François Chladiuk, in the Footsteps of the Lakota

How did your interest in Native American and their culture come about? As a little boy, I watched TV Westerns like Bonanza and played cowboys and Indians. And I’m still doing that it, so to speak. My passion for the American West has driven me since I was very young. How long have you been a collector? Since always! I think you’re born one. I come from a working-class family that never collected anything. I’ve always wanted to collect genuine items. I like old objects and the historical dimension. I started my Far West collection with an 1873 Winchester rife, a beautiful gun that embodies everything I loved about Westerns. It’s the 'Gun that Won the West,' a legendary rifle that’s not as deadly as modern ones. At first, I mostly bought objects with cowboys and Native Americans on them, especially tobacco jars and desk sets. Then I gradually started looking for Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show memorabilia. The European market is well supplied because the shows toured Europe often between…