Plenty-coups

"All my life I have tried to learn as the Chickadee learns, by listening, - profiting by the mistakes of others, that I might help my people...My whole thought is of my people. I want them to be healthy, to become again the race they have been." Plenty-coups In his old age, Plenty-coups (1848-1932), the last hereditary chief of the Crow Indians, told the exciting, moving story of his life to Frank B. Linderman, the well-known western writer who had befriended him. Plenty-coups: Chief of the Crows is a classic account of the nomadic, spiritual, and warring life of Plains Indians before they were forced on to reservations. The great chief speaks eloquently of a long-ago world that holds a rich legacy for the Crow people today. Plenty-coups also tells of the great triumphs and struggles of his own life: his powerful medicine dream, marriage, raiding and counting coups against the Lakotas, fighting alongside the U.S. Army, and the death of General Custer. This new edition allows readers to more fully appreciate Plenty-coups's accomplishments and legacy for today. An introduction by Phenocia Bauerle and Barney Old Coyote, Jr., both members of the Crow Nation, speaks to the enduring importance of Plenty-coups for the Crow people in the twenty-first century. An afterword by Timothy P. McCleary, also of the Crow Nation, highlights the pivotal role Plenty-coups played during the early reservation years, after the buffalo had gone. An essay by Celeste River examines the special relationship between the old chief and Frank B. Linderman. A map of Plenty-coups's world highlights places named in his story. A glossary of Crow words and concepts found in the story draws upon the latest orthographic standards and contemporary translations. A photo gallery showcases both Plenty-coups at different stages of his life and unforgettable scenes of his world. Ohio-born Frank B. Linderman (1869-1938) spent his adult life in Montana, first as a trapper, then as a publisher, politician, and businessman. Phenocia Bauerle and Barney Old Coyote, Jr., are the editor and compiler, respectively, of The Way of the Warrior: Stories of the Crow People (Nebraska, 2003). Timothy P. McCleary teaches in the department of anthropology, University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, and is the author of The Stars We Know: Crow Indian Astronomy and Lifeways. Celeste River is a Montana scholar, photographer, and research consultant who has lectured throughout the state on the life and writings of Linderman.