Standing Bear
Encyclopedia
Standing Bear (Páⁿka iyé
official orthography: Maⁿchú-Naⁿzhíⁿ/Macunajin; other spellings: Ma-chú-nu-zhe, Ma-chú-na-zhe or Mantcunanjin pronounced mãtʃuꜜnãʒĩꜜ) was a Ponca
Native American
chief who successfully argued in U.S. District Court in 1879 in Omaha that Native Americans are "persons within the meaning of the law" and have the right of habeas corpus
. His wife Susette Primeau was also a signatory on the 1879 writ that initiated the famous court case.
, they had villages along the Niobrara River
near its mouth, and ranged as far east as present-day Ponca, Nebraska
, at the mouth of Aowa Creek. A smallpox
epidemic
had reduced their numbers from around 800 to 200 at the time of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
in 1804.
When Standing Bear was born about 1834, the Ponca traditionally raised maize, vegetables and fruit trees in these sites during the summer. They ranged westward for the winter bison
hunt. The hunts brought them in frequent contact with their traditional enemies, the Brulé
and Oglala Lakhota. Sometimes the Ponca allied with their enemies to raid Pawnee and Omaha
villages, but they also suffered raids by them.
In Standing Bear's childhood, Brulé raids forced the Ponca to rely more on agriculture and less on the winter bison hunt. In his adolescence, the tribe split into two villages: Húbthaⁿ (Fish Smell, pronounced huːꜜblᶞã), near the mouth of Ponca Creek; and Wáiⁿ-Xúde (Grey Blanket, pronounced waꜜĩ xuꜜde), on the northwest bank of the Niobrara. Standing Bear learned the ways of the men, how to hunt and fish, and prepared to take his place in the tribe.
In 1854, when Standing Bear was a young man, the Kansas-Nebraska Act
encouraged a flood of European-American settlers, and the US government pressured the Nebraska tribes to sell their land. At the same time, they were suffering raids from the North by the Brulé and Oglala. Because tribal land claims overlapped, the Omaha treaty of 1854 included a cession of a 70-mile-wide strip of land between Aowa Creek and the Niobrara, which was also claimed by the Ponca.
By 1857, white settlers were quickly moving in and building the town of Niobrara
where the Ponca summer corn fields had been. The Brulé raids from the north cut off the winter hunting grounds and forced the Ponca to abandon Húbthaⁿ. In 1858, under this pressure, the Ponca ceded much of their lands to the United States. They reserved the land between Ponca Creek and the Niobrara, approximately between present-day Butte
and Lynch, Nebraska
.
The land to which the Ponca moved proved unsuitable; poor farming conditions led to persistent famine
. They were still subject to raids by hostile tribes. The Ponca spent years attempting to hunt and raise crops and horses near their old village of Húbthaⁿ and the town of Niobrara. The government failed to provide the mills, personnel, schools and protection which it had promised by the 1858 treaty. It did not keep up with the increasing Ponca tribal enrollment in distribution of annuities and goods. Relatives sought annuity payments, people lost resources to sickness, and starvation and raids from hostile tribes were frequent.
In 1865 a new treaty allowed the Ponca to return to their traditional farming and burial grounds, in the much more fertile and secure area between the Niobrara and Ponca Creek east of the 1858 lands and up to the Missouri River. With the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868)
, however, the government illegally gave the new Ponca reservation to the Santee Dakota as part of its negotiation to end Red Cloud's War
. The government soon began to seek to remove the Ponca to Indian Territory
.
White Eagle, Standing Bear, and other Ponca leaders met with US Indian Agent
A. J. Carrier and signed a document allowing removal to Indian Territory
(present-day Oklahoma
). White Eagle and other Ponca leaders later claimed that because of a mistranslation, he had understood that they were to move to the Omaha Reservation
, not to the Indian Territory.
