The Last Link to the Little Bighorn
From sharing the stories of the Custer battle to fighting in WWII, Joe Medicine Crow is a national treasure.
By: Mark Boardman 11/03/2009
They Didn’t Want to Hear
Frequently, the young man served as interpreter for his grandfather, especially when white newspapermen and writers came for interviews about the Custer fight.
Medicine Crow says that most refused to believe the stories, which flew in the face of the white image of Custer as a brave fighter who was ambushed by savages. Finally, White Man Runs Him had his fill: facing a skeptical interviewer, he told the boy in Crow, “Send him home. He does not want to know the truth.” The mid-60s man rarely spoke of the battle to whites after that.
Medicine Crow faced similar disbelief throughout the years yet he didn’t stop telling the Crow stories.
Feet in Two Worlds
Medicine Crow’s relatives were not afraid to face the truth—the younger people would have to live in the white man’s world. So while they brought them up with the old customs—speaking the Crow language and learning the way of the warrior—the elders sent the children to white schools. It was tough, Medicine Crow says. The Indian kids faced physical and emotional bullying from their mainly white peers, and either indifference or discrimination from the teachers.
Most dropped out. Medicine Crow stayed, but he didn’t get his high school diploma until he was 21 years old. Then he became the second member of the tribe to attend college, and the first to obtain a graduate degree, earning a masters in anthropology from the University of Southern California. He was well on his way to a PhD when WWII interrupted. Combat action in Europe provided an opportunity to bring his two worlds together—and to prove his own worth as a warrior.
In early 1945, Medicine Crow and the 103rd Army Division were driving through Germany, trying to finish up the war in Europe. He put war paint on his arms and a sacred eagle feather under his helmet, believing the strong medicine would protect him. It apparently did more than that. In an era of advanced warfare, Medicine Crow accomplished four tasks required of a Crow war chief—steal an enemy’s horse, touch an enemy in battle, take away an enemy’s weapon and lead a successful war party. Nobody since has achieved that honor. It probably won’t be done again.
To this day, he proudly tells stories of his accomplishments in battle—just like White Man Runs Him and his other ancestors did.
A 21st-Century Crow
More honors have come Medicine Crow’s way over the years, including his receipt of this year’s Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. He’s written numerous books and articles, and given more interviews than one can count.
In the oral tradition of his Crow tribe, he passes the stories on to younger generations—Indian as well as white—who need to understand their history and culture if they are to be successful in the modern world. Joe Medicine Crow has already blazed that path, a nearly 100-year journey filled with great achievements.
Comments (1)
I enjoyed reading this article. A coworker once showed me a photo of his great-great grandfather that was killed in the Battle of the Little Bighorn - Jeremiah Finley. Also saw something on Joe Medicine Crow on the History channel a while back. Great article. Terry B.
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