“What Is a Country without Horses?”

MontanaHistoricalSociety

University of Colorado PhD student Kerri Clement examines horse herd restoration efforts on the part of Crow Agency superintendent Robert Yellowtail. While Yellowtail concentrated on particular breeds and worked to obtain high-bred horses, this short-lived project reflects the longer and deeper history between Crow people and equines. Between 1875 and 1910, cattle raising on the Flathead Reservation grew from supplementing a tribal economy based on hunting and gathering to the foundation of a new economy.