Location: Crow Agency, Big Horn County
On May 19, 1880, Chief Plenty Coups of the Crow Nation led a delegation of tribal leaders to Washington, D.C., to negotiate with federal officials over the boundaries and conditions of the Crow Reservation in southern Montana. Plenty Coups, whose Crow name was Aleek-chea-ahoosh, meaning 'Many Achievements,' had risen to leadership through his skill as a warrior and his gift for strategic thinking. Unlike many Plains Indian leaders of his era, Plenty Coups pursued a policy of alliance with the United States government, reasoning that cooperation offered the best chance of preserving Crow lands and culture against the overwhelming pressure of American expansion. He had guided his people through the catastrophic changes of the 1870s, including the near-extermination of the buffalo herds and the confinement of neighboring nations to reservations.
The 1880 Washington trip was one of several diplomatic missions Plenty Coups undertook to secure favorable terms for the Crow people. His efforts helped the Crow retain a larger reservation than most Plains nations, centered on the Bighorn and Little Bighorn river valleys. Plenty Coups lived until 1932, long enough to represent all Native American veterans at the dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in 1921, the only Native American leader invited to participate in that ceremony.