Absarokee
| Absarokee, Montana | |
|---|---|
| CDP | |
Looking south toward the Beartooth Mountains
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 Location of Absarokee, Montana |
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| Coordinates: 45°31′13″N 109°26′38″W / 45.52028°N 109.44389°WCoordinates: 45°31′13″N 109°26′38″W / 45.52028°N 109.44389°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Montana |
| County | Stillwater |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.0 sq mi (5.3 km2) |
| • Land | 2.0 sq mi (5.3 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 4,039 ft (1,231 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| • Total | 1,234 |
| • Density | 608.1/sq mi (234.8/km2) |
| Time zone | Mountain (MST) (UTC-7) |
| • Summer (DST) | MDT (UTC-6) |
| ZIP code | 59001 |
| Area code(s) | 406 |
| FIPS code | 30-00175 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0801981 |
Absarokee (/æbˈsɔːrkiː/ ab-SOR-kee) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Stillwater County, Montana, United States, approximately 14 miles (23 km) south of Columbus on Highway 78. It is named after the Crow Indians who formerly inhabited the land. The population was 1,234 at the 2000 census. The Stillwater Mine, operated by the Stillwater Mining Company, is located near Absarokee.
The name Absarokee is derived from Apsáalookěi, the name given to the Crow Indian Tribe by the related Hidatsa people with Apsáa meaning "large-beaked bird" and lookěi meaning "children". Apsáalookěi thus literally means "children of the large-beaked bird". (The name "Crow" comes from the French gens du corbeaux or "people of the crows" as Apsáalookěi was translated by French fur traders in 1743.) The name was chosen by Absarokee-founder Sever T. Simonson who believed it meant "our people". It is widely believed that the difference in spelling of Absarokee from the nearby Absaroka Range is a result of the poor penmanship of an early settler whose final "a" in the name was mistaken for "ee". Though pronounced "Ab-SOR-kee" in modern parlance, Eli Ricker in one of his "Indian Interviews" from 1903-1919 ends a record of an interview with Frank S. Shively, Assistant Clerk at Crow Agency, with "Absarokee Ab-sar'-o-kee".
Absarokee was founded just north of the Second Crow Agency (sometimes referred to as the Absaroka Agency) in 1892. The Crow Agency was the headquarters of the Crow Tribe's reservation that was established by the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868). That original reservation extended to more than 35 million acres with the first Crow Agency located at Fort Parker near modern Livingston, Montana in 1869. As miners encroached, the reservation was reduced to 8 million acres in 1875 with a location south of modern Absarokee established as Second Crow Agency (1875-1884). It was during this time that the Crow were forced to give up nomadic free lifestyles to one totally under the control of the US government. They were not allowed to leave the reservation, bison was replaced with US issued beef rations, and the tribe was hit by several measles and scarlet feaver epidemics. Finally, by 1884 further miner encroachment led to the creation of the third and current Crow Agency 60 miles SE of Billings on the Little Bighorn River. Most of the Absaroka Agency Fort was destroyed in a fire in 1891.
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