Phil Drake

pdrake@greatfallstribune.com

Montana Attorney General Tim Fox was adopted into the Crow Tribe on Thursday at a ceremony during the Crow Fair and was given the name “spiritual runner.”

“It was a wonderful night and a great honor,” Fox said Monday, his 59th birthday.

Fox, who grew up in Hardin, said he was adopted by longtime friends Howard and Vivian Shane and aided by their daughter, Melissa Holds the Enemy. He said much of his childhood was spent on the Crow Indian Reservation and that his father, who sold Chrysler, Plymouth and Dodge automobiles out of Hardin, had received a similar honor about 50 years ago.

He said family members were present for the ceremony and he spent the weekend at the family ranch.

“This is real touching and moving for me,” he said. “This is my home.”

Fox said as attorney general he has tried to focus on Native American issues and tribes.

The Crow Indian Reservation is the largest reservation in Montana, encompassing about 2.2 million acres, according to the Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs website. The tribe has 11,000 members, of whom 7,900 live on the reservation and 85 percent speak Crow as their first language.

The reservation is in southcentral Montana, bordered by Wyoming on the south, with its northwestern boundary about 10 miles from Billings.

This tribe was called “Apsaalooke,” which means “children of the large-beaked bird.” White men misinterpreted the word as “crow,” according to the state website.

Fox is a Republican up for re-election and is running against Democrat Larry Jent, a former state senator and attorney.