Paul Dyke Collection, Plains Indian Museum

[Diane Merkel]

Even at a glance, the bear-claw necklace is striking, with its otter hide, grizzly claws, glass beads and brass buttons.

But for Anne Marie Shriver, a research associate with the Plains Indian Museum at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, it's the artifact's age that gets her talking.

"For Plains Indian stuff, anything pre-1840s is really old," she said. "Not much survived from that time, and there just weren't that many people around."

Crafted by the Pawnee around 1850, the bear-claw necklace arrived with 2,000 other artifacts at the Plains Indian Museum in 2007.

Comprising the Paul Dyck Collection, the assemblage of dresses and dolls, weapons, clothing and ritual items recalls the American Indians who roamed the plains during the pre-reservation Buffalo Culture of the 18th and 19th centuries.

The collection is considered the most extensive in the world in both its size and scope. By conservative estimates, it holds a value of more than $22 million, although most would say its true value is priceless.

Read the rest of the article at trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_6480f9bc-4ab1-57d2-ada0-91ac900aca94.html

[ladonna]

I was told that Paul Dyke married a Indian woman named Fawn One Elk, the daughter of One Elk and Heyokawin who meet Paul while One Elk was with the Wild West Show. Anyone have more information

[Henri]

According this blogspot...Paul was married to a woman with the nickname Star. Her real name was Jean Hamilton. Don't know if there were more lady's in his life

prairiemary.blogspot.com/2007/08/paul-dyck-rainbow-hand.html

Henri

[ladonna]

Thank you
A man from Tennesse is coming to investigate the story of Paul Dyke's marriage to Fawn One Elk, the marriage last about two years and she died in child birth. He says that Paul met One Elk at the Wild West show and then came to visit him on Standing Rock, where he meet and marriaged Fawn. It was a short marriage according this man. I did look up the background One Elk and he was with the Wild West show and he lived to be 95 years old.

[mccoy]

Paul Dyck's wife from the 1960s on was Jean Hamilton, who was known to many by her nickname "Star." In the 1930s, Paul told me, he married Fawn, a daughter of One Elk, one of the Sitting Bull crowd who lived along Grand River. My guess is, Paul was likely known in those days as Paul Cifka. Paul always said his Lakota wife died in childbirth.