Joe Medicine Crow

Joe Medicine Crow
With Barack Obama in 2009
Born	Joseph Medicine Crow (1913-10-27)October 27, 1913 Near Lodge Grass, Montana, U.S.
Died	April 3, 2016(2016-04-03) (aged 102) Billings, Montana, U.S.
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Linfield College University of Southern California
Occupation	Historian, war chief, anthropologist, author
Relatives	Pauline Small (cousin) White Man Runs Him (step-grandfather)
Awards	Presidential Medal of Freedom
Military career
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1943–1946
Rank	Private
Unit	103rd Infantry Division
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Bronze Star Légion d'honneur

Joseph "Joe" Medicine Crow (October 27, 1913 – April 3, 2016) was an author and historian of the Crow Nation of Native Americans. His writings on Native American history and reservation culture are considered seminal works, but he is best known for his writings and lectures concerning the Battle of the Little Bighorn. During his lifetime he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Bronze Star Medal, and the Légion d'honneur. During World War II, he became the last war chief of the Crow Tribe, and was the last living Plains Indian war chief. He was a founding member of the Traditional Circle of Indian Elders and Youth.^[1]

Early life

Joseph Medicine Crow (his Crow name was High Bird) was born on the Crow Indian Reservation near Lodge Grass, Montana, to Amy Yellowtail and Leo Medicine Crow.^[2] The Crow kinship and descent system was matrilineal. His cousin is Pauline Small, the first woman elected to office in the Crow Tribe of Indians. His maternal step-grandfather, White Man Runs Him, was a scout for George Armstrong Custer and an eyewitness to the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876.^[3] Chief Medicine Crow, Leo's father, was a highly distinguished and honored chief in his own right, who at the age of 22 became a war chief. He set a standard for aspiring warriors and was Joe's inspiration.

Education

When he was young, Medicine Crow heard direct oral testimony about the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876 from his step-grandfather, White Man Runs Him, who had been a scout for Custer.^[4]

Beginning in 1929, when he was in eighth grade, Medicine Crow attended Bacone College in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and stayed there until he had completed an Associate of Arts degree in 1936. He went on to study sociology and psychology for his bachelor's degree from Linfield College in 1938.^[5] He then earned a master's degree in anthropology from the University of Southern California in 1939, and in doing so was the first member of the Crow tribe to obtain a master's degree.^[4] His thesis, The Effects of European Culture Contact upon the Economic, Social, and Religious Life of the Crow Indians, has become a well-respected work about Crow culture.^[6] He began work toward a doctorate, and by 1941 had completed the required coursework. He did not complete his Ph.D., however, due to the outbreak of World War II.^[4] He taught at Chemawa Indian School for a year in 1941, then took a job in the shipyards of Bremerton, Washington. After that he joined the army.^[5]

Medicine Crow received an honorary doctorate from Rocky Mountain College in 1999,^[6] an honorary doctorate at the University of Southern California in 2003,^[4] and an honorary doctorate at Bacone College in 2010, where he was an ambassador and commencement speaker for more than 50 years.^[7]

World War II

After spending the latter half of 1942 working in the naval ship yards in Bremerton, Washington, Medicine Crow joined the Army in 1943,^[5] became a scout in the 103rd Infantry Division, and fought in World War II. Whenever he went into battle, he wore his war paint beneath his uniform and a sacred eagle feather beneath his helmet.^[3]

Medicine Crow completed all four tasks required to become a war chief: Touching an enemy without killing him, taking an enemy's weapon, leading a successful war party, and stealing an enemy's horse:^[6] He touched a living enemy soldier and disarmed an enemy when he turned a corner and found himself face to face with a young German soldier:

He also led a successful war party and stole fifty horses from a battalion of German SS-officers,^[8] singing a traditional Crow honor song as he rode off.^[9]

He is the last member of the Crow tribe to become a war chief. Medicine Crow was interviewed and appeared in the 2007 Ken Burns PBS series The War, describing his World War II service.^[3] Of his story, documentarian Ken Burns said, "The story of Joseph Medicine Crow is something I've wanted to tell for 20 years."^[10]

Tribal spokesman

After serving in the Army, Medicine Crow returned to the Crow Agency. In 1948, he was appointed tribal historian and anthropologist.^[11] He worked for the BIA beginning in 1951. He served as a board member or officer on the Crow Central Education Commission almost continuously since its inception in 1972.^[5] In 1999, he addressed the United Nations.^[8] He was a frequent guest speaker at Little Big Horn College and the Little Big Horn Battlefield Museum, and appeared in several documentaries about the battle. He wrote a script "that has been used at the reenactment of the Battle of Little Big Horn held every summer in Hardin since 1965."^[12] Medicine Crow was also a founding member of Little Bighorn College and of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming beginning in 1976 and was given an honorary Emeritus in the recent years.

