An elder from Montana's Crow Indian Tribe who ceremoniously adopted then-Senator Barack Obama into his family during the 2008 presidential race has died.

Tribal officials asid 78-year-old Hartford "Sonny" Black Eagle Jr died at his home in Lodge Grass on the tribe's reservation in the south-eastern part of the state on Monday.

Black Eagle and his family adopted Mr Obama during a traditional ceremony involving the candidate in the weeks leading up to Montana's Democratic primary.

As part of his adoption, Mr Obama received a Crow name which translates as "One Who Helps People Throughout the Land".

Black Eagle and his wife, Mary, later attended Mr Obama's presidential inauguration.

Funeral services are scheduled for tomorrow in Crow Agency. Black Eagle's son, Cedric, is the outgoing Crow tribal chairman.