The Crow Reservation is located in south central Montana, south and east of Billings. Its southern border is Wyoming. After treaties were signed in 1825 and 1851 with the U.S. Government, a final treaty in 1880 reduced the reservation to its current size. Allotments were issued to tribal members after the 1887 Allotment Act, and from 1922 until 1962 allotment holders of the reservation sold land mostly along the three rivers which run through it. The tribe has mineral rights to 1.1. million acres near Billings
and Hardin, Montana, and near Sheridan, Wyoming.

The Crow Indians have an interesting past. They collaborated with the US government during the Indian wars as their elders had a vision (which turned out to be true) that there world would be soon overrun by the white man. Custer's last stand took place within the reservation at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The crow were his scouts. A lot of the Indians I spoke with have serve in the US Army.

Partly because of their collaboration they are also enemies of local tribes. Their major visible poverty is lack of housing. To get Federal money they apply through ONAP (Office of Native American Program) in Denver, which is overseen by other native groups, who, the Crow people feel suppress Ferderal housing money. Allegedly there is corruption within the local band council office itself and only relatives of HUD (Housing for Urban Development) seem to get any help at all. The chairwoman, Clara Nomee, is apparently on probation for some scandal involving the local Indian casino. She also, according to the inhabitants, has sold some of their land to non-natives. Non-natives own most of the good farmland, which is against the law. These illegal land deals go back to the 20's, 30's and 40's. The Crow people are now struggling to reclaim their reservation land.

The Crow once roamed huge regions of the Northwest and signed a treaty, at gunpoint in exchange, they feel, for housing, hospitalization, and education. Alcoholism, drug consumption, inadequate housing (in some cases, 3-4 families to a single house) unemployment, ill health, and lack of education, are chronic symptoms of being an Indian in America.