Simply parting from the Hidatsas does not explain why the Crows abandoned semi-permanent villages, farming, making pottery and various other elements of Hidatsa culture, so it makes sense that these changes happened over a very long period.

So the Crows probably became a separate people between about 1600 and 1680; since no explorers visited them until much later and no written records were kept, the exact date is unknown.

Answer 2

American Indian tribes just didn't "start" unless they split from other tribes as the Pequots and Mohegans split. Our people have been here for thousands upon thousands of years.