WEBVTT 00:02.235 --> 00:09.609 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% GUEST: My grandfather actually won this vest in a poker game. He was a colonel in the Air Force, 00:09.609 --> 00:15.215 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% and he was stationed in Gallup, New Mexico. In 1944, not yet a colonel, 00:15.215 --> 00:21.087 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% he went off base to play a game of poker. The gentleman lost to my grandfather and he didn't 00:21.087 --> 00:26.426 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% have enough money to cover the debt. So he gave my grandfather this vest and told him that it 00:26.426 --> 00:31.031 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% was once worn by a child of Sitting Bull. And this man was Native American himself, 00:31.031 --> 00:34.868 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% and that's all I know. It's been passed down in our family ever since. 00:34.868 --> 00:38.505 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% APPRAISER: So you don't know what the debt was? 00:38.505 --> 00:40.206 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% GUEST: I don't know what the debt was. 00:40.206 --> 00:40.974 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% APPRAISER: That'd be interesting. 00:40.974 --> 00:44.310 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% GUEST: I don't think my grandfather was a huge gambler, so I don't think it was 00:44.310 --> 00:46.746 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% a huge debt. But he was a young man, so it could have been different then. 00:46.746 --> 00:48.148 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% APPRAISER: He wanted to get off post. 00:48.148 --> 00:50.583 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% GUEST (laughing): Right, probably. 00:50.583 --> 00:54.954 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% APPRAISER: Right. This is a child's vest, a young boy's. I think the name Sitting Bull 00:54.954 --> 01:01.094 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% was used because people are going to know Sitting Bull, Geronimo, Cochise, 01:01.094 --> 01:05.665 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Natchez... I mean, there's a group that were publicly known figures. It's none of that. 01:05.665 --> 01:07.567 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% GUEST: Oh! 01:07.567 --> 01:11.671 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% APPRAISER: This vest was probably made a long time before he got it. 01:11.671 --> 01:15.175 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% GUEST: Oh. APPRAISER: I, I would say late 1800s, 01:15.175 --> 01:18.845 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% early 20th century. No later than the first ten or 15 years of the 20th century. 01:18.845 --> 01:20.914 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% GUEST: Wow! 01:20.914 --> 01:26.453 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% APPRAISER: And, and no earlier than about 1895. It's all thread-sewn. Any earlier than that, 01:26.453 --> 01:31.091 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% it would have been sinew-sewn with, with dried animal sinews. The reason we know it's not Lakota, 01:31.091 --> 01:34.694 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% which, Sitting Bull was Lakota, is, is this stitching style is something 01:37.297 --> 01:43.670 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% that you see more in the Northern Plains and the Northwestern Plains. And we had a little 01:43.670 --> 01:46.606 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% discussion about it, and because of all the horses, we think it's probably Nez Perce. 01:46.606 --> 01:48.441 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% GUEST: Oh! 01:48.441 --> 01:53.913 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% APPRAISER: And they were in Western Montana, in Northern Idaho, that area. Uh, 01:53.913 --> 01:59.486 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% and were one of the last major tribes who fought in the Indian Wars against 01:59.486 --> 02:04.824 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% the U.S. government and the cavalry. The materials, it looks like it's all canvas, 02:04.824 --> 02:09.462 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% and it's been beaded on that canvas. It's fairly stiff and it's lined with 02:09.462 --> 02:12.732 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% cloth. The beads are glass beads, probably from Murano, Italy, or from Eastern Europe. 02:12.732 --> 02:14.200 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% GUEST: Oh, wow. 02:14.200 --> 02:21.074 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% APPRAISER: And this took a long time to make. And the horses are the classic. And a lot of people 02:21.074 --> 02:27.580 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% don't know that horses were an invasive species like cattle. They were brought by the Spanish and 02:27.580 --> 02:34.387 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% they exploded in population. And if you turn it around, there are more horses. 02:34.387 --> 02:36.356 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% GUEST (chuckling): Yes, there are. 02:36.356 --> 02:43.329 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% APPRAISER: And they're beautiful. And these have brands. It would take a lot of research 02:43.329 --> 02:49.602 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% to find out what those brands are, and, and we might not ever. The flags appear to be cavalry 02:49.602 --> 02:53.806 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% guidons that a flag carrier would have on a, on a staff. Those triangle flags. 02:53.806 --> 02:55.642 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% GUEST: Right. 02:55.642 --> 03:01.814 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% APPRAISER: It all relates. This child was probably the son of someone who had a lot of horses. 03:01.814 --> 03:06.953 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% If this were for sale in a retail situation, say a gallery, it would be $3,000 to $5,000. 03:06.953 --> 03:09.956 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% GUEST: Oh, wow! 03:09.956 --> 03:13.426 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% APPRAISER: Uh, as is. And I wouldn't bother to have it repaired. There's 03:13.426 --> 03:17.964 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% a few areas of bead loss right here. Right through here. I wouldn't worry 03:17.964 --> 03:20.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% about it. It's, it's just part of the history of the piece. 03:20.733 --> 03:24.737 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% GUEST: Right. My dad, who ended up with it, um, and, and his sister, 03:24.737 --> 03:27.874 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% always said that they didn't really care what the value was. They just wanted to 03:27.874 --> 03:31.311 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% return it to the appropriate Native American tribe, um... 03:31.311 --> 03:33.112 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% APPRAISER: Well, there's a problem with that. 03:33.112 --> 03:33.980 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% GUEST: Oh. 03:33.980 --> 03:34.380 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% APPRAISER: With these people, 03:36.783 --> 03:41.054 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% especially, these items were individual property. They were not tribally owned. 03:41.054 --> 03:42.155 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% GUEST: Oh. 03:42.155 --> 03:44.691 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% APPRAISER: So the tribe wouldn't take it back, generally. 03:44.691 --> 03:47.193 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% GUEST: Oh! APPRAISER: If they're building a museum, 03:47.193 --> 03:51.397 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% they might want it as an example of great art. This is cultural wealth. This is something 03:51.397 --> 03:54.367 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% else. And it's not owned by the tribe at large. It, it belonged to that little boy.