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Crazy Horse descendant dies at age 68
Seth Big Crow, administrator of Lakota leader's estate, fought to protect ancestor's image
From staff reports
Sioux Falls Argus Leader - 24 January 2007
http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs...0302/1001/NEWS

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.

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