President Barack Obama had to poke his head around the feathers of Joe Medicine Crow's warrior headdress to hang the nation's highest civilian honor on the Crow Indian elder's chest.
The white eagle feathers on the headdress and the gold eagles that surround the white star in the medal are symbolic of the esteem that Medicine Crow has earned in service to his tribe and the nation.
The headdress represents Medicine Crow's status as a warrior chief of the Crow Tribe, earned by war deeds he performed in World War II. The Presidential Medal of Freedom, bestowed in a White House ceremony Wednesday, represents his role as a living legend in America.
