Seth Big Crow, 68, Crazy Horse descendant dies
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Seth Big Crow, a descendant of Crazy Horse and a principal protector of
the 19th-century Lakota leader's name, died in his country home near
Parmelee on the Rosebud Indian Reservation.
Big Crow, who had suffered heart failure, died last Friday morning,
family members said.
He was 68.
Big Crow's great-grandfather was a first cousin of Crazy Horse, in
whose honor crews have spent years sculpting a massive memorial in the
Black Hills.
Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Friday at the community hall in
Upper Cut Meat, a village on the Rosebud reservation. Burial will
follow at Crazy Horse Tiospaye Cemetery near Parmelee, according to
Gwen Herman, who works for the Rosebud Sioux tribe.
A long-time administrator of the Crazy Horse estate, Big Crow became
the public face in a national campaign to rid corporate America of
illegal use of the famous Sioux warrior's name and likeness.
That effort came to a head in April 2002, when John Stroh III stood in
a Rosebud gymnasium and apologized to Crazy Horse descendants on behalf
of breweries affiliated with his SBC Holdings Inc. The breweries once
made the Original Crazy Horse Malt Liquor.
Big Crow had called the product demeaning to the Lakota people and had
championed an eight-year lawsuit brought against the breweries.
When Stroh apologized, Big Crow said before a crowd of Rosebud
residents, "Oh man, it's a beautiful day."
Also in 2002, Big Crow scored another win in his battle against big
business.
BP, formerly British Petroleum Amoco, agreed to rename one of its major
drilling projects Thunder Horse about a year after the company was
asked to drop the Crazy Horse name.
Big Crow gained wide recognition for his efforts and will be remembered
as a fierce protector of the Crazy Horse name and the dignity of Native
Americans, his sister said.
"He took a very important stand for our people," said Ione Big Crow
Miller, who lives in Sioux Falls.