Very few people could have lived at the intersection of so many histories.

Medicine Crow did more than live there.

He explained it.

That is why his story is still being told.

A young Crow man went to war carrying an eagle feather beneath a steel helmet.

In Europe, he completed deeds his people had honored for generations, including taking enemy horses from a modern army.

He returned home a war chief.

Then he spent the rest of his life showing that the highest purpose of remembered courage was not to remain trapped in battle.

It was to make sure the next generation knew who they were.

Why Joe Medicine Crow Still Matters