WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Sixteen Crow Indians were greeted by newsmen Embassy officials at Dulles Airport here Tuesday as they changed from the airplane that brought them from Billings, Mont., to one that would take them to London, England on an European tour may rival those staged by Buffalo Bill Cody.
The tour is designed to help attract European tourists to three American tours packaged particularly for them-- two seven day tours, one a fifteen-day tour. The tours will include a visit to five Indian reservations -- the Crow, Blackfeet, Northern Cheyenne, and Flathead, all in Montana, and the Wind River in Wyoming.
The delegation is headed by Crow Tribal Chairman David Stewart, and includes Phillip and Martha Beaumont, Emma Tillie Bird Hat, Donald and , Agnes Deer Nose, Ernest Holds the Enemy, David and Gladys Jefferson, Hugh and William Little Owl, Dennis and Beverly Sanders, Patrick and Sharon I Stands Over Bull, and Adelia Stewart.
The Crow Tribe has spearheaded the package-tour plan, an idea that sprang to life on the Crow Reservation two years ago and is, expected to climax in 1973 by the arrival of 600 Germans to "Indian country.” They will start their trip at the Crow Indians' resort, "Sun Lodge."
In commenting on the tour Louis R. Bruce, Commissioner of the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs that helped finance the European trip said: “As far as I know this is the first successful effort to attract Europeans to the United States on the basis of its unique culture -- the American Indians."
"These tours will bring dollars to the Indian reservations. They will bring money to the United States from abroad. They will help build goodwill abroad. We are proud to be a part of an effort that involves so many ‘pluses.'"
The Crow Indians at Dulles Airport were in street clothes but they had in their baggage regalia that will help them put on a performance of an hour or more twice a day throughout Germany and periodic performances elsewhere in Europe.
The performance they plan include the pipe ceremony, in which the pipe ceremony, in which the smoke of the Indian pipe establishes contact with ‘the Great spirit,’ the bustle dance, in which the exploits of battle are dramatized, an ancient tribal history by war chiefs, a grass dance, buffalo dance, rabbit dance, and a victory or circle dance.
The tours that originate in Germany are already being marketed by a large German department store chain whose headquarters are in Frankfurt. The Crow Indians will attempt to interest private audiences in London, England, Copenhagen, Sweden, Venice and Milan, Italy, and in Paris, France, in sponsoring similar tours originating from those cities.
One special facet of the trip so far as the Indians are concerned is a proposed visit to the crypt of Field Marshall Ferdinand Foch in Paris. David Stewart told the story of why the group had a special interest in Marshall Foch.
"Marshall Foch came to Arlington, Va. to help dedicate the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the close of World War I. Crow chief plenty coups, our outstanding chief, represented Indian warriors in the military at the same event. Foch liked Chief Plenty Coups. He told the Chief he would like an Indian name. Chief Plenty Coups told the Marshall 'You step foot on my land and then you will be given an Indian name.’
"Chief Plenty Coups had almost forgotten the incident when the next year, he got a letter from Marshall Foch reminding him of his remark and saying that he would make a special trip to the Crow Indian Reservation. Chief Plenty Coups said that in honor of his visit he would give the Marshall the best of his Indian names -- Chief of all Chiefs. Foch was adopted into the Crow Tribe by that name. It is my understanding that 'Chief of all Chiefs' is inscribed on Marshall Foch's crypt."
Stewart concluded his s tory by pointing out that his title was "tribal chairman" instead of "Chief" because the title "Chief" was abolished with the death of Chief Plenty Coups. "He was so outstanding that no one could follow in his footsteps," explained Stewart "So the title was buried with him.”
Greeting the Crow Indians at the airport were representatives of several embassies representing countries the Crows will visit. These included representatives from the German, Swiss, and Austrian embassies.
The German representatives indicated that some of the interest in Indians in Germany has been generated by a series of books by the German author Karl May, who vividly portrayed the Plains Indians although he never visited the United States.
When the Europeans tour, they will fly to Billings, Mont., then board buses for the remainder of their stay. In a typical tour they will be given, an outdoor barbeque by Crow Indians, take part in a campfire program and listen to an Indian lore lecture by a Crow. They will tour Custer National Battlefield. They will be presented with a medicine bag by the Northern Cheyenne Indians and listen to a brief history of the tribe when they visit that reservation. The tour includes a visit to Big Horn National Recreation Area, a guest ranch, and various western museums.
On the Wind River Indian Reservation they will see the graves of Chief Washakie and Sacajawea, guide for the Lewis and Clark Expedition. They will visit the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Parks a, Wyoming "ghost town." Also included will be a trip to Hungary Horse Dam and Glacier National Park, as well as the nearby Flathead and Blackfeet Indian Reservations.
