October 27, 1913, Joseph Medicine Crow was born near Lodge Grass, Montana on the Apsaalooke (Crow) Indian Reservation.  His mother was Amy Yellowtail and his father was Leo Medicine Crow. 

Joseph was the first Native American from the Crow Nation to earn a Masters degree. He was a Native American writer, historian and war chief.  

Joseph completed four requirements to become a War Chief, while searching as a scout in the 103rd Infantry Division of the US Army during World War II. Joseph then became the last war chief of the Crow Nation. 

The  requirements to become a War Chief in the Crown Nation include: 

1. To touch or strike the first enemy fallen, whether alive or dead.
2. To wrestle a weapon away from an enemy warrior.
3. To enter an enemy camp at night and steal a horse.
4. To command a war party successfully. 
Joseph was a recipient of the Bronze Star, Legion D'Honneur and also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 

Both Joseph's father and maternal grandfather were war chiefs. His father, Leo became a war chief at the age of 22 in the late 1800's. Joseph's grandfather, White Man Runs Him, also a Crow war chief, served as a US Army scout and shared the stories of his people and battles and specifically the battle of the little Bighorn, where White Man Runs Him searched under General George Armstrong Custer.  

Joseph is well know for preserving the stories of his people. He was a founding member of the Little Bighorn College and the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. Having direct oral histories shared with him he wrote books that preserved the stories and photographs of the Crow People, such as the Crow Migration Story, Medicine Crow, Crow Indian Buffalo Jump Techniques, his own memoir, Handbook of the Crow Indian Law and Treaties and more. He was featured in several documentaries about battles and wrote a script used to reenact the Battle of Little Big Horn. 

He received three honorary doctorates from Bacone College, Rocky Mountain College and the University of Southern California (USC).  In November of 2021, USC named the Center for International and Public Affairs, a historic campus building in honor of Joseph Medicine Crow. 

Joseph Medicine Crow died at the age of 102 on April 3, 2016. 

Draft card of Joseph Medicine Crow, World War II

Delegation of important Crow chiefs, 1880. From left to right: Old Crow, Leo Medicine Crow, Long Elk, Plenty Coups, and Pretty Eagle.  From: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Delegation_of_Crow_Chiefs.jpg

Delegation of important Crow chiefs, 1880

Custer's father together with White Man Runs Him, one of his son's Crow scouts at The Battle of Little Bighorn. White Man Runs Him was a grandfather to Joseph Medicine Crow.   https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Crow_people

Custer's father together with White Man Runs Him

Apsaalooke Veterans Cemetery

I was deeply humbled today to pay my respects at Joe Medicine Crow’s sacred final resting place at Apsaalooke Veterans Cemetery in Montana. While serving as a scout with the 103rd Infantry Division in World War II, he earned his status as a war chief in the Crow Nation. He remains the last to achieve that prestigious honor. And that is just one of the many achievements in an incredible life devoted to studying, teaching, leading and helping others. 

Joe Medicine Crow, I salute you! Thank you for your valiant service in World War II and thank you for the incredible life you led as a scholar, an author, a historian, a spokesman, and a warrior! You continue to inspire us today and your courageous legend continues to grow, as it should. It was an honor to be in your presence. 

Matt Quinn
Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs

The National Cemetery Administration honors Joseph Medicine Crow.  Listen to Joseph  share a story about his service during World War II in this video from the National WWII Museum:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UljxMrhi39Y 

Listen to Joseph  share the Apsaaloke (Crow) Migration Story in his own words at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4zZZvLMalE    

JOSEPH MEDICINE CROW

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