Oglala Sioux Winter Count
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GUEST:
This is my great-great-uncle's Sioux winter count.
APPRAISER:
And we have a picture of him right here, is that right?
GUEST:
Yes, his name was Moses Red Horse Owner.
APPRAISER:
Moses Red Horse Owner.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
And he lived to be how old?
GUEST:
He lived to be 72 years old.
APPRAISER:
And when did he die?
GUEST:
1908.
APPRAISER:
And we have here in this book some drawings, correct?
GUEST:
Yes, yes.
APPRAISER:
And you're calling that a winter count.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
For people out there that don't know, what is a winter count?
GUEST:
Well, the Sioux were a history-conscious people, and they liked to record one great event...
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.
GUEST:
...that happened during the year. The tribal elders would meet in the wintertime and, uh, sit around and tell, uh, the historian to be sure and record this in his mind.
APPRAISER:
So they did one event per year. Uh... Correct?
GUEST:
Per year, yes.
APPRAISER:
So in a sense, this is like a, a calendar.
GUEST:
A calendar? Yes.
APPRAISER:
Because there was no written language, correct?
GUEST:
No.
APPRAISER:
Well, what I find fascinating about this is how your family has kept the history through the ages. Here we have the drawings that your great-great- uncle did.
GUEST:
Great-great-uncle, yes.
APPRAISER:
And there are three pages starting from about 1802 right up into the early 20th century.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
And we have in the book close to you some language in Sioux. Is that correct? In Oglala?
GUEST:
Yes, yes.
APPRAISER:
And who did that?
GUEST:
My aunt and my mom. And they were little girls when they when they...
APPRAISER:
When they...
GUEST:
...used to ask him about what he was drawing.
APPRAISER:
And then they did a copy of the drawings here, is that correct?
GUEST:
Yes, on a, on a skin, yes.
APPRAISER:
This is a 1935 rendition of these original drawings we're looking at here.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
And I also think this is terrific. Your family published this book, is that correct?
GUEST:
Yes, my aunt and my mother...
APPRAISER:
What, in, in what year?
GUEST:
Uh, 1969.
APPRAISER:
Well, what we have here, if we can refer, in the year 1847, it would have been written in that book...
GUEST:
Yes, his...
APPRAISER:
...in the 1960s, the literal translation. And if we look here, it says in 1847, "Many broke their legs that winter."
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
So that would have been the event, remembering a number of years later...
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
Perhaps it was a very icy winter.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
There would have been a reason why many people broke their legs. So then 1852, "The snow was deep, a man sneaked in, and they killed him."
GUEST:
Yes. (chuckles)
APPRAISER:
So maybe one of their enemies?
GUEST:
A different tribe? Yes.
APPRAISER:
This is terrific. Not only the fact that this is the history here, but successive generations of your family have kept this, and not only kept it, but added to it.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
Well, the value of this, in terms of economics, is not so much money. If you were to sell this, and I can't imagine you ever would, but if you, if you were, the value would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $6,000, maybe $8,000, mostly for these glyphs and images. The amazing thing about this is how you and your family have kept this up. I applaud you for doing this.
GUEST:
Thank you.
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