DIA nets $2.199946m profit

[fjw718]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11974405

The former owner, Detroit Institute of Arts, paid $54 for the flag in 1895.

[Gannon]

There has been talk that these profits should go to descendants of the indigenous Americans who suffered at the hands of Custer.

I cannot disagree.

[mikefmich]

There has been talk that these profits should go to descendants of the indigenous Americans who suffered at the hands of Custer.

I cannot disagree.

Custer won at Little Bighorn? Wow....who woulda thought.

[Baselinepunk]

That's absolutely the right thing to do, but I'm pretty sure that the museum is bound to use those funds for either accessioning other objects or go right back to collections care.

[UpTown]

There has been talk that these profits should go to descendants of the indigenous Americans who suffered at the hands of Custer.

I cannot disagree.

So let's go find the descendants through DNA confirmation, which will cost money, resources and time. By the time all of them are found, there goes all that money.
And most likely, those descendants already get a piece of change from casino revenues.

The idea of paying reparations for past crimes now, when everyone is suffering. Where's the reparations from the Wall Street brokers for ruining middle class America? For African slaves? For Irish, Chinese immigrants?

The DIA has the money, they should use it in the administration of operating a cultural jewel that applies to all cultures, all races and ethnicities. Something noble and good for all peoples can come from that flag, which is a better use of that money.

[Gannon]

Custer won at Little Bighorn? Wow....who woulda thought.

Yeah, that was the ONLY fight he fought...why do you think the indigenous were so pissed at him to give him no more stands?


Where did you learn your logic?

[Novine]

The money is going towards the museum's Native American collection. Everyone happy now?

http://www.freep.com/article/2010121...ion-at-auction

[1953]

The museum's de-accessioning policy states that proceeds from the sale of accessioned items can only be used for the purchase of art. The policy is designed to prevent the sale of art everytime the economy tanks and it is aligned with the policy of the American Association of Museums.

[Gannon]

The money is going towards the museum's Native American collection. Everyone happy now?

http://www.freep.com/article/2010121...ion-at-auction

Not happy, but satiated within the limits they have to operate under.

[East Detroit]

"I believe when they found the body of general george a.
custer quilled like a porcupine with indian arrows, he didn't
die with any honor, any dignity, nor any valor.
I wouldn't doubt when they found george a. custer
an american general patriot and
indian fighter, he died with shit in his pants"

- Minutemen, Punch Line

[GOAT]

Oh piss off Up Town. It's not even in the same vein.

[Lowell]

I'm not completely sure of who won this auction. Hopefully it is win-win.

When I step aside from art and museum and into the world of marketing and sales this deal might not be that good. An object like this has tremendous cache. The Custer story is solid gold as he is one of those flawed popular culture icons that Americans love to embrace, like Elvis or Marilyn or Bonnie and Clyde.

Sure Beal may fatten the Native American collection and that sounds appealing, right? Custer the Indian hunter gets his comeuppance and a Little Bighorn guidon flag raises 2 million+ to elevate appreciation for the culture he was destroying.

OTOH, an opportunity is lost to make the collection more visited by playing off a well known event. [I'd bet a majority of people are unaware of the collection]. The battle was the greatest symbol of the cultural clash that lead to the near destruction of the first nations of America. The flag has a lot of potential to bring context and visitors to the collection.

Then there's the fact that Custer was a Michigander [Monroe] and with the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War just around the corner, we can expect some Custermania to return.

Custer was an immense pop culture celebrity during the war, possibly the biggest. He made the cover of Harper's Bazaar three time, kind of like being on the cover of Life during WWII. His youth [he was promoted to general at age 23 just prior to Gettysburg], flowing golden locks, clothing flourishes and brash bravery that led to victories [he had ten horses shot from under him during the war] made him the darling of the national press. Most now only know of him from the famous phrase Custer's Last Stand.

So how much does this make the blood-stained Lincoln Assassination chair at the Henry Ford worth? $200mil?

[Ray1936]

They've not been able to prove the stains on the chair are blood, Lowell. It's been tested at least a dozen times. And for my money, I think the chair belongs back in Ford's Theatre.

One thing about Custer that few remember. His charge with his Michigan Wolverines into Lee's cavalry unit on July 3, 1863, prior to Pickett's charge, was one of the critical and instrumental factors in the Union victory at Gettysburg. He was outnumbered -- some say 10 to 1 -- but, fortunately, they were rebels, not indians.

[Patrick]

And for my money, I think the chair belongs back in Ford's Theatre.

$200 mil and it's all yours. Of course you will have to drive in from Vegas and ship it to DC lol.

[jcole]

They've not been able to prove the stains on the chair are blood, Lowell. It's been tested at least a dozen times. And for my money, I think the chair belongs back in Ford's Theatre.

