when joe medicine crow of billings montana died in april NUMBER_TOKEN he was the last war chief of the crow nation of native americans though casual honorific in crow culture the title of war chief is only bestowed upon those who have carried out four feats of bravery in battle touching an enemy without killing him also known as counting coup taking an enemy's weapon leading a successful war party and stealing an enemy's horse unlike his ancestors however joe madsen crow accomplished these tasks not against rival tribes on the great plains of america but against the nazis on the battlefields of france and germany his exploits stand among the most improbable and astonishing feats of badassery of the entire second world war from the beginning joe medsencrow's life was steeped in the history and traditions of his people as he wrote in NUMBER_TOKEN when i was born on october NUMBER_TOKEN NUMBER_TOKEN there were no doctors or nurses around with their instruments just a medicine woman who specialized in child delivery with incense of burning cedar and the singing of sacred songs i came into the world i was singing too but they probably thought i was wailing born to amy yellowtail and leo medicine crow on the lodge grass reservation in southern montana joe came from a proud line of crow warriors his great-uncle white man runs him was a scout for general george custer at the NUMBER_TOKEN battle of little bighorn while his grandfather chief medicine crow was a highly respected leader who became a war chief at the age of only NUMBER_TOKEN and traveled frequently to washington dc to speak on behalf of his people raised by his grandparents joe spent much of his childhood training in the traditional ways of the crow warrior learning to ride horses track and hunt game and toughen his body and spirit by running barefoot through the snow and bathing in frozen rivers he also immersed himself in the history and traditions of his people memorizing legends and oral histories and translating for his great uncle when reporters came to into him about little bighorn however life on the lodge grass reservation was rife with hardship by the NUMBER_TOKENs the tribe was down to only NUMBER_TOKEN NUMBER_TOKEN members and poverty and disease were rampant at one point joe's family was forced to steal cattle to survive in school joe was tormented by white children who poked him with safety pins while other native children mocked him for trying to be a white man whenever he spoke english nonetheless joe was determined to complete his education later stating that an elder told me with an education you are a white man's equal without an education you are his prisoner that to me was a personal challenge i wanted to prove to people not only to indian people but people in general that an indian is capable of becoming a good college student people said that indians are just too dumb they are not capable of getting a college education i wanted to disprove that in NUMBER_TOKEN joe began attending picone college in muskogee oklahoma graduating with an associate of arts degree in NUMBER_TOKEN. he then completed his bachelor's degree in sociology and psychology at linfield college oregon in NUMBER_TOKEN and obtained a master's degree in anthropology from the university of southern california
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