Last Best News (https://montana-mint.com/lastbestnews/tag/joe-medicine-crow/)
I’ve spent the past 10 days or so immersed in Montana history, working on a project that I hope will bear fruit soon. As part of that immersion, I’ve done interviews with people who’ve had front-row seats — when they weren’t down on the floor, in the thick of things — on some of the most momentous events in Montana’s history over the past 50 years. (more…) Continue Reading →
During Sean Kernan’s second visit to the Crow Indian Reservation, after he had decided to make a documentary about the Crow people, he was asked by a tribal member what he wanted to say with his film. “I don’t want to say anything,” Kernan answered. “I want to listen.” (more…) Continue Reading →
In my estimation, there are few posthumous honors quite like being the subject of an obituary in The Economist, a weekly news magazine based in London but widely available in this country. Each week, the last page of the publication carries an obituary, sometimes of a person quite well known but often of relatively obscure people. No matter who it is, the obituaries are so well written that I can’t imagine anyone ever questioning the wisdom of the latest selection. This week, the subject of The Economist’s obituary is Joseph Medicine Crow, the last of the Crow Indian war chiefs who died earlier this month at 102. It is a beautifully written piece, built around the story of how, as a young soldier in World War II, Medicine Crow made off with a herd of horses belonging to some German SS officers. Continue Reading →
Some 14 years ago I sat in the back of a van along with a group of Little Big Horn College students on their way to pick up Joe Medicine Crow before going across the border to Ucross, Wyo., home of the Ucross Foundation Art Gallery and temporary display area of the Barstow Collection of ledger art. (more…) Continue Reading →
Editor’s note: Adrian Jawort helped organize the Native American Race Relations and Healing Symposium, a daylong series of panel discussions scheduled for Aug. 22 at the Billings Public Library. A companion piece, with a schedule of events, by co-organizer Russell Rowland, is published below. Click here to see it. Aurelia Brien Jawort is a bright and reserved Crow and Northern Cheyenne girl (with a quarter of German blood via her grandpa on her father’s side) who just graduated from kindergarten. Continue Reading →
A really fine profile of Joseph Medicine Crow was posted today—on the occasion of Medicine Crow’s 101st birthday—at Al Jazeera America. His story is familiar to most people in this part of the world, but this is the most comprehensive piece I’ve read about him, and it seems to capture his personality very well. The story was written by Mary Hudetz, a native of Crow Agency and editor-in-chief of Native Peoples Magazine. Here’s a bit more from her profile at the website of the Native American Journalists Association, of which she is president:
“She is a former editor on The Associated Press’ West Regional Desk in Phoenix, where she filed national breaking news and daily stories on broad range of topics and events in the West. She also worked closely with a team of reporters to develop stories specifically about Native issues and communities.” Continue Reading →
