c r o w ( a P S A A L O O K E ) d a n c e a r b o r
Crow Agency, Crow Reservation, MT
C O M P L E T I O N
2023
AIA Honorable Mention, AIA Seattle Honor Awards for Design Excellence, 2023
Project Size: 66,000 SF
Structure Size: 36,000 SF
“The new Crow Dance Arbor provides an uplifting, culturally significant, monumental structure and open space that will be enjoyed by new generations of Indigenous people, coming together to celebrate their cultures and pass their cultural legacy onto their children and grandchildren. This project is a monument to cultural resiliency for the Apsaalooke people.”
“At the heart of the huge encampment along the Little Bighorn River is the Crow Dance Arbor, where dancing, drumming and singing goes on night and day for the six days of the annual gathering and many other cultural events throughout the year.”
This project was to design and construct a new Crow Dance Arbor to replace the 50-year-old dilapidated wooden structure that enclosed the outdoor dance circle. The new structure is a 36,000 SF timber-framed, metal roofed arbor, with site-built steel framed, cedar clad stepped seating for 1600 spectators surrounding the original 166’ diameter dance circle. The circular structure has 24 lodge pole pine columns in an inner and outer ring – 22’ at the peak and descending to 16’-6” in height. The columns are offset to create a triangulated structure, emulating the tepee form of the surrounding lodges.
Each of the four cardinal directions are honored in distinct ways. A grand entry canopy opens out to the east, providing shade for the daily assembling of hundreds of dancers before they enter the dance arena. To the south, a raised platform, referred to as the “Crow’s Nest”, provides a viewing area for dignitaries for the daily parade and Grand Entry. To the West, in the Place of Honor following Crow tradition, a raised stage provides space for the announcers and judges of the events. To the north, a covered open area provides space for the dancers to rest between events.
The bleacher seating is custom designed to accommodate the unique aspects of the gatherings. Each quadrant of the circle has semi-circle seating, with seven levels (reflecting the sacred number seven in Crow Culture – linked to the seven stars of the Big Dipper (known as the 7 Buffalo Brothers). Each step is 3 feet deep, designed to accommodate families with small children, and elders in folding chairs. On the outer perimeter, covered retail stalls provide locations for vendors.
