In the Heart of Crow Country, Courage and Honor

CrowNews.Net

The man who grew up in the Valley of the Chiefs and later performed the deeds needed to become a Crow chief was nominated Wednesday for one of the nation’s highest honors.

Dr. Joe Medicine Crow, a leading voice on Crow history and culture, has been selected as a choice candidate for the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and former Sen. Alan Simpson, R-Wyo. 

“In Montana, we are fortunate to have many present-day reminders of a
land and a people of former times,” Tester wrote in his nomination
letter to President Bush. “Joe is not only one such reminder, but
a
shining case.”

Medicine Crow, 94, is a lifelong resident of Lodge Grass and entered the Army during World War II. While
in Europe, he performed the four war
deeds, or "coups," required to become a Crow chief: capture a horse
from an enemy camp, touch the first fallen enemy during battle, take
the weapon of an enemy, and lead a successful party into battle.

"All four requirements for chieftain-ship were difficult to
accomplish," Medicine Crow wrote in his  2006 memoir "Counting Coup."
"Attempting any one of them could mean putting your own life on the
line."

He
is known to be the first tribal member to earn a master's degree and
the last to accomplish the four acts during combat. His war stories became known
among tribal members when returned to the reservation in 1946, and he chronicled the
experience six decades later in his autobiography. Last fall, he shared the story with millions of PBS viewers when he appeared in "The War," a documentary by filmmaker Ken Burns.

He completed the first of the acts when he was assigned a command job
to lead six members of his division into enemy fire, and returned with
his group having accomplished the mission.

Two more deeds were counted
when he entered hand-to-hand combat with a German soldier, and moved to
take the man's rifle but not his life. Near the end of the war, he
captured some 50 horses from a German camp and after riding towards
safety sang a Crow praise song.

Since the end of World War II, Medicine Crow has earned three honorary
PhDs. He has written several books about Crow history and culture,
including the "From the Heart of Crow Country: The Crow Indians' Own Stories."

He is a founding member of the advisory board at the Plains Indian Museum at the Buffalo Bill Historical
Center in Cody, Wyo., according to the museum's website, and has been a frequent guest speaker there. He is a scholar, anthropologist, teacher and
tribal historian who has also spoken close to home at Little Big Horn College, throughout the country at numerous
universities and in New York at the United Nations.

"The list goes on and on," said Aaron Murphy, a Tester spokesperson. "He's a remarkable
guy and that was evident."

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian honor that
is given by a U.S. president, and while it's a civilian medal, it is
often awarded for military heroism.

Past recipients include Muhammad Ali, Pope John Paul II, Rosa Parks
and actress Carol Burnett. Montana recipients include former Sen. Mike
Mansfield and actress Martha Reye, who was born in Butte, according to Tester.

Tester and Simpson received letters of support from politicians and artists
nationwide to support Medicine Crow's nomination, which has been sent
to President Bush. Letters were submitted by Sen. Max Baucus, Gov.
Brian Schweitzer, Ken Burns, Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, and retired Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo.

The president is expected to announce recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom later this year.