Apsáalooke Tribal Historic Preservation

03/27/2026

Keep in mind some projects fees are based on the MOA, MOU, PA and Contracts and may differ from the fee schedule.

03/26/2026

03/26/2026

Save the Dates – first announcement of THE CROWS AND THE LITTLE BIGHORN: 150 YEARS LATER Symposium

- at Little Big Horn College April 9-11th, 2026

Little Big Horn College is hosting a symposium on April 9-11th 2026 The Crows and the Little Bighorn: 150 Years Later. The program will commemorate the Crow role in the Battle of the Little Bighorn in its sesquicentennial (150th) year.

We will look first at the historical and cultural context of the battle, then the experiences at the battle and the later lives of the Crow scouts through the eyes of descendants of each and finally the aftermath and importance of this event in Crow history and its continuing impact today.

For the details of the symposium including the speakers and schedule, see the symposium website https://crowlittlebighorn150.com/. Note that the site is still in development and it will be more fully populated, edited and expanded, particularly the Resources page.

Registration for the symposium is preferred but not required. The registration form is available on the symposium website.

There will be no charge to attend and lunch will be provided. It will be held in the Health and Wellness Center across the street from the main college campus. It begins at 9 am and will conclude at approximately 4 pm on days 1 and 2.

The optional bus tour on day 3 will begin at 8 am and conclude at 5 pm. Because seating on the bus is limited to 50, participation will require in-person sign-up during the symposium. Crow tribal members will receive priority for the tour.


The symposium has been funded by the Foundation for Community Vitality, the MT250 program of the Montana Historical Society, the American Indian College Fund and the Montana History Foundation.

You can come in person, or can connect by Facebook at the LBHC Library and Archives page at Little Big Horn College Library/ Archives | Facebook or by Zoom.

If you wish to connect by Zoom, email Tim Bernardis at [email protected] or message him on Facebook Messenger and he will send you the link.

Questions during the symposium can be asked on Facebook by posting your questions or on Zoom by chat. The questions will be asked of the speakers for their response.

For further information or questions, contact LBHC Library Director Tim Bernardis at [email protected] or by Facebook Messenger or call him at 406 638 3113.

Th symposium flyer below includes photos of all 6 of the Crow scouts and interpreter/guide Mitch Bouyer. The background artwork is comprised of the paintings of the battle by the scout White Swan and the border is a blanket strip on one of his paintings currently held at the Montana Historical Society.

03/26/2026

JIM REAL BIRD ON THE BATTLE OF THE LITTLE BIGHORN REENACTMENTS

-- this Thursday March 26th at Noon -- In-Person in the Library Programs Room, on Facebook, and on Zoom

This program will be given this Thursday March 26th in the Library Programs Room at noon by Jim Real Bird, an elder and lifelong resident of the Center Lodge/Reno district. Jim was a participant in the early reenactments of the 1960s when they were held on Gas Cap Hill and later in his Real Bird family reenactment on part of the historic battlefield from 1876 on what is now Real Bird family land in Medicine Tail Coulee. It is the only reenactment still being held today.

(In the film Little Big Man, Custer asks Jack Crabb if the 7th Cavalry should go down Medicine Tail Coulee to attack the Sioux and Cheyenne village).

This is an especially appropriate year for this program as June 25-26th marks the 150th anniversary of this significant battle in American history (and the College will be hosting a symposium on April 9-11th The Crows and the Little Bighorn: 150 Years Later, go here for more information https://crowlittlebighorn150.com/)

You can connect by Facebook at the LBHC Library and Archives page at Little Big Horn College Library/ Archives | Facebook.

If needed, please make your request for the Zoom link ASAP because some requests do not come in until the program is nearly/underway and cannot be accommodated.

Questions can be asked on Facebook by posting your questions or on Zoom by chat. The questions will be asked of the speaker for his response.

For more information or to connect by Zoom, contact Tim Bernardis at [email protected], message him on Facebook Messenger or call him at 406 638 3113.

02/25/2026

Around 1906, a young Crow woman named Hannah Morrison soon to be known as Hannah Hugs sat for a portrait that would quietly carry her story into the next century.

Hannah was born in 1882 on lands tied to the Crow people of Montana. Her mother, Plain Horse, was Crow. Her father, Alvah J. Morrison, was a veteran from New York who had traveled west after the Civil War and settled near Fort Claggett along the Upper Missouri River. From the beginning, Hannah’s life bridged two worlds shaped by movement, change, and resilience.

