The World She Entered

To understand what she was walking into, you have to understand what the Crow world looked like in the early nineteenth century.

The Apsáalooke people — Crow, in the English rendering — were one of the dominant nations of the northern plains and Rocky Mountain region.

Their territory encompassed the Yellowstone River valley and its tributaries, the Bighorn Mountains, and the rich grasslands of what is now south-central Montana.

It was exceptional country: well-watered, full of game, positioned between the high plains to the east and the mountain terrain to the west.