Pretty Eagle
Pretty Eagle | |
---|---|
Déahĭtsĭśh | |
Crow | |
Known for | A chief of the Crow Indian Nation |
Chief Pretty Eagle (c. 1846–1903) was a war chief, warrior, and diplomat of the
War chief
Pretty Eagle was already a chief of the Crows when the United States Army first started making organized ventures into what is present day Montana and Wyoming, this included the traditional territory of the Crow people which spanned the border of the two states. Pretty Eagle was a member of the fox warrior society (I’axuxke) and the Piegan (Ackyā’mne) clan of Crows. The Piegan clan took its name from the Piegan Indian nation, part of the Blackfoot Confederacy and longtime enemies of the Crow Nation. As a warrior Pretty Eagle was well known for and revered for his many war deeds performed against traditional Crow enemies such as Sioux and Pawnee. Pretty Eagle accumulated enough specific war deeds or coups to be considered a war chief by his people.
Relationship with United States Government
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Chief_Pretty_Eagle-_Crow.jpg/220px-Chief_Pretty_Eagle-_Crow.jpg)
Pretty Eagle, like many other Crow warriors, offered his services as an
Death and Burial
Pretty Eagle died on 11 November 1903. His remains were placed in a wagon box instead of the more common and traditional scaffolds. During the early 1900s his remains, along with sixty other Crows, were exhumed from their resting place along the Bighorn River by Dr. W. A Russell and sold to various museums around the U.S. with some selling for as little as $500.
Reburial and reclamation
The remains of Pretty Eagle were returned to the Crow Nation 72 years after they were exhumed, thanks to the efforts of Hugh White Clay and the Crow Cultural Commission. His remains were reburied on 4 June 1994, at Pretty Eagle point, a place named in his honor, overlooking the Bighorn Canyon. Horse-drawn travois made of lodge poles and bison hide were used to cart his remains to his present resting place. The date of the reburial has become a date of celebration for the Crow people, and offerings are often placed at the grave site.
References
- ^ "Chief Pretty Eagle". Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area. National Park Service. Retrieved 2 June 2013.