Sitting Bull Autograph

May 24, 2010
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Sitting Bull Autograph
by: Bill

After his victory over Custer at Little Big Horn on June 25, 1876, which is notable because it was one of the few real battles with the United States Army that Native Americans convincingly won, the U.S. Government sent thousands of additional troops into the Dakota area, creating an overwhelming force. Many Native Americans were killed or forced to surrender. Sitting Bull refused to surrender and led his band of Lakota Sioux into Saskatchewan, Canada.

Starvation and harsh weather forced Sitting Bull and about 200 more Sioux to return to the United States. He surrendered on July 19, 1881. The Sioux were escorted to Fort Yates, North Dakota, near the Standing Rock Agency.

The autograph that you inherited from your grandmother was signed the very next day, July 20th, 1881. Sitting Bull was conciliatory towards his captors and expressed a desire for peace and friendship, but it is amazing that he was signing autographs as soon as he arrived. It is fact that he signed autographs while at Standing Rock.

In 1985, the U.S. Government permitted Sitting Bull to join Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show. He was with Bill for only four months. His pay was $50 a week, but he could keep the money that he earned selling his autograph.

After his left the wild west show, he returned to Standing Rock Agency. On December 15, 1890, he was killed by Indian policeman that the government had sent to arrest him. The government had suspected him (wrongly) of plotting an uprising.

Sitting Bull signed many autographs during his four months with Buffalo Bill and his years at Standing Rock. No doubt it was a conversation piece to have Sitting Bull's autograph, but as time progressed most of those were lost or thrown away, making the ones that survived very valuable.

A Sitting Bull autograph is worth more than $5500. (A signed photo is worth more than $7500). The fact that he wrote his Indian name (Tatanka-Iyotanka) adds greater value. I have never seen any Sitting Bull autographs with this addition, so I have no idea how much. Maybe he did that early in his signing years and quit when he found it too time consuming.

The torn paper doesn't make much difference to the value if the autograph wasn't damaged. It wasn't a good idea to cut it away from the photo album. Anything else in the album from the date the autograph was obtained would have added more proof of authenticity. Make sure you hold on to all of the extra stuff in the album and keep it with the autograph.

If you have a scanner, or can get someone who does to scan it, I would like to put the autograph with this post.

Sitting Bull Autograph

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Sitting Bull Autograph