He was the "keeper of memories" of his tribe. He preserved the stories and photographs of his people in an archive in his house and garage.^[9] His books include Crow Migration Story, Medicine Crow, the Handbook of the Crow Indians Law and Treaties, Crow Indian Buffalo Jump Techniques, and From the Heart of Crow Country. He also authored a book for children entitled Brave Wolf and the Thunderbird.

Honors

External media

Audio
A Crow Warrior vs. The Nazis, Joseph Medicine Crow on StoryCorps
Video
President Obama Honors Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients, see 24:25-25:50, White House[13]

On June 25, 2008, Medicine Crow received two military decorations: the Bronze Star for his service in the U.S. Army, and the French Legion of Honor Chevalier medal.^[14] His other military awards include the Army Good Conduct Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal and World War II Victory Medal.

On July 17, 2008, Senators Max Baucus, Jon Tester, and Mike Enzi introduced a bill to award him the Congressional Gold Medal; however, the bill did not garner the required sponsorship of two-thirds of the senate to move forward Congressional Gold Medal legislation.^[15]

His book Counting Coup: Becoming a Crow Chief on the Reservation and Beyond, written about his life, was chosen by the National Council for the Social Studies as a "Notable Tradebook for Young People" in 2007.^[16]

He received an honorary doctorate from Rocky Mountain College in 1999.^[17] He received an honorary doctorate at the University of Southern California in 2003. He received another honorary doctorate at Bacone College in 2010, an educational institution where he had been an ambassador and commencement speaker for more than 50 years.^[18]

Medicine Crow received the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the highest civilian honor awarded in the United States) from President Barack Obama on August 12, 2009.^[19] During the White House ceremony, Obama referred to Medicine Crow as bacheitche, a "good man" in Crow.^[20]

Death

He continued to write and lecture at universities and public institutions until his death, at the age of 102, on April 3, 2016, while under hospice care in Billings, Montana.^[19][21] He is survived by his only son Ron Medicine Crow, daughters Vernelle Medicine Crow and Diane Reynolds, and stepdaughter Garnet Watan.

Bibliography

• The Image Taker: The Selected Stories and Photographs of Edward S. Curtis [Foreword] (World Wisdom, 2009) ISBN 978-1-933316-70-3
• The Earth Made New: Plains Indian Stories of Creation [Foreword] (World Wisdom, 2009) ISBN 978-1-933316-67-3
• Native Spirit: The Sun Dance Way [Introduction] (World Wisdom, 2007) ISBN 978-1-933316-27-7
• Native Spirit and The Sun Dance Way DVD (World Wisdom, 2007)
• Counting Coup: Becoming a Crow Chief on the Reservation and Beyond (National Geographic Children's Books, 2006) ISBN 978-0-7922-5391-4
• All Our Relatives: Traditional Native American Thoughts about Nature, [foreword] (World Wisdom, 2005) ISBN 978-0-941532-77-8
• From the Heart of the Crow Country: The Crow Indians' Own Stories (Bison Books, 2000) ISBN 978-0-8032-8263-6
• Brave Wolf and the Thunderbird (Abbeville Press, 1998) ISBN 978-0-7892-0160-7
• The Last Warrior (Sunset Productions, July 1995) ISBN 978-99953-31-04-7
• Keep the Last Bullet For Yourself (The True Story of Custer's Last Stand) [Introduction] (Reference Publications, 1980)
• Memoirs of a White Crow Indian [Introduction] (University of Nebraska Press, 1976) ISBN 978-0-8032-5800-6
• The Crow Indians: 100 years of acculturation (Wyola Elementary School, 1976)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Joe Medicine Crow.

• Joe Medicine Crow: Life and Work (film clips, articles, and slideshows)
• Tribal historian honored as 2005 'Montana Tourism Person of the Year'
• Cast Member in Documentary about Crow and Shoshone Sun Dance and Tribal Culture'
• Appearances on C-SPAN