One thing about Custer that few remember. His charge with his Michigan Wolverines into Lee's cavalry unit on July 3, 1863, prior to Pickett's charge, was one of the critical and instrumental factors in the Union victory at Gettysburg. He was outnumbered -- some say 10 to 1 -- but, fortunately, they were rebels, not indians.

The theory is that it's that heavy hair oil they used back then; Macassar Oil

[gazhekwe]

Buying and holding that flag was a great investment for the DIA. I'm glad they sold it. As a piece of history, it does not really fit within the Collection. Sure, they could stick it in the Native American Collection, then spend all their time talking about a white man, Custer, not the Native Americans.

Five years ago, I and a couple of dozen other Metro Detroiters spent some time at the DIA reworking the way they present the collections. The part I worked on was the ethnic collections, African, Asian, Middle Eastern and Native American. Collectively, we all recognized that the pieces in these collections were more than artistic creations, they represented pieces of the spirit of the people who created them, the way of life, and more. We worked out display techniques that would showcase the art AND its place in the society. I really liked that. But Custer's battle flag had no place in our society. NONE. It was something brought to represent our destruction, so I would seriously hate having it displayed in our collection.

It belongs where it can represent the spirits of those men who fought and died with Custer. Always remember, he was not by himself on that battlefield, and those others deserve more than respect for their brave fight. They were fighting for this country just as those in Iraq and Afghanistan are fighting today. Sometimes the country has very bad judgment about how to kill its young men.

This is a list of Custer's battles. He was 35 when he let his hubris lead him into battle with the greatest war chief ever.

1861: Graduated from U.S. Military Acadamy at West Point

1861-1865: American Civil War

First Battle of Bull Run Peninsula Campaign
Battle of Antietam
Battle of Chancellorsville
Gettysburg Campaign
Battle of Gettysburg
Overland Campaign
Battle of the Wilderness
Battle of Yellow Tavern
Battle of Trevilian Station
Valley Campaigns of 1864
Siege of Petersburg

Indian Wars:

Battle of the Washita
Battle of the Little Bighorn

Battle of the Washita - 1868 - Custer and his troops rode down on and annihilated the village of Black Kettle, who was in the process of making peace, and had no intentions.of fighting. He had just returned from a meeting with General Hazen to secure assurance of peace. Despite his flying an American flag, and raising a white flag beside it, the troops poured in and overran the village, killing more than 100 men, women and children. Eight years later, Custer would pay for this with his life.

[RYANGUARD]

Oh piss off Up Town. It's not even in the same vein.

If anyone should pay reparations it should be the Federal Government for the atrocities they caused going through villages and killing everyone and anything in the name of taming the west and allowing "homesteading"but that will not happen.

[gazhekwe]

Interestingly, President Obama has just signed into law funding for the settlement agreement of $3.5 billion, to settle a lawsuit by more than 100,000 families cheated for more than a century of payment for use of their trust lands. They accused the BIA of stealing, losing or mismanaging more than $100 billion, and the BIA could not provide documentation showing how they had administered the moneys.

[Ray1936]

$200 mil and it's all yours. Of course you will have to drive in from Vegas and ship it to DC lol.

No prob, Pat. Does the Henry Ford use Paypal????

[RYANGUARD]

What a deal that the President is making!$3.5 Billion in exchange for $100 Billion that could not be accounted for.I am sure the 100,000 families are overjoyed knowing the windfall that they'll be coming into!

[gazhekwe]

Well, let's say they are happy to have it settled after 13 years in litigation, before all the original plaintiffs have walked on. The amount is about what we always get from the good old USA, pennies on the dollar. A good portion is set aside for scholarships, which will assure payments continue into perpetuity for the benefit of the next seven generations.

[ridgeabilly]

Isn't it special that the DIA was in possession of a symbol of genocide perpetrated by our country on it's own native citizens? A fitting example of how the bourgeois art world is disconnected from the real world. Here's hoping that the windfall helps keep GWJ Beal in fresh bloomers for the coming years. Maybe the DIA has some Klan memorabilia that they can profit from. Maybe there is some rocks from the original attack on the Ossian Sweet house they could sell?

[Gistok]

Isn't it special that the DIA was in possession of a symbol of genocide perpetrated by our country on it's own native citizens? A fitting example of how the bourgeois art world is disconnected from the real world. Here's hoping that the windfall helps keep GWJ Beal in fresh bloomers for the coming years. Maybe the DIA has some Klan memorabilia that they can profit from. Maybe there is some rocks from the original attack on the Ossian Sweet house they could sell?

With all the Nazi memorabilia available on EBAY... you're concerned about some "genocide" item that's probably been almost forgotten in the DIA attic for over a century??

I guess some people need to be reminded... the DIA has a record of NOT committing atrocities against native peoples....

[Ray1936]

Hey....so we took their land. We gave them casinos in return.

[Jason]

They thought it was worth 5 million, so I guess it wasn't that great of a deal, but it's still a lot of money.

I think that kind of thing would be better in a history rather than an art museum anyway. And also not in storage.