Pryor Mountains (Crow Little People)

The Pryor Mountains of south-central Montana are a sacred landscape to the Apsáalooke (Crow) people. In Crow tradition the mountains are home to the Little People, known as the Awwakkulé or Nirumbee, small and very strong beings, often described as about knee-high to the size of a child, who give spiritual power and protection to those who treat them with respect. Travelers passing through traditionally left offerings of beads, cloth, tobacco or arrows, and Medicine Rocks in the range was a place where offerings were made each year. Some Crow people today still leave offerings and speak of encounters, particularly hunters in the mountains. The Little People are a living part of Crow belief, not folklore invented for visitors, and this entry is included in that spirit.