Chief Plenty Coups was a visionary leader and principal chief of the Crow Nation from 1876 - 1932. He led his people through the Indian Wars era and into the first quarter of the 20th century. He is the last of the great Chiefs of the Crow Nation.
A bronze plaque at the base of the carving reads as follows:
"CHIEF PLENTY COUPS
Last Chief of the Crows
1848-1932
Plagued with the loss of the great buffalo herds, the confinement to reservations, disease, famine, and poverty, Chief Plenty Coups led the Crow people through a painful transition.
Gifted with vision the power of impressive speech, honor and dignity, he developed into a nationally respected statesman and patriot, The Crow people strive to follow his example today."
From Wikipedia: (
visit link)
"Plenty Coups (otherwise known as Aleek-chea-ahoosh) (1848 – 1932) was a Crow chief and visionary leader. He allied Crow with the whites when the war for the West was being fought, because the Sioux and Cheyenne (who were opposing white settlement of the area) were the traditional enemies of the Crow. Plenty Coups had also experienced a vision when he was very young that non-Native people would ultimately take control of his homeland (Montana), so he always felt that cooperation would benefit his people much more than opposition.
One of his famous quotes is: "Education is your greatest weapon. With education you are the white man's equal, without education you are his victim and so shall remain all of your lives. Study, learn, help one another always. Remember there is only poverty and misery in idleness and dreams - but in work there is self respect and independence."
He very much wanted the Crow to continue as a people and their customs and spiritual beliefs to carry on. His efforts on their behalf ensured that this happened and he led his people peacefully into the 20th century.
He was the principal chief of the Mountain Crows, or the Apsáalooke, of the Crow Nation.
Early life
Plenty Coups was born into the Mountain Crow tribe in 1848 at the-cliffs-that-have-no-name (possibly near Billings, Montana), to his father Medicine-Bird and his mother Otter-woman. He was given the birth name Chíilaphuchissaaleesh, or "Buffalo Bull Facing The Wind".
. . .
Change of name
In accordance to tradition, as a young man his birth name was changed: his grandfather predicted that he would become chief of the Crow Tribe, live a very long life, and accomplish many great deeds, thus christening him Alaxchiiaahush, meaning "many achievements". Plenty Coups is the English translation of his name, coming from the word coup, or act of bravery. Over the course of his life, he would live up to his name and his grandfather's prediction.
Visions of the future
Early in his life, Plenty Coups started having prophetic dreams and visions. Many seemed so far-fetched that no one believed them, but when they started coming true his fellow tribe members began to revere him and listened to him carefully.
. . .
Later, when he was 11 years old, Plenty Coups (along with other young men of the Crow Nation) was challenged to have a vision which might guide his people's future. After fasting and spending several days in the Crazy Mountains, he had a vision where he saw many buffalo coming out of a hole. They spread over the plains, then disappeared. Surreal buffalo with weird tails, different colors (even spots), and odd bellows then came out of the hole and covered the plains. He saw himself as an old man, living near a cold spring in the foothills of the Arrowhead Mountains. He also saw a forest, and strong winds blew down the trees in the forest until only one tree was left standing. In it was the home of the chickadee.
His vision was interpreted by tribal elders to mean that the white man would take over the Indian lands and their way of life, like the wind that blew down the trees in the forest—all except one, which represented the Crow people. The Crow tribe would be spared if they could learn how to work with the white man. His spirit guide then became the chickadee, and he would carry a pair of chickadee legs in a medicine bag he used for protection and spiritual power. This vision would guide his actions (and that of the Crow People) for the remainder of his life.
. . .
Last great chief
Plenty Coups was named Chief of the Mountain Crow at age 28. As a young man and chief, he was a fierce and well-respected warrior. He was thought to have between 50-100 feathers on his coup stick, each one representing an act of valor. Many times over, he had accomplished the four requirements for becoming a chief.
Fighting to protect a nation
Plenty Coups became chief of the Crow Tribe in 1876, which is the same year the Battle of the Little Bighorn took place. Six Crow warriors worked as scouts for General Custer at this time, and were allied with the white man in order to fight their own primary enemies during this period: the Lakota, Sioux and Cheyenne. According to the interpretation of Plenty Coups' vision, cooperating with the white man was the only way to ensure the Crow's future survival in a white man's world.
Speaking to protect a people
He was selected to represent the Crow in Washington, D.C., where he fought successfully against the U.S. senators' plans to abolish the Crow nation and take away their lands. He made many trips to Washington during those ten years in order protect his people.
He was fairly successful in doing so, and managed to keep the Crows' original land (although it amounted to only 80% of what they originally were allotted), despite many foreigners' desire to take the land for gold prospecting and other uses. Many other Native Americans tribes had been relocated to reservations on entirely different land than where they had lived their lives.
Native American in Washington
Chief Plenty Coups was selected as the sole representative of Native Americans for the dedication of the Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier and gave a short speech in his native tongue in honor of the soldier and the occasion. He placed his war-bonnet and coup stick upon the tomb, and they are preserved in a display case there.
Legacy
When he died in 1932 at age 84, he was considered by his people to be the last of the great chiefs. The vision he'd had when he was younger had come true-he was married (his wife was Strikes-the-iron), but had no children of his own. Bison were almost wholly replaced by cattle. White (European) society and government dominated and completely changed Native America. Through diplomacy, foresight and strong leadership Plenty Coups was able to preserve the Crow Nation land, people and culture much more than most Native American tribes were able to.
. . . .
Quotations
"Education 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."
"The ground on which we stand is sacred ground. It is the blood of our ancestors."
"I hear the white men say there will be no more war. But this cannot be true. There will be other wars. Men have not changed, and whenever they quarrel they will fight, as they have always done.""