Plenty-coups: Chief of the Crows

Plenty-coups: Chief of the Crows
Frank Bird Linderman
University of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 0803280181
Non-Fiction, Biography, History
Reviewed by Dr. Tami Brady

This biographical information about Plenty-coups, the last principal chief recognized by the Crow, was originally compiled and published in the 1930’s by Linderman. This book is the third reprint of the original story and contains a new introduction by Barney Old Coyote jr. and Phenocia Bauerle. An afterward by Timothy P. McCleary describes Plenty-coups’ numerous contributions to both Native and national communities after the decline of the bison herds.
Linderman first met Plenty-coups in 1892, after leaving the Flathead Reservation where the author had spent time trapping and cow herding. During this chance meeting, Linderman impressed Plenty-coups with his ability to sign-talk and was given the name Sign-talker. Over forty years later, Linderman was given the opportunity to interview the Crow Chief and write his biography.
In these interviews, Plenty-coups was very open and candid about every aspect of his life and the traditional life of the Crow people. He discussed in detail his vision quest journey and the visions that he received during this event. He also spoke in great detail about raids that he had been on and how his spiritual guides aided and protected him in a number of difficult situations. The only topic Plenty-coups refused to discuss was the events that occurred after the decline of the bison herds. This fact is quite unfortunate as Plenty-coups was highly vocal in both Native and national issues until his death.
As the focus of early Native American research was on creating culture histories, personal stories of traditional lifeways such as the one described in this biography are uncommon. Showing a balanced, realistic view of a Native chief as both a strong warrior and a spiritual man is a situation that rarely occurs, even now. However, the portions of this book that most impressed me were the detailed recollections of Plenty-coups’s vision quest and his open conversations about his visions and his spiritual helpers. I have never read a better first hand account of these events. I also was thrilled with Plenty-coups’ clear explanations of the somewhat complicated Crow kinship system and marriage rules.
Plenty-coups is an amazing biography that will be enjoyed as a recreational read. Nonetheless, this book also contains important rare incites into the lives of traditional Crow men. Thus, it is suitable for those interested in learning a little about traditional Native life as well as those researchers looking for detailed information about the changing lifeways, traditions, and belief systems of the Crow during this transitional period. This book contains unprecedented candid information from a viewpoint rarely recorded presented in an entertaining, easy to read, yet meaningful way. That the author also wrote a book on the female perspective from the same Native group (see review of Pretty-shield) simply adds to the potential importance of this resource.