Brave Women: Woman Indian Chief Called Pine Leaf, Leader of the Crow Tribe

The Crow Indian tribe was led by a fearless woman from 1830- 1851. Her name was Pine Leaf. She was born in the Gros Ventre [pronounced grow-VAHN-truh] Indian tribe in 1806. The Gros Ventre Indians were named by the French fur traders traveling through their territory. When the Indians met the French trappers, they attempted sign language to communicate. The Indians passed both hands over their stomachs trying to say 'let's eat'. The Frenchmen interpreted this to mean "big belly" and called them as such, translated in French- Gros Ventre.

Pine Leaf had a twin brother who had been murdered by the Blackfoot Indians. She vowed to avenge her brother's death. Her solemn oath was to never take a husband until she put one hundred enemy warriors in their grave. Near the tender age of ten, Pine Leaf was kidnapped by a band of Crow Indians. A Crow brave who had lost his sons to warring with a neighboring Blackfoot tribe adopted the young girl.

Pine Leaf wanted nothing to do with learning any traditional duties expected from the tribe's women. She did dress the part of a beautiful woman but chose the actions of a fearsome warrior. The Crow Indians allowed her to join in the male activities with the braves. The men of the tribe and Pine Leaf's adoptive father seemed to enjoy her spunk and encouraged her fighting spirit.

Pine Leaf became equally skilled to use native weapons along with the white man's gun. Pine Leaf reached legendary status when she took on a Blackfoot ambush, protecting a fort full of Crow Indians and white families, all by herself. Pine Leaf gained the elder's respect as she led the younger men on successful raids against the Blackfoot. As Pine Leaf scored many victories, her reputation grew along with her herd of horses and the number of scalps she collected.

Reckless bravery in war was considered the highest honor among the Crow Indian tribe, in order to become a Chief it was necessary to accomplish the following courageous feats:

1. Be the first to strike down the enemy.

2. Seize the enemy's weapon from him.

3. Either capture the enemy's horse in battle or steal it from within the heavily guarded enemy camp.

4. Win the battle decisively.

Pine Leaf was made a member of the Council of Chiefs and named Woman Chief. She reached the powerful rank of third in a band of 160 lodges. Unheard of in her day, Pine Leaf employed four women who kept her household in order while she took charge of tribal duties.

White men who crossed paths with Pine Leaf were totally dumbfounded by her. They called her the Absaroka Amazon. Absaroka is the Indian name for her adopted tribe which means sparrow hawk. It was the white men who called them 'Crow' a disparage wording of their name that unfortunely stuck. The explorers who journeyed through Indian land claimed to never have seen or heard of such a woman, as Pine Leaf, who could strike so much fear into the hearts of mortal men. This was way before Hilary Clinton.

A glimpse we are given at Pine Leaf's life is from James Beckwourth, who lived with the Crow Indians for over a decade. In Beckwourth's autobiography, he was clearly taken with Pine Leaf. He admitted in his book that he admired her, and was often confused and intimidated by the Indian woman chief. Those symptoms sound suspiously close to love or a medical condition.

Beckwourth, by his own admission, hotly pursued Pine Leaf, [he reportedly had ten wives] but she was unmoved by his claims of undying love and devotion. After ignoring all his advances, Pine Leaf finally conceded to Beckwourth, she would marry him- "when pine leaves turned yellow or he found a red-headed Indian." Beckwourth left the Crow tribe for awhile, and absence seemed to work in his favor. On his return, according to his journal, Pine Leaf finally agreed to wed. The marriage lasted a mysterious five weeks, with Beckwourth's sudden disappearance from the Crow tribe, and he never spoke of or set eyes on Pine Leaf again.

Pine Leaf gave up her position as Chief at age forty-five after over two decades of brave leadership into battle. In 1858, on a leisurely trip back home to visit the Gros Ventre tribe, Pine Leaf was brutally attacked by her own people, and died.

Sources:

Of the Crow Nation, Edwin T. Denig, AMS PRESS, 1953

The Life and Adventures of James P. Beckwourth, New York, Harper and Brothers, 1856