How did the crow Indian tribe communitcate?

Answer 1

Like all Plains tribes the Crow had a wide range of available means for communicating with each other and with others. The Crow language (Apsaalooka alilii) is classed as Siouan but it is only really close to one other - Hidatsa. This is because the Crows separated from the Hidatsa tribe many hundreds of years ago and the two languages are very similar.

The Crows used the Plains sign language (bapa'tua in Crow), allowing them to communicate freely with their friends the Nez Perce and with other tribes, as well as with white traders, soldiers and others.

War party scouts needed to be able to signal to their friends without making a sound and there were many different ways of doing so. Scouts used blankets, signal fires, movements of their horses and mirrors to indicate enemies close by, an enemy camp in sight, buffalo sighted and so on. Dropping a blanket to the ground indicated a warrior killed. A scout returning to the camp would kick a buffalo "chip" along the ground to indicate he had seen enemies and they had not seen him.

When returning to camp after a successful war party the warriors would paint their faces black to indicate enemies killed - the "fires of revenge had burned out". THeir wives and families would see this from far away and would begin to celebrate even before the warriors reached camp.

Both the Crow language and Plains sign language are still taught today in Crow schools. See link below for a newspaper article on this subject: