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From the Heart of the Crow Country: The Crow Indians' Own Stories
The world of the Crow Indians comes to life in this extraordinary collection of stories from respected elder and famed storyteller Joseph Medicine Crow. Raised by traditional grandparents, who remembered life before the reservation days, Medicine Crow as a child would listen to stories that his grandfather and other elders told during sweat baths. He also learned about the Indian wars of earlier years from White Man Runs Him, one of Custer's Crow scouts. Medicine Crow became a passionate collector of stories and information about Crow life and history. This volume is a fascinating and informative collection of legends, humorous tales, history, and detailed accounts of life and culture, all told from Crow points of view.
146 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
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196 people want to read
About the author
Joseph Medicine Crow
10 books10 followersJoseph Medicine Crow-High Bird was a Crow historian, author and an enrolled member of the Crow Nation of Native Americans. He was the last war chief of the Crow Tribe. His best known writings on Native American history concern the Battle of the Little Bighorn. He earned both a bachelor’s degree and master degree before 1939. He receive three honorary doctorates. Medicine Crow received the United States' highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, from President Barack Obama on August 12, 2009.
Also published under Joe Medicine Crow.
Also published under Joe Medicine Crow.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
November 27, 2012
Excellent historical work - this book gives a vivid feel for the personalities of many of the people described and for their culture. The author is a professional historian, a grandson of a famous Crow leader and warrior, and a decorated veteran of World War II himself, and although he omitted his own accomplishments in this book, it's easy to see how that experience informed his understanding of the war stories he told here.
I didn't realize it until after I'd started this book, but Joseph Medicine Crow is one of the soldiers interviewed in the Ken Burns World War II documentary The War; he told about how (as he tells it, without even realizing it at the time) he succeeded while fighting the Germans in Europe in accomplishing each of the four tasks required for a Crow man to become a war chief - he led a war party, took an enemy soldier's weapon away from him, touched a living enemy soldier in combat, and finally, stole a herd of German army horses. He struck me as a good-natured and down-to-earth person with whom it would be fascinating to sit and talk. And just as he made no mention in this book of his own brave and skilled service as a soldier, in the filmed interview he said nothing about his distinguished career as an anthropologist and tribal historian. Very much a man I'd like to know.
I didn't realize it until after I'd started this book, but Joseph Medicine Crow is one of the soldiers interviewed in the Ken Burns World War II documentary The War; he told about how (as he tells it, without even realizing it at the time) he succeeded while fighting the Germans in Europe in accomplishing each of the four tasks required for a Crow man to become a war chief - he led a war party, took an enemy soldier's weapon away from him, touched a living enemy soldier in combat, and finally, stole a herd of German army horses. He struck me as a good-natured and down-to-earth person with whom it would be fascinating to sit and talk. And just as he made no mention in this book of his own brave and skilled service as a soldier, in the filmed interview he said nothing about his distinguished career as an anthropologist and tribal historian. Very much a man I'd like to know.
April 27, 2016
Joseph Medicine Crow tells some of the history of his people, their migrations, their battles, and so on. Some chapters seemed a bit slow to me (particularly the chapters about their migration west and the chapter about intertribal warfare. Other chapters pulled me right in. I loved the chapter at the end about their humor. I was angered and disgusted when I read about the slaughter of their horses by white men paid by the government to slaughter the horses. So horrific..for the horses and for the Crows. The horses were beloved by the Crows and were integral to their culture and occupations. I also found the chapter on "medicine men" and the different types of medicine men to be very interesting. This definitely provides the reader with a fascinating glimpse into the history and culture of the Crows, written by a respected member of the Crow tribe who is a historian, anthropologist and storyteller.
June 15, 2020
This book is a history and cultural overview of the Crow tribe of southern Montana and northern Wyoming. It's topics are broad, from inter-tribal warfare to descriptions of buffalo jumps (herding buffalo off of cliffs to make hunting them easier) to a dry, witty humor recounted in the Crow Humor chapter.
On the one hand, the scale of loss over the years is sobering. In 1851 the Crow were recognized by the US government to lay claim to 35 million acres in what would become southern Montana and northern Wyoming. Compare that to the modern state of Montana's 94 million acres. The current Crow reservation is 2.3 million acres or 6.57% of the original. In the mid nineteenth century, a smallpox epidemic wiped through Crow Country. Before the epidemic there were about 8,000 Crows. Afterword there were 1,000-2,000 left.
On the other hand, Medicine Crow is clearly proud of his people and his culture. When the Sioux to the east were pressured into moving west by white expansion into Sioux territory, the Sioux attempted to completely kill off the Crow nation. This attempt failed miserably. At negotiations for the treaty of Fort Laramie, shrewd Crow leaders got a concession that future land deals would require majority support from the Crow people. This and consistent advocacy over the years has lead to the Crow having one of the largest reservations in the US.
I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in western american history and modern american indian culture.
On the one hand, the scale of loss over the years is sobering. In 1851 the Crow were recognized by the US government to lay claim to 35 million acres in what would become southern Montana and northern Wyoming. Compare that to the modern state of Montana's 94 million acres. The current Crow reservation is 2.3 million acres or 6.57% of the original. In the mid nineteenth century, a smallpox epidemic wiped through Crow Country. Before the epidemic there were about 8,000 Crows. Afterword there were 1,000-2,000 left.
On the other hand, Medicine Crow is clearly proud of his people and his culture. When the Sioux to the east were pressured into moving west by white expansion into Sioux territory, the Sioux attempted to completely kill off the Crow nation. This attempt failed miserably. At negotiations for the treaty of Fort Laramie, shrewd Crow leaders got a concession that future land deals would require majority support from the Crow people. This and consistent advocacy over the years has lead to the Crow having one of the largest reservations in the US.
I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in western american history and modern american indian culture.
October 16, 2019
A pretty short read at 133 pages. It's written in a conversational style rather than in a typically literary fashion. You get the impression when reading it that Joe Medicine Crow is sitting opposite you telling you the stories. It is unusual, but in this case, it works.
Despite the title, not everything in the book are stories. There is a lot of factual information- a whole section for instance on stampeding buffalo off a cliff along with diagrams of different techniques. Descriptions of the Crow fayre and how it came to be and details about Crow Nation history.
Due to the relative brevity of the book, nothing goes into too much depth. I was often left thinking there should be more on a specific subject or even more stories. In terms of traditional stories, there are probably only about 10-15 in the book, and none are longer than a couple of pages. It is a good source of autoethnographic information and quite an enjoyable read.
Despite the title, not everything in the book are stories. There is a lot of factual information- a whole section for instance on stampeding buffalo off a cliff along with diagrams of different techniques. Descriptions of the Crow fayre and how it came to be and details about Crow Nation history.
Due to the relative brevity of the book, nothing goes into too much depth. I was often left thinking there should be more on a specific subject or even more stories. In terms of traditional stories, there are probably only about 10-15 in the book, and none are longer than a couple of pages. It is a good source of autoethnographic information and quite an enjoyable read.
September 20, 2017
Really, really cool. I enjoyed the part that explained how the Crow would induce crowds of buffalo to stampede over the edge of a cliff, which I'd never heard of before, and which is genius. I'd also never heard of the Baxbe ceremony, a voluntary experience that called for bloodletting and fasting in exchange for spiritual wisdom and power. That's so fucking cool. I'm definitely not hardcore enough to do it, but I admire the people who were. I also found the chapter on medicine men very interesting, and want to learn more about indigenous healing methods and how they align with the more modern, clinical medicine of today. (I think it'd be cool to learn more about Christian and pagan pre-scientific healing methods as well. I'm going to look into this.) Anyway, I really recommend it. Very, very good read.
December 3, 2023
5 stars -- As a reader who also enjoys genealogy & history and how those intertwine, I found this Crow Indian history and current way of life an interesting read, especially since it was written by the Crow Indian who, at the time, was the tribal historian and anthropologist. This collection of essays and stories included everything from warfare to Crow humor to buffalo jumps to extensive cultural characteristics and traditions. At times, I thought it could have been edited a bit better, but at the same time, I loved the own voice and the decades of wisdom shared by the almost 80-year-old author.
March 26, 2023
Why does Goodreads list Herman J. Viola as the Author of this book? He just wrote the 6 page Forward! The author is Joseph Medicine Crow. That's why I picked this book up - because it was written by a current member of the Crow tribe, rather than white interpreters. It's a small book that really enlightened me as to the real stories and history and culture of this tribe (and incidentally some of the other tribes living on the plains of the US).
June 21, 2019
I finished this book months ago, and completely forgot about it. What I can remember of it is pretty meager. Assorted tales of an old Indian's memories of life dealing with settlers, soldiers and other Indians. Though it is not particularly riveting, it has some interesting insights on Indian thinking, philosophy and hunting strategies. I'm sorry that I can't be much more specific than that.
June 22, 2019
This is a terrific book. I included Joseph Medicine Crow's story in my book, "Invisible Heroes of World War II" and used this and another book by Chief Crow as part of my research. He is a very good writer with a wonderful story to tell. I learned a great deal about his culture and have the highest respect for his wartime service and the life he led. I highly recommend this book.
September 17, 2020
Medicine Crow is concise but detailed, and he's very honest about what stories are documented vs oral history vs legend. Also, turns out, there are a lot of nuances to the history between native tribes and Americans that I wasn't previously aware of. These nuances are a lot more obvious when the history is told from an indigenous person's perspective.
August 15, 2021
The exact opposite of a book you just cannot put down...
November 7, 2021
Absolutely wonderful, but me being a whiner wanted so much more.
March 15, 2022
Stories so rich in history and culture that it made me want to travel west to search for the places and people who no longer exist
April 21, 2024
A good ethnohistory of The Crow plains Indian tribe as culture.
July 14, 2025
It was ok. Not as good as I was hoping.
January 2, 2013
This book is a fabulous read. The author weaves his story in a very intimate fashion, all the while making sure he adheres to the facts. I really enjoyed this book and was quite disappointed I finished it so soon. I would have loved to read a second or third volume.
December 19, 2008
I thoroughly enjoyed this very short book. I wish he would follow through with each chapter - maybe expand each into its own book.
November 28, 2011
A look at the life of Plains Indians from their perspective.
December 31, 2020
Conversational narrative of a VERY brief overview of Crow culture from 1700-1900s
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews