College of Letters & Science
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The College of Letters and Science, the largest center for learning, teaching and research at Montana State University, offers students an excellent liberal arts and sciences education in nearly 50 majors, 25 minors and over 25 graduate degrees within the four areas of the humanities, natural sciences, mathematics and social sciences.
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Item After the buffalo days : documents on the Crow Indians from the 1880's to the 1920's(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 1970) Bradley, Charles CraneThe period in the history of the Crow Indians of Montana between the 1880’s and the 1920's for a long time concerned historians less than the period ending with the Custer Battle. In this thesis I have attempted' to present the important events as based on documentary evidence. Most of the documents referred to in this thesis were the letters received by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs filed in the National Archives at Washington, D.C. Reference was also made to Congressional Hearings in the Interior Department library and to Chief Plenty Coups Letter File and Note Book in the Plenty Coups Memorial. After reading between 1500 and 2000 letters concerning the Crow Reservation I concluded the basic mistake the Indian Office made was training the Crows to become farmers, herders, irrigators, carpenters, and blacksmiths. The Office of Indian Affairs never foresaw the day when a few educated Crows would attempt to manage the Reservation. Thus, when the political authority on the Reservation disintegrated, members of the Crow Business Committee were ill prepared for administrative work. The important Issues concerning the Crow Reservation from the point of view of the Government included leasing Tribal lands, granting right of ways to railroads, authorizing irrigation construction, and establishing schools. Leasing Crow land to stockmen drew much excitement and considerable brain work from the Indian Office. Leases, however, concerned the Crow Tribe less than the ceding of the western and northern portions of the Reservation. The railroads cutting through the Reservation brought economic advancement to the surrounding white people, but the Crows became dubious toward them. The Crow Irrigation Survey was significant in that it Was the first large scale employment of Crow Indians. Schools on the Crow Reservation were regarded by the Indian Office as indications of material progress and progress toward white man’s culture. World War I involved the Crow Indians in the world situation. In short, the period from the 1880’s to the 1920’s was the period of a major transition in Crow culture and also a forgotten portion in the life of Chief Plenty Coos.Item The effect of abundant resources on the history of Crow Reservation schools(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 1982) Bradley, Charles CraneBradley investigated federal, missionary, and public school records from 1870 to 1976 to study the effects of resource abundance on the Crow reservation schools. He found out that the main concern of the early reservation schools was simple survival; in the boarding schools the children's labor assured the needs of physical survival for everyone living on the premises. Has some information about Indian boarding schools and the way they treated their students as well as the emergence of the various day schools on the reservation. Also includes facts about the difficulties Crow students initially faced when trying to attend public schools in and around the reservation. As resources became more abundant, the reservation became less self-sufficient and relied heavily on federal monies to support a wide range of programs in the schools. The teachers focused more on academics, athletics, and programs specifically geared toward Crow students. He has some striking examples of waste within the reservation schools ranging from extremely long field trips and money wasted on athletic endeavors to teachers spending huge amounts of resources on professional improvement in the form of conferences and travel. Bradley also talks about the severe disciplinary problems found in many of the schools during this period. When the availability of resources began to decline in the early 1970s the academic standards were allowed to decline, majority of the Indian programs were dropped, and the focus shifted toward vocational education. Bradley also concluded that many educators were more interested in getting more pay and benefits than being good teachers. Has considerable information about various tribal members who were involved with the Crow school system.