Medicine Crow was the last traditional Plains war chief, having achieved the war deeds necessary to be declared a "chief" during World War II. He served in Europe, and earned the Bronze Star, a US Forces individual military decoration for acts of bravery or merit, or for meritorious service. Medicine Crow was also honored for his service to France during World War II when he received the National Order of the Legion of Honor from the French government on June 25, 2008. He was recognized for leading a war party that, under fire, retrieved dynamite to use to attack German guns. He also overcame a German soldier in hand-to-hand combat on a street in France (sparing his life), and captured fifty SS horses at a farm where German officers were staying. Joe Medicine Crow was nominated for the Congressional Gold Medal. Interviews with Dr. Medicince Crow were included in the 2007 Ken Burns PBS series "The War." In those interviews, he describes some of his World War II experiences.

For his war deeds and "contributions to the preservation of the culture and history of the First Americans" and his "importance as a role model to young Native Americans across the country," and other services to America, Joe Medicine Crow received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor, on August 12, 2009. For more on his war deeds, see the “Online Resources” section below.

Additional honors include the naming of a U.S. Veterans Administration clinic in Billings, Montana, and a building at the University of Southern California after Dr. Medicine Crow.

Dr. Medicine Crow was a guest speaker at Little Bighorn College, the Custer Battlefield Museum, and several other colleges throughout the nation. Also an author, his books include, A Handbook of Crow Indian Laws and Treaties, and From the Heart of the Crow Country. He lived on the Crow Reservation in Lodge Grass, Montana, until his death on April 3, 2016.

Dr. Medicine Crow's contributions to World Wisdom books include:

• The “Foreword” to Custer’s Last Battle: Red Hawk’s Account of the Battle of the Little Bighorn
• The "Introduction" in All our Relatives
• The "Introduction" in Native Spirit: The Sun Dance Way (Book)
• An interview in Native Spirit and the Sun Dance Way (DVD)
• The "Foreword" in The Image Taker: The Selected Stories and Photographs of Edward S. Curtis
• The "Foreword" in Earth Made New: Plains Indian Stories of Creation
• In Living in Two Worlds: The American Indian Experience, Joe Medicine Crow is featured in the section "Contemporary Voices"

"Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow, the last living Plains Indian war chief, is the author of seminal works in Native American history and culture. He is the last person alive to have received direct oral testimony from a participant in the Battle of the Little Bighorn: his grandfather was a scout for General George Armstrong Custer. A veteran of World War II, Medicine Crow accomplished during the war all of the four tasks required to become a 'war chief,' including stealing fifty Nazi SS horses from a German camp. Medicine Crow was the first member of his tribe to attend college, receiving his master’s degree in anthropology in 1939, and continues to lecture at universities and notable institutions like the United Nations. His contributions to the preservation of the culture and history of the First Americans are matched only by his importance as a role model to young Native Americans across the country."
—The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, taken from a press release announcing the naming of Dr. Medicine Crow, along with 15 others, as recipients of the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom.