Born: 22 May 1927, United States
Died: 11 April 1998
Country most active: United States
Also known as: “Sitting Star”
The following is republished from the National Park Service. This piece falls under under public domain, as copyright does not apply to “any work of the U.S. Government” where “a work prepared by an officer or employee of the U.S. Government as part of that person’s official duties” (See, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101, 105).
Aileen was the daughter of Moses and Estella Crow. The Crow family moved to Pipestone in 1927 from Granite Falls, Minnesota. Many generations of quarriers and crafters have come from this family.
Aileen’s first experience working in the quarries and with the pipestone itself was in the 1940’s when she helped her sister Ethel (Crow) Derby. Ethel later taught Aileen how to carve turtles, arrowheads, and hearts from the stone. One of the special items she later learned to carve was buttons out of the pipestone.
Aileen married Sylvester Bird on July 17, 1946. Together the couple raised four children, one boy and three girls. In earlier years she worked as a nurse’s aide in the Pipestone Indian Hospital and later as a cook at the Good Samaritan Village.
Aileen worked as a cultural demonstrator at Pipestone National Monument for 18 years, from 1973 to 1991. She enjoyed talking to the visitors and explaining how the pipestone is carved.
Aileen’s three daughters (Adrienne, Colleen and Peggy) carry on the family tradition of carving pipestone.