In 1906, she married Leo Hugs. The portrait taken that year may have marked that turning point a moment between maidenhood and marriage, between one chapter and another. Soon she would build a family on the Crow Reservation, raising children who carried both heritage and history forward: Rose Annie Plenty Good, Oliver Hugs, Elias Hugs Sr., and Ada Hugs Iron.

The photographer behind the image was Fred E. Miller. His life was as unusual as the people he photographed. Miller had lost the use of one eye and wore a glass replacement, yet he continued working behind the camera with determination. Though he struggled to earn a living as a commercial photographer, he remained on the Crow Reservation in various civil service roles. In 1905, he was formally adopted into the Crow Tribe a rare and meaningful honor.

For many years, Miller’s photographs received little attention. Only decades later were they recognized for their cultural and historical value. Today, portraits like Hannah’s are more than simple images. They are visual records of identity, family, and continuity.

Hannah Morrison Hugs stands not just as a bride of 1906, but as a woman rooted in Crow heritage, shaped by a complex frontier era, and remembered through a single frame that preserved her presence long after the moment passed.

02/25/2026

Around 1909, a lone horse stood beneath a cold Montana sky, its thick winter coat dusted with frost. The quiet scene was captured by photographer Richard Throssel during his years on the Crow Reservation.

Throssel was not an outsider passing briefly through. Of Canadian Cree ancestry, he lived and worked among the Crow people, documenting everyday life with patience and respect. By the time famed photographer Edward S. Curtis visited the reservation in the winter of 1904–1905, Throssel was already skilled with the camera. Some of his images later appeared in The North American Indian, though at least one was published without credit.

Photography in that era required endurance. Glass-plate negatives were fragile. Cameras were heavy. Tripods were cumbersome. Every exposure demanded precision. If a single teepee stood against the snow in one of his winter scenes, it may well have been part of his temporary workspace as he moved carefully across the landscape to frame his subjects.

Throssel began his photographic career roughly a generation after frontier photographer L.A. Huffman. While Huffman became known for earlier frontier imagery, Throssel focused his lens on life as it continued to evolve in the early twentieth century. In 1911, he opened a studio in Billings, Montana, expanding his professional reach while preserving a visual record of Crow community life.

His work remains significant not only for its artistry, but for the perspective it represents an Indigenous photographer documenting Indigenous life during a period of dramatic change.

02/25/2026

Around 1906, a Crow man known as Old White Man sat for a portrait that would outlive the era that shaped him. Born about 1873, he lived during a time of enormous change for the Apsáalooke people, when traditions endured even as outside pressures reshaped reservation life. He was married to a woman remembered as Steals On Camp, and together they were part of a generation bridging past and present.

The photograph was taken by Fred E. Miller, a man who had been adopted into the Crow Tribe. Unlike many outside photographers of the period, Miller lived and worked within the community. Though he hoped to earn recognition for his images, commercial success largely eluded him. Instead, he held civil service roles on the reservation while continuing to document daily life, ceremonies, and individuals of the Crow Nation.

For decades, Miller’s photographs remained overlooked. It was not until the late 20th century, with the publication of a dedicated collection of his work, that broader audiences began to appreciate the historical and cultural value of his images. Today, his portraits offer an intimate glimpse into Crow life at the turn of the century capturing not staged stereotypes, but real people with presence and dignity.

Old White Man’s portrait stands as more than a historical record. It reflects identity, continuity, and the lived experience of a community navigating profound transformation. Through Miller’s lens, we see not just clothing and posture, but character and resilience.

These photographs endure because they carry memory faces, names, and stories that continue to matter.

02/25/2026

TILTON OLD BULL ON THE ROLE OF THE CAMP CRIER

--this Thursday February 26th 2026 at Noon in the Library Programs Room and on Facebook and Zoom

Tilton Old Bull, accompanied by Jerome White Hip, will be discussing the role and activities of the camp crier in Crow culture. He will start with discussing the beginnings of the camp crier in the buffalo days and bring it up to date.

Tilton has been a camp crier for many years. He is the one on the bullhorn at Crow Fair waking you up, and he periodically goes around town announcing events as well.

You can connect by Facebook at the LBHC Library and Archives page at Little Big Horn College Library/ Archives | Facebook.

If you wish to connect by Zoom, email Tim Bernardis at [email protected] or message him on Facebook Messenger and he will send you the link.

If needed, please make your request for the Zoom link ASAP because some requests do not come in until the program is nearly/underway and cannot be accommodated.

Questions can be asked on Facebook by posting your questions or on Zoom by chat. The questions will be read to the speakers for their response.

For more information, contact Tim Bernardis at [email protected], message him on Facebook Messenger or call him at 406 638 3113.