How did the Native American Crow raise their children?

Answer 1

We are fortunate to have the first-hand accounts of the lives of chief Plenty Coups and the warrior Two Leggings. Both include their memories of childhood days in pre-reservation times.

Plenty Coups was born in 1848 and was given the child name Chíilaphuchissaaleesh "Buffalo Bull Facing the Wind". He enjoyed swimming and running races with the other boys - skills that would help him develop strong muscles and quick reactions. Boys were allowed to do much as they pleased, under the care of an "uncle" - who did not have to be a blood relative, simply an adult male who would train the boys for life as a warrior without them realising it, by getting them to play certain types of games. The uncle might call all the boys out early one morning for a swim in an ice-covered river; he might get them to play an Archery game; he might tell them to go and catch a butterfly and wipe its wings over their chests; he might make them strip to their breechclouts and moccasins and cover themselves with white clay and wolf pelts, then steal "horses" (meat strips drying on racks) at evening time from their own camp - if caught they would be beaten by the women. All this helped to harden their bodies and instil the idea of stealth, quick reactions, bravery and quick thinking.

Girls would be instructed by their own mothers or her sisters. They were given dolls and miniature tipis as toys - but at the same time they learned about making and decorating clothes, making the tipi cover and setting up and taking down the tipi. They learned how to do beadwork and prepare hides, how to butcher a full-grown buffalo and skin it, one side at a time. They learned childcare and cooking skills by watching and helping the adults; where to find wild berries and how to collect them. All of this was done in the form of play, so the girls enjoyed learning.

Children were never punished, but mistakes would be explained and used as a learning opportunity. Boys in particular wanted to copy the brave deeds of the warriors and wished to avoid being shamed by failure, so they strove hard to be brave and valiant. They would spend many evenings listening to warriors recounting tales of brave deeds in battles and horse raids against the Blackfoot or Lakota and these men became their heroes.