Dunes and Dinos - Sawyer, Michigan 7.30.24

 

Pictographs and Plenty Coups   6.2.21

Sometimes we meet new people on road trips.  We may never see them again but a brief encounter can leave a permanent impression.  For instance, the man who spotted water running from our trailer and alerted the campground owner to shut off the water.  He had an interesting setup which I thought some of my family would admire:  a tent that is set up on top of a pickup truck, and a large, covered gazebo set up like a cozy living room, with chairs, side tables for books and snacks, and comfy small beds with toys.  (I could see all this because the gazebo had screened sides which could be covered with drapes but were left open.)  I assumed they were traveling with kids or grandkids, but it turned out the beds and toys were for their two dogs!  In conversation, he referred to the gazebo as the “marriage saver.”  I can definitely understand that, the need for personal space when traveling in close quarters.  He said the only drawback in his view with their setup is that if he wants to get up and go fishing early, he can’t because his wife will still be sleeping in the tent on the back of the truck. 

I also discovered that he knew the entire story of our trip to the wild horse range and how we did not return until the following day.  Seems the loquacious campground owner had been telling him about us.  I am not sure what they thought of us, i.e. whether we’d been crazy or foolish, but no one we talked to expressed interest in trying out the Pryor Mountain roads.

When we had breakfast in the diner in Lovell, WY, a group of older men hanging out struck up a conversation, asking where we were from, etc.  One man remarked, “That’s quite a hairdo you’ve got there.  We don’t see that much around here!” Then he asked LCR how he got his hair into dreadlocks and how he maintains it.  He was intrigued to find out that nothing much was done and that low maintenance is part of the point.  His honest, open and uncritical interest was refreshing. 

A young girl swinging by on her bike at a gas station store on the Crow Reservation also called out to LCR, “I like your hair!”  He gets a lot of attention on the reservation.  At the same store, another shopper coming out with her bags asked, “Are you lost?”  Not being Crow, and not a white tourist either, he definitely stands out. 

But we have found such interest to be honest and friendly, never awkward or hostile.  One man who identified himself as Crow was panhandling at another gas station store (they call them C-Stores out here), and he told LCR point blank: “I’m not going to lie to you, I want money for a beer!”  LCR gave him a little something just for his honesty.  We learned later that the reservation is dry so that particular gas station, just over the line, is a logical place to get beer.

 On June 2 and 3 we went to two very different, mostly outdoor historical sites.  Pictograph Cave State Park is a site of caves in high stone cliffs, with drawings from several periods in history.  Excavation has shown that some of the drawings are around 2,000 years old, while farther down there are some that may be as much as 4,500 years old.  Because of weathering once they were uncovered and some vandalism, the drawings are hard to see.  Exhibits at the visitors’ center showed more clearly what they must have looked like.  Animals and people are depicted, some figures in what might be ceremonial dress, as well as bows and arrows and rifles, which showed that some of the drawings were more recent.  We learned that pictographs are drawn, in these caves with iron oxide (red) and charcoal (black) pigments, whereas petroglyphs are carved or chipped into the stone.

However, LCR had to enjoy part of this park without me, because the caves faced west and the sun was too intense for me.  There was little shade on the walkways leading up the cliffs to the caves, and even at the cave mouths the sun reached in nearly all the way.  I turned back before the third cave.  There are three caves in all, but the second cave had a path that was marked: “Not maintained – use at your own risk.”  LCR reported there was another sign at a different point leading to the same cave saying it was closed because of falling rocks.  There were multiple warning signs of rattlesnakes in the area as well.  Though the scenery was spectacular, I can’t say I was very relaxed there, and I stayed in the shade once I got back to ground level.

The ranger at Pictograph State Park recommended Chief Plenty Coups State Park, which we saw the following day.  Chief Plenty Coups was a survivor of the Battle of Little Bighorn and an influential chief of the Crow (Apsaalooke) Tribe for many years.  The park comprises his ranch house and other buildings, as well as the gravesite for the Chief and his first and second wives.  The Chief and his second wife put the land in trust, stipulating that it be preserved in such a way that all people could see it.

When he was just a boy, Chief Plenty Coups had a vision that one day the bison would be gone and replaced by cattle, so when it happened in his adulthood, he was not surprised.  He believed the key to the survival of Native Americans was to adapt and if the country was going to be farmed and ranched, they must become farmers and ranchers, so that is what he did.  He established a successful ranch with his allotment of land.  He also had a store which he ran and in which he kept meticulous records though he could not read or write.  He used symbols and marks to keep track of each shopper’s bill. 

The ranch house still stands, in an area near a creek, along which Chief Plenty Coups had planted trees that still stand.  A mowed walkway leads through the trees and along the creek.  It’s a beautiful and peaceful place, full of birdsong and the sound of running water, as well as welcome shade.  Part of the trail loops back around toward the ranch house, and toward the end there is a flat white rock on which visitors have left small tokens, much as people sometimes throw pennies into a fountain – little bits of jewelry, pens, key chains, even a flowered cloth face mask. 

The ranch house has living quarters as well as a meeting room from which the Chief conducted tribal and ranch business, but there are also photos showing that he used a traditional tipi on the same property for many years.  The Chief had a long and eventful life and died in 1932 at the age of 84.  He was honored as the last official chief of the Crow Tribe.  Today, the Crow have a three-branch system of government.

Chief Plenty Coups’ story and property provided an inspiring visit, though it was sobering to read what he had to say about white men – how they treated their own laws, and their religions, as though they could be used when convenient and ignored at other times, and how they seemed to say one thing and do another.  Chief Plenty Coups’ advice to his people was: 

“Education is your most powerful weapon. With education, you are the white man's equal; without education, you are his victim, and so shall remain all your lives."