Indianz.Com > News > Auction under fire for sale of items from Battle of Little Bighorn
‘I have the gun that killed Custer’
Auction under fire for sale of items from Battle of Little Bighorn
Tuesday, January 10, 2023
Indianz.Com
The chief wanted peace.
Sitting Bull called on his nephew, One Bull, to take another Lakota warrior, Good Bear Boy, and try to parley with the soldiers gathered near the Little Bighorn River.
Just then, a shot fired from the soldiers struck a nearby warrior in the head, killing him.
“Go kill them all,” the chief told the two warriors.
One Bull and Good Bear Boy rode out of the village with three other warriors and caught up to some of the retreating soldiers. A soldier shot and killed one of the warriors, and Good Bear Boy was shot through his legs and fell off his horse.
One Bull caught up to the injured man, got off his horse and put Good Bear Boy on the horse, then rode away as bullets flew around them. He returned Good Bear Boy to the village before riding back to the battle. There, he met Sitting Bull, who saw the blood on the warrior and told him to return to the village.
“No, this blood is from my friend Good Bear Boy,” One Bull told the chief.

Still, others question the very authenticity of the items being sold at the Guns of History Auction. Mark Miller, who has spent more than 30 years collecting and researching antique axes and tomahawks, said he questions the means Grangaard has used to authenticate his collection. In the descriptions for the auction items, Grangaard relies on a pictographic language, which he says was once used by tribal people of the Great Plains, to authenticate the weapons in his collection. He calls the language “togia” and says he was taught this language by Benjamin Black Elk, the son of Nicholas Black Elk, an Oglala Lakota holy man and subject of the novel “Black Elk Speaks.” Benjamin Black Elk died in 1972, but it wasn’t until 2013 that Grangaard began using the ancient language of symbols to authenticate his collection, Miller said. Miller said he’s never heard of “togia” and said it is convenient that Grangaard is the only person alive who seems to have heard of it or understands it. In the descriptions for most of the items for sale in the Guns of History Auction, Grangaard includes photos of the weapons and shows the places on the weapons that he claims the togia symbols were etched. “They just look like scratch marks and normal wear-and-tear to me,” Miller said. In 2014, an auction house sold an axe that Grangaard had supposedly determined had been used by famed Lakota warrior He Dog, who was a friend to Crazy Horse, for $2,300. Miller said the axe was clearly African Songe axe, not the kind of axe a Lakota warrior would have used. And Miller said at least one of the items listed for sale in the Guns of History Auction, a supposed Hudson Bay dagger, isn’t genuine. “Hudson Bay daggers never looked like that,” he said. “He’s authenticating some items that are not even antique as from Little Bighorn or reproductions that were artificially aged.” Grangaard couldn’t be reached for comment. Brian Lovig of Lovig Auction Group, the auction house that plans to sell Grangaard’s collection, said his firm conducted background research of Grangaard and interviewed previous buyers of his collection and also took several guns to appraisal firms and gun stores to be evaluated. “There is no evidence that any of the guns or artifacts are not authentic,” he said. “Appraisal people all agreed that all the items are legitimate.” He said Grangaard has spent the past 60 years collecting firearms and artifacts on the open market and from Native people in an effort to preserve Native history. “He has authenticated firearms and artifacts in a variety of ways including interviews with tribe members and families of selected individuals,” Lovig said. “Wendell has been able to translate the language of Togia which allowed him to learn and document stories inscribed on guns and other items. His research is available on the auction website for nearly every item being offered for sale.” “The items in the auction are a testament to the bravery and influence of the Tribes and our intent is to present the items to potential buyers accordingly.” Miller questioned why the Lovig Auction Group didn’t explain to buyers how it sought to authenticate Grangaard’s collection in its promotional materials for the auction. He said most of the major auctioneers that specialize in selling antique guns or items with historical significance to tribes have shied away from Grangaard in recent years. “I imagine that is due to some of the controversies I mentioned that have become more obvious,” he said. “I am surprised to hear there is a whole auction still selling them.” He said avid collectors of weapons and items associated with tribal peoples want desperately to believe the items they are considering purchasing are genuine. “When you’re a collector, you can talk yourself into things.”

Search
Filed Under
Tags
More Headlines
Native America Calling: Gathering of MCs and Merciless Savages
Native America Calling: Exploring the toll of climate change on Alaska Native villages
‘Very welcoming and enthusiastic’: Lumbee Tribe awaits word from Washington about federal status
Cronkite News: Trump gives new life to aging coal-fired power plants
Native America Calling: Tribes in the arid southwest face water management uncertainty
NAFOA: 5 Things You Need to Know this Week (April 21, 2025)
Chuck Hoskin: Cherokee Nation makes progress for clean water
Native America Calling: Tribes resist fast-tracked Line 5 oil pipeline
Native America Calling: Celebrating Native poetry
Secretary Burgum observes ancestral Native footprints in New Mexico
Cronkite News: Native collective fosters creativity among youth
Arizona Mirror: Alert system in the works for missing endangered relatives
Native America Calling: Tribes challenge states on remaining roadblocks to gaming
New Mexico In Depth: ‘Turquoise Alert’ system established for missing relatives
Montana Free Press: Indigenous Peoples Day closer to reality in Montana
More Headlines
Native America Calling: Exploring the toll of climate change on Alaska Native villages
‘Very welcoming and enthusiastic’: Lumbee Tribe awaits word from Washington about federal status
Cronkite News: Trump gives new life to aging coal-fired power plants
Native America Calling: Tribes in the arid southwest face water management uncertainty
NAFOA: 5 Things You Need to Know this Week (April 21, 2025)
Chuck Hoskin: Cherokee Nation makes progress for clean water
Native America Calling: Tribes resist fast-tracked Line 5 oil pipeline
Native America Calling: Celebrating Native poetry
Secretary Burgum observes ancestral Native footprints in New Mexico
Cronkite News: Native collective fosters creativity among youth
Arizona Mirror: Alert system in the works for missing endangered relatives
Native America Calling: Tribes challenge states on remaining roadblocks to gaming
New Mexico In Depth: ‘Turquoise Alert’ system established for missing relatives
Montana Free Press: Indigenous Peoples Day closer to reality in Montana
More Headlines