Who was the crow tribe leader?

Answer 1

The Crows have been a people separate from their relatives the Hidatsas for perhaps 500 years; it follows that there must have been more than one chief during that time. Moreover the Crows were historically divided into two independent groups: Mountain Crows and River Crows, each with their own chiefs.

In 1834 the chief of the River Crows was Rotten Belly and Big Robber was head chief of the Mountain Crows. By 1851 Rottentail had become head chief of the River Crows. Since chief Rottentail did not attend the Fort Laramie treaty in that year, Big Robber was selected by the US government to be head chief of all the Crows - but he died in 1858. Note that this idea of a "tribal head chief" was not a native one, but an idea imposed by the government.

Other important chiefs during this period were Two Face, Bear's Head and Long Hair.

By the 1860s and 1870s there were many notable and important chiefs including Bull Chief, Iron Bull, Sits in the Middle of the Land, Long Horse, White Calf, Bell Rock, Medicine Raven, Old Crow, Long Elk, Plenty Coups and Pretty Eagle. During the reservation era the government chose Plenty Coups to act as "head chief" of all the Crows, a popular appointment among the tribespeople.

More recently Robert Yellowtail was the tribe's elder statesman for more than 50 years. he sadly passed away in 1988. His son Bill Yellowtail was elected to the Montana state senate.