Forty minutes south of Billings, MT is Chief Plenty Coups State Park, the onetime home of the eponymous Crow leader who, like Chief Washakie of the Shoshone, proved a great friend to the US government. Here we will learn how he was elevated to chief at the age of only 28, and how he gave up his nomadic ways in 1884 to become one of the first Crow to own and settle on a farm. On his death in 1932, at age 84, his nation voted to designate him their last traditional tribal chief.
Chief Plenty Coups State Park, located in Pryor, Montana, offers visitors a unique opportunity to explore the rich Native American culture and history of the Crow Nation. Situated within the Crow Indian Reservation, the park covers an area of 195 acres and is easily accessible, being just a 40-minute drive south of Billings.
Visitors can spend their time exploring the park’s main attractions, which include the log home, sacred spring, and farmstead of Chief Plenty Coups. These historical landmarks provide a glimpse into the life and legacy of Chief Plenty Coups, a prominent figure in Native American history.
During a visit to Chief Plenty Coups State Park, visitors can further immerse themselves in the Native American culture by exploring the Visitor Center and Museum. Here, they can learn about Chief Plenty Coups and the Apsáalooke (Crow) tribe through interpretive exhibits and displays.
The park consists mainly of Plenty Coups’ home and farmstead, where he lived until his death in 1932 at the age of 84.
The state park is also a National Historic Landmark.
The park also has plenty of information on Chief Plenty Coups, who was a fascinating and well-respected man.
He was born into the Mountain Crow tribe in 1848, with the birth name Chíilaphuchissaaleesh, or “Buffalo Bull Facing The Wind.” His name was later changed in accordance with Crow tradition.
Plenty Coups’ grandfather predicted that his grandson would live a long life and become the chief of the Crow Tribe, and he wasn’t the only one in the family with premonitions.
At a young age, Plenty Coups had prophetic dreams and visions, The location of his home is the realisation of one. He had a vision his home would be built where water ran through a tree. The stream in front of the house runs through a cottonwood tree just like in the Chief’s vision. To add lustre to the story, the cottonwood tree is past the normal life span of its kind.
Another vision was to shape the future diplomat. He experienced a complex vision suggesting buffalo would be replaced by the cattle of white settlers. In this vision, strong winds blew all the trees down save one, the home of the chickadee. This small bird was a listener and an observer, a bird Crow elders believed had a grasp on the future. Plenty Coups, brave as he’d been in battle, had an even more important future than that of a distinguished warrior. He would lead his people through the most wrenching possible time, through the transition from a life built on the free-roaming pursuit of buffalo and neighboring enemy tribes, to the inevitable future: life on the reservation and within the “white man’s world.”
The chief knew that the future did not lie in war. Making peace with whites was already a Crow tradition, but now the reason lay beyond using that alliance against tribes that had attempted to eradicate the Absaroka. Now, survival depended on learning to fight battles of a different sort. The first ally would be education. “Education,” he said, “is your most powerful weapon. With education, you are the white man’s equal; without education, you are his victim, and so shall remain all your lives.”
As his name suggests, Plenty Coups was a fierce warrior when a young man, and was always to be found in the midst of the fight “counting coup”. In later days, he became a bridge between conflicting cultures and became perhaps the most esteemed of Native Americans in the eyes of the government. Chief Plenty Coups and the Crow were always less hostile with settlers and government, largely because of practical men like Plenty Coups, who saw the futility of struggle. It’s also true to say that the enmity between the Crow and Lakota (fierce defenders of their land and freedom) helped to facilitate good relations between the Crow and non-Native Americans. Historically, the Crow had been friendly with explorers, mountain men and fur traders. As a consequence, the Crow certainly faired better in post-colonial life than their implacable Native American neighbours who opposed Manifest Destiny to their last breaths. This was evidenced when Plenty Coups
Plenty Coups seems to have learned quickly the political acumen necessary to defend his people against new threats to their remaining land. Though not tall in stature by Crow standards, Plenty Coups had a commanding presence. He soon was sought by government leaders as a spokesman for his and other tribes, which resulted in a series of visits to Washington, D.C.
He even flew to D.C. and fought successfully against U.S. senators’ plans to abolish the Crow nation and take away their lands. In 1921 he presented his war bonnet and coup stick at the tomb of the unknown soldier in Washington, D.C., and made a speech there in honour of the fallen warrior. He was the sole Native American to make such a presentation. He was called Chief of Chiefs, the one Crow elders decided was to be the last chief of their tribe. No one could step in his shoes.