Crowbear Edward Galindo

“Creator made us handsome and beautiful that way”

“I don’t have magic, all I have is Love in my heart”

“Don’t get all cosmic with the atl – the water. Its already been blessed, drink it and pass it on.”

“You’re weird, I like you, now go back to your seat”

“I’m not a medicine man, and I don’t believe in any voodoo superstitious stuff, but we are gonna do this… just in case”

Crowbear Edward Galindo was born September 4, 1937, in San Diego California. He was the son of Antonia Bernard and Francisco Florentino Galindo. A brother to eleven siblings, father to eight children, grandpa to twenty-three grandchildren, and great grandpa, and great great grandpa to many. He was Tio and Uncle to hundreds if not thousands of blood and non-blood related relatives, a beloved elder, local, regional, national, and international renown spiritual leader and roadman of the Teocalli Tlanezi Mexica.  

Crowbear Galindo grew up in Logan Heights among 6 girls and 5 boy siblings and he graduated from San Diego high school in 1955.

As a youngster, Crowbear learned his love for baking, cooking, and creating meals - comida sabrosa he would say, from working at a bakery near what would become Chicano Park. Throughout his life, he was known to cook from scratch, knowing by memory the exact ingredients and amounts, with a pinch of this and a handful of that, like the traditional cocineras of Mexico that he adored. 

Somewhere between 1955-56, following the footsteps of his brothers, Crowbear joined the Army, training to become a paratrooper of the 101st Airborne Division -earning his wings as part of the “Screaming Eagles”, eventually being stationed in Germany. He left the Army with an honorable discharge at a time that coincided with his first wife giving birth to their twin boys born at Balboa Park Navy Hospital.

Once home from overseas, Crowbear worked at the National Steel shipyard in San Diego on marine insulation of military ships. It is said, this is where he broke his foot, yes that foot that caused him pain, which he’d complain of often at ceremony. As the familia grew, Crow found a way to return to school, attending San Diego community college, where he explored his love for art, obtaining his associate degree. Also at this time, as he shared with us, Crowbear was pursued and sought after for his unique skill of precision, pinstriping cars, low riders, and motorcycles which as he laughed, brought a very distinguished group of people knocking at his door.

Crowbear’s reverence for living on the land compelled him to take the family east of San Diego to live in Mt Palomar (Julian/Alpine) where he introduced the familia to living among horses, chickens, teaching the kids to chop wood, hunt on horseback, shoot deer, rabbits, and harvest bullfrogs. Yes, there is a bullfrog story that the boys can tell.

Yet eventually, the familia returned to San Diego during the early 1970’s coinciding with the emergence of the historic Chicano Park events. Crowbear became one of the numerous muralist, participating in creating the now iconic murals, offering silversmithing workshops at the Centro and being engaged in the struggle and movement to develop and sustain the Centro Cultural de la Raza. Crowbear continued his love for silversmithing – which he learned from his father, and began to travel to Scottsdale, Arizona, connecting with his indigenous relatives, among the Hopi and the Pima’s, attending sweatlodge and Native American Church ceremonies, learning the Pima language, their ceremonial songs and being honored with a Pima fireplace, to begin conducting tipi ceremonies.

By the late 1970’s, upon meeting Uncle Henry Tyler at Redwind, Crowbear was passed his most revered Kiowa-Arapaho halfmoon fireplace, becoming the singular roadman, prolific composer and singer of Nahuatl NAC prayer songs. Over his lifetime, Crowbear who took on the responsibility with undeniable commitment to take care of the people, conducted hundreds of tipi prayer services for a multitude of relatives and their families over a 50-year span across the U.S., Mexico and all throughout Anahuac, the western hemisphere.

Crowbear was proud of learning to speak the Pima language, of having created some of his best artwork at the Buffalo Art Gallery in Scottsdale, AZ and having lived on the Salt River Reservation, where he learned traditional songs. One, was the Coming Out song that has been included in the Xilonen ceremony conducted in Watsonville for the past 30 years. It was at Xilonen where he held space for the Warriors - Men altar, making it a point to offer the Xilonen’s a handmade gift for many years.

At Redwind, Crowbear met his endearing companion Linda Grande… later making their home in Creston, the place where they lived with dogs, cats, chickens, where they gardened and walked the land. Linda Grande, as we knew her, Sister, Auntie, Grandma, remained at Crowbear’s side till his last breath, and shortly after a year, she went to be with him in the spirit world. Creston, the homeplace of the last tipi site he often conducted meetings.

Those relatives who were privileged and honored to travel with Crowbear, knew him to be a bluesy harmonica player, a historian and keeper of an important story of origin, a Chicano civil rights leader, a fervent advocate for Mexica rights for access to the medicine, a green thumb gardener, an eternal animal lover, a prolific traveler, a silversmith, an artist, a jokester, an incredible cook, a sweatlodge leader, roadman and a bow, arrow, and atlatl carver and sharp shooter.

Crowbear’s most favorite place to be, was inside the tipi, among his people, whether in the states or in Mexico. He loved his Mexica people. He loved hearing us pray over our precious sacred water. He loved singing and hearing our Nahuatl songs as well as his old NAC songs. It was our supreme joy to watch him open and close our tipi ceremonies, and to hear him say “Mija, (Mijo), I did my best, we’ve put down these smokes, and you can pick up this smoke at any time and pray for yourself.” He profoundly changed our lives, and he connected us back to our ancestors. He would say to us, “You are home.” Home. 

Crowbear’s legacy is bountiful, and lives in his sons, in his brother Guillermo Aranda who took care of cedar many a time while also having the same fireplace, Crow passed down his fireplace to his beloved grandson Xipetotec, his nephew Eli and with a few others, and Crow selected various mujeres such as his daughters, and Edie, Anai, Monica, Adriana, Marcia and several others to bring in morning water. Crow taught others how to take care of fire such as Aluctec – Luc, Vicente - Chente, Eloy, Samuel, Teo and others, and in his last years of life, he traveled numerous times a year to Mexico with the beloved relatives there, to strengthen the Teocalli Tlanezi Mexica, and create charters with the intent of this way of life to live long after he was no longer on this mother earth. This singular act of love from our Brother, Tio, Uncle, Grandpa Crowbear will live for generations to come and beyond. 

Tlazocamatli Crowbear, nos vemos algun dia en Mictlan. We love you. 

Survived by the Galindo familia in all the four directions. Ometeotl.

Survived by Crowbear’s children:

Xipe

Twins: Iztak Cuautli and Xuiteotl

Lala (Lillian) 

Hosh (Ivonne)

Redbird (Naomi) 

Bear Paw  

Chris  

Vanessa