Crow Tribe war chief remembered as 'great man in two worlds'
Matthew Brown | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 8 years, 7 months AGO
<p>People gather at the Apsaalooke Veterans Cemetery in Montana, during the funeral service for Joe Medicine Crow, Wednesday, April 6, 2016. Medicine Crow, the renowned Native American historian and the last surviving war chief of Montana's Crow Indian Tribe, spent decades methodically cataloging his tribe's culture and history. (Casey Page/The Billings Gazette via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT</p>
<p>A portrait of Joe Medicine Crow in full headdress stands next to his casket during his funeral service at the Apsaalooke Veterans Cemetery near Crow Agency, Mont., Wednesday, April 6, 2016. Medicine Crow was the Crow Tribe's last surviving war chief and a widely-renowned historian. Medicine Crow, who died April 3, 2016 at 102, spent decades cataloging Crow history and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2009. (AP Photo/Matt Brown)</p>
BILLINGS — Prominent state leaders and tribal officials in ceremonial headdresses crowded around the flag-draped coffin of the last surviving war chief of Montana’s Crow Indian Tribe.
At least 700 mourners on Wednesday packed into the one building on the Crow reservation large enough to fit them all, viewing the coffin of Joe Medicine Crow flanked by his World War II uniform and a picture of him in a massive feathered headdress.
Medicine Crow, who died Sunday at 102, spent decades cataloging Crow history and became a renowned Native American historian who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2009.
Medicine Crow attained the title of war chief for a series of deeds performed during combat in World War II, including hand-to-hand combat with a German soldier whose life Medicine Crow spared. During the war, he wore an eagle feather under his helmet and war paint under his uniform.
He later said that Plains Indian warfare was not about killing so much as leadership, honor and intelligence.
Medicine Crow embraced the changes that came with the settling of the West, and he worked to bridge his people’s cultural traditions with the opportunities of modern society.
“He was a great man in two worlds, not only in mainstream society but also in the Crow way,” tribal chairman Darren Old Coyote said in a eulogy. “To try to tell his story in one day does not do him justice.”
Gov. Steve Bullock also spoke about the man whose Crow name was “High Bird.” He ordered flags to be flown at half-staff Wednesday in Medicine Crow’s honor.
Medicine Crow grew up in a rural area near Lodge Grass, Montana, hearing stories as a child from direct participants in the Battle of Little Bighorn. They included his grandfather, White Man Runs Him, a scout for Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer.
Medicine Crow researched and promote Crow history into his 90s even after his eyesight and hearing faded.
His son, Ronald Medicine Crow, told The Associated Press that his father was a brilliant man.
“He said, ‘I never was a smart man to begin with, but I love to learn.’ He said this is the way to get somewhere in life,” the son said.
Obama released a statement after Medicine Crow’s death calling him a “bacheitche” — a Crow word for “good man” — and said his dedication to promoting his tribe’s culture “helped shape a fuller history of America for us all.”