Native American Historical Material

The Native American collection preserves many of the finest historical Native American items to have come on the market. Gary Hendershott has handled a Sioux chief's war shirt attributed to Rain in the Face, a Hidatsa Sioux quilled war shirt, a Crow pre-Little Big Horn war shirt from the 1860s, an Omaha gun stock war club with steel tray blade, Cheyenne hand-drawn ledger book drawings depicting the Battle of Little Big Horn, and Sioux peace pipes tacked and wrapped with copper telegraph wire dating to the 1830s.

The collection encompasses the full breadth of indigenous material culture: a Cheyenne woman's dress from the 1880s, Navajo chief blankets, Kiowa and Comanche baby cradles with elaborate beadwork, a Pawnee human effigy catlinite pipe bowl, Comanche buffalo hide war shields with Mexican swords, and Delaware elaborately beaded shoulder bags. The Cheyenne bow case and quiver with original bow and arrows, Kiowa warrior's lances, and Sioux painted buffalo robes documenting battles with Colonel Sam Walker's troops represent the martial traditions of the Plains nations.

Gary approaches these objects with deep respect for their cultural significance, recognizing them not merely as collectibles but as irreplaceable records of civilizations whose artistic mastery and spiritual traditions deserve the highest standard of preservation. From Navajo Moki style serapes to Sioux "Sundance" ledger drawings by Walter Bone Shirt and Kiowa war shields, this collection spans the breadth of indigenous North America.