Joseph Medicine Crow-High Bird (October 27, 1913 – April 3, 2016), affectionately known as CrowJoe to friends, 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 & Youth.

Early life

Joseph Medicine Crow-High Bird was born on the Crow reservation near Lodge Grass, Montana, to Leo Medicine Crow and Amy Yellowtail. His cousin is Pauline Small, the first woman elected to office in the Crow Tribe of Indians. His step-grandfather, White Man Runs Him, was a scout for George Armstrong Custer and an eyewitness to the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Education

Medicine Crow was the last person to have heard direct oral testimony from people who were present before the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876.

His graduate studies were then interrupted by World War II.

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, 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. 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.

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:

“The collision knocked the German's weapon to the ground. Mr. Crow lowered his own weapon and the two fought hand-to-hand. In the end Mr. Crow got the best of the German, grabbing him by the neck and choking him. He was going to kill the German soldier on the spot when the man screamed out 'momma.' Mr. Crow then let him go.”

He also led a successful war party and stole fifty horses from a battalion of German SS-officers, singing a traditional Crow honor song as he rode off. He is the last member of the Crow tribe to become a war chief. Of his story, documentarian Ken Burns said, "The story of Joseph Medicine Crow is something I've wanted to tell for 20 years." Medicine Crow was interviewed and appeared in the 2007 Ken Burns PBS series The War, describing his World War II service.

Tribal spokesman

After serving in the Army, he returned to the Crow Agency. In 1948, he was appointed tribal historian and anthropologist, and served as a board member or officer on the Crow Central Education Commission almost continuously since its inception in 1972. In 1999, he addressed the United Nations. 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."

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 children’s book entitled Brave Wolf and the Thunderbird.

Honors

On June 25, 2008, Medicine Crow received two military decorations: the Bronze Star for his service in the US Army, and the French Legion of Honor Chevalier 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.

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.

He received an honorary doctorate from Rocky Mountain College in 1999. He received an honorary doctorate at the University of Southern California in 2003 and an honorary doctorate at Bacone College in 2010, an educational institution where he had been an ambassador and commencement speaker for over 50 years.

Medicine Crow received the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the United States' highest civilian honor) from President Barack Obama on August 12, 2009.

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.