American Indian
and Total Population for
Crow Reservation and Related
Areas
The Crow Reservation,
headquartered in Crow Agency, is
the largest reservation in
Montana, encompassing 2.2
million acres of rolling upland
plains, the Wolf, Bighorn and
Pryor Mountains, and the
bottomlands of the Bighorn
River, Little Bighorn River and
Pryor Creek. The reservation is
home to 8,143 (71.7%) of the
11,357 enrolled Apsáalooke
tribal members.
According to Tribal Enrollment
officials, 4,258 (37.49%) of
enrolled Apsáalooke members are
below the age of 18. To address
the need for post-secondary
education, the Tribe took a
progressive stance and opened
Little Bighorn Community College
in 1980. What began with less
than a dozen students now hosts
328 full-time students and
employs 50 staff members, 12
faculty members, and 7 work
week-study program students.
The majority of employment is
supplied by the Crow Tribe and
federal programs, providing work
to 2,202 employees in total.
More specifically, the Bureau of
Indian Affairs provides
employment to 87 employees and
the Crow/Northern Cheyenne
Hospital has 270 employees
including all outreach services.
Privately owned businesses
account for 253 employees in
total (employment numbers
provided by tribal and public
entities directly).
The basis of the economy is
derived from the rich resources
of the Tribe’s land, which is
used directly to support
livestock operations. The Tribe
owns vast and varied amounts of
renewable and non-renewable
resources on the reservation
which include land, sand and
gravel, water and timber, coal,
oil, and methane gas. In October
of 2004, the Crow Tribe
contracted Koski Geophysical
Consulting of Billings to
conduct seismic testing,
evaluation and interpretation of
data. With the findings, the
Tribe was able to market its
potential for oil and methane
gas production at trade shows in
Houston and Denver. In May 2005,
the Tribe secured a minerals
lease agreement with Golden
Arrow Energy of Wyoming to begin
production on 7,680 acres south
of Crow Agency.
The Crow Nation is the first
Tribe in the United States to
adopt into law the Model Secured
Transactions Act that was
developed by the National
Conference of Commissioners on
Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL).
NCCUSL drafted the Uniform
Commercial Code in the 1940s.
In 2001, the Crow Nation
approved a new constitution,
designating four year terms for
elected officers and an elected
district legislature. Since
adopting the new constitution,
the Crow Legislature has
approved the Finance Protection
and Procedures Act and the Model
Tribal Secured Transactions Act.
These two acts enable Crow
members to obtain home ownership
and business ownership
financing. This recently enacted
legal infrastructure has
provided economic opportunity
and stability for Crow members
and the community
American Indian
Population
Census
Estimates
Geography
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
Crow Reservation
5,165
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Big Horn County
7,560
7,623
7,677
7,717
7,879
8,067
Crow Agency
1,485
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Fort Smith
40
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Lodge Grass
442
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Pryor
533
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
St. Xavier
35
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Wyola
147
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Yellowstone County
3,950
4,157
4,364
4,454
4,521
4,724
Total Population
Census
Estimates
Geography
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
Crow Reservation
6,894
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Big Horn County
12,671
12,817
7,677
7,717
7,879
8,067
Crow Agency
1,552
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Fort Smith
122
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Lodge Grass
510
515
515
517
523
522
Pryor
628
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
St. Xavier
67
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Wyola
186
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Yellowstone County
129,352
130,572
131,898
133,265
134,806
136,691
American Indian and
Total Population for Crow Reservation
and Related Areas Source: U.S. Census
Bureau n/a = Not available *Census
designated places (CDPs) are delineated
for each decennial census as the
statistical counterparts of incorporated
places. CDPs are delineated to provide
data for settled concentrations of
population that are identifiable by name
but are not legally incorporated under
the laws of the state in which they are
located. The boundaries usually are
defined in cooperation with local and
tribal officials. These boundaries,
which usually coincide with visible
features or the boundary of an adjacent
incorporated place or other legal entity
boundary, have no legal status, nor do
these places have officials elected to
serve traditional municipal functions.
Census & Economic Information
Center
MT Department of Commerce
P. O. Box 200505, Helena, MT
59620-0505
Ph: (406) 841-2740 Fax: (406)
841-2731
Website:
www.ceic.mt.gov
Research & Analysis Bureau
Montana Department of Labor &
Industry
P. O. Box 1728, Helena, MT
59624-1728
Ph: (406) 444-2430 or (800)
541-3904 Fax: (406) 444-2638
Website:
www.ourfactsyourfuture.org
State Tribal Economic
Development Commission
Governor’s Office of Indian
Affairs
State Capitol
Governor Helena, MT 59620-08