In February 1877, eight Ponca chiefs, including Standing Bear, accompanied Inspector Edward C. Kemble to the Osage Reservation
to select a site. Due to lack of preparation by the agent, they did not identify a site. Angry about what he called the Ponca chiefs' "insubordination", Kemble left them to walk back north. He proceeded to prepare to remove the tribe. In April, Kemble headed south to the Quapaw
Reservation near present-day Peoria, Oklahoma
, with those Ponca willing to leave. In May the US Army forced the removal of the rest of the tribe, including Standing Bear and his family.
The Ponca arrived in Oklahoma too late to plant crops that year, and the government failed to provide them with the farming equipment it had promised as part of the deal. In 1878 they moved 150 miles west to the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River, south of present-day Ponca City, Oklahoma
. By spring, nearly a third of the tribe had died due to starvation
, malaria
and related causes. Standing Bear's eldest son, Bear Shield, was among the dead. Standing Bear had promised to bury him in the Niobrara River valley homeland, so he left to travel north, with 65 followers.
When they reached at the Omaha Reservation
in Nebraska, they were welcomed as relatives. Word of their arrival in Nebraska soon reached the government. Under orders from the Secretary of the Interior, Carl Schurz
, who also directed the Bureau of Indian Affairs
, Brigadier General George Crook
had the Ponca arrested for having left the reservation in Indian Territory. The Army took Standing Bear and the others to Fort Omaha
, where they were detained. Although the official orders were to return them immediately to Indian Territory, Crook was sympathetic to the Ponca and appalled to learn of the conditions they had left. He delayed their return so the Ponca could rest, regain their health, and seek legal redress.
Crook told the Ponca story to Thomas Tibbles
, an editor of the Omaha Daily Herald
, who publicized it widely. The attorney John L. Webster offered his services pro bono
and was joined by Andrew J. Poppleton, chief attorney of the Union Pacific Railroad
.
They aided Standing Bear, who in April 1879 sued for a writ of habeas corpus
in U.S. District Court in Omaha, Nebraska
. Acting as interpreter for Standing Bear was Susette LaFlesche, an accomplished and educated, bilingual Omaha of mixed-race background. The case is called United States ex rel. Standing Bear v. Crook. General Crook was named as the formal defendant because he was holding the Ponca under color of law.
As the trial drew to a close, Judge Dundy announced that Chief Standing Bear would be allowed to make a speech in his own behalf. Raising his right hand, Standing Bear proceeded to speak. Among his words were, "That hand is not the color of yours, but if I prick it, the blood will flow, and I shall feel pain," said Standing Bear. "The blood is of the same color as yours. God made me, and I am a man."
On May 12, 1879, Judge Elmer S. Dundy
ruled that "an Indian is a person" within the meaning of habeas corpus. He stated that the federal government had failed to show a basis under law for the Poncas' arrest and captivity. Standing Bear and his followers were immediately freed. The case gained the attention of the Hayes
administration, which provided authority for Standing Bear and some of the tribe to return to the Niobrara
valley in Nebraska.
. Susette (Bright Eyes) LaFlesche
(by then married to Thomas Tibbles) and her brother Francis, who later became an ethnologist with the Smithsonian Institution
, accompanied Standing Bear on the speaking tour. The LaFlesche siblings took turns acting as his translator. Tibbles also was part of the party. During his lecture tour, Standing Bear won the support of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
and other prominent Americans.
Omaha-Ponca language
Omaha–Ponca is a Siouan language spoken by the Omaha people of Nebraska and the Ponca people of Oklahoma and Nebraska. There are today only 60 speakers of Omaha, and 25 fluent speakers, all over 60; and a handful of semi-fluent speakers of Ponca...
official orthography: Maⁿchú-Naⁿzhíⁿ/Macunajin; other spellings: Ma-chú-nu-zhe, Ma-chú-na-zhe or Mantcunanjin pronounced mãtʃuꜜnãʒĩꜜ) was a Ponca
Ponca
The Ponca are a Native American people of the Dhegihan branch of the Siouan-language group. There are two federally recognized Ponca tribes: the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and the Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma...
Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
chief who successfully argued in U.S. District Court in 1879 in Omaha that Native Americans are "persons within the meaning of the law" and have the right of habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
. His wife Susette Primeau was also a signatory on the 