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| Joseph Medicine Crow, Tribal War Chief and Historian, Dies at 102 | Joseph Medicine Crow, Tribal War Chief and Historian, Dies at 102 |
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| Joseph Medicine Crow, the last living war chief of the Crow Tribe of Montana and a renowned Native American historian and anthropologist, died on Sunday at a hospice in Billings, Mont. He was 102. | Joseph Medicine Crow, the last living war chief of the Crow Tribe of Montana and a renowned Native American historian and anthropologist, died on Sunday at a hospice in Billings, Mont. He was 102. |
| Terry Bullis, the funeral director at Bullis Mortuary in Hardin, Mont., confirmed the death. | Terry Bullis, the funeral director at Bullis Mortuary in Hardin, Mont., confirmed the death. |
| Mr. Medicine Crow was the last living person to have heard direct oral testimony from people who were present before the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876. His step-grandfather, White Man Runs Him, was among six Crow scouts for George Armstrong Custer. | Mr. Medicine Crow was the last living person to have heard direct oral testimony from people who were present before the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876. His step-grandfather, White Man Runs Him, was among six Crow scouts for George Armstrong Custer. |
| In 2009, President Obama presented Mr. Medicine Crow with the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, citing his contributions as a World War II service member and the author of seminal works on Native American history. In one wartime incident he stole 50 Nazi SS horses from a German camp, the White House said. | In 2009, President Obama presented Mr. Medicine Crow with the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, citing his contributions as a World War II service member and the author of seminal works on Native American history. In one wartime incident he stole 50 Nazi SS horses from a German camp, the White House said. |
| “He was a national treasure,” said Herman J. Viola, a historian who collaborated with Mr. Medicine Crow. “There is simply nobody like him. You meet Joe Medicine Crow, you’re shaking hands with the 19th century.” | “He was a national treasure,” said Herman J. Viola, a historian who collaborated with Mr. Medicine Crow. “There is simply nobody like him. You meet Joe Medicine Crow, you’re shaking hands with the 19th century.” |
| Gov. Steve Bullock of Montana said in a tribute on Twitter that Mr. Medicine Crow would “forever serve as an inspiration for all Native Americans — and all Montanans.” | Gov. Steve Bullock of Montana said in a tribute on Twitter that Mr. Medicine Crow would “forever serve as an inspiration for all Native Americans — and all Montanans.” |
| Joseph Medicine Crow was born on Oct. 27, 1913, near Lodge Grass, Mont., to Leo Medicine Crow and Amy Yellowtail. | Joseph Medicine Crow was born on Oct. 27, 1913, near Lodge Grass, Mont., to Leo Medicine Crow and Amy Yellowtail. |
| He graduated from Linfield College in McMinnville, Ore., in 1938 and earned a master’s degree in anthropology from the University of Southern California a year later, specializing in the effect of European culture on Native Americans. In 2003, the university awarded him an honorary doctorate. | He graduated from Linfield College in McMinnville, Ore., in 1938 and earned a master’s degree in anthropology from the University of Southern California a year later, specializing in the effect of European culture on Native Americans. In 2003, the university awarded him an honorary doctorate. |
| Mr. Medicine Crow said that he had completed his coursework toward the doctorate and had begun writing his dissertation in the early 1940s, but that he never finished. | Mr. Medicine Crow said that he had completed his coursework toward the doctorate and had begun writing his dissertation in the early 1940s, but that he never finished. |
| “I had an uncle who had other plans for me,” he told The Billings Gazette in 2003. “Uncle Sam.” | “I had an uncle who had other plans for me,” he told The Billings Gazette in 2003. “Uncle Sam.” |
| Serving in the Army in Europe during the war, he accomplished the four traditional deeds that earn Crow Tribe members the status of “war chief” — one of which is stealing an enemy’s horse. | Serving in the Army in Europe during the war, he accomplished the four traditional deeds that earn Crow Tribe members the status of “war chief” — one of which is stealing an enemy’s horse. |
| After the war he worked for the Crow Tribe for several years and became an appraiser for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He retired in 1982. | After the war he worked for the Crow Tribe for several years and became an appraiser for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He retired in 1982. |
| Mr. Medicine Crow’s wife, Gloria Morrison Medicine Crow, whom he married in 1947, died in 2009. There was no immediate word on his survivors. | Mr. Medicine Crow’s wife, Gloria Morrison Medicine Crow, whom he married in 1947, died in 2009. There was no immediate word on his survivors. |
| Mr. Medicine Crow, who spoke at the United Nations in 1999, often gave speeches at high schools and colleges about the Battle of the Little Bighorn — also known as Custer’s Last Stand — when Cheyenne and Sioux warriors handed Custer and his cavalrymen a crushing defeat near the Little Bighorn River in Montana territory. | |
| Dr. Viola, a curator emeritus at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian, said it was hard to overstate Mr. Medicine Crow’s value as a link to that moment in American history. | Dr. Viola, a curator emeritus at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian, said it was hard to overstate Mr. Medicine Crow’s value as a link to that moment in American history. |
| “Joe personally knew four of those scouts that had been with Custer,” he said. “So, I mean, how can you deal with that? As a historian, it was unbelievable to meet someone who could really give you insights into that time period.” | “Joe personally knew four of those scouts that had been with Custer,” he said. “So, I mean, how can you deal with that? As a historian, it was unbelievable to meet someone who could really give you insights into that time period.” |
| Last year, Mr. Medicine Crow attended the groundbreaking for a middle school that was being named in his honor in Billings. He wore an Indian headdress, sunglasses and three medals around his neck. | Last year, Mr. Medicine Crow attended the groundbreaking for a middle school that was being named in his honor in Billings. He wore an Indian headdress, sunglasses and three medals around his neck. |
| “Billings is, like me, getting older,” he said, according to The Billings Gazette. “But also, like me, better.” | “Billings is, like me, getting older,” he said, according to The Billings Gazette. “But also, like me, better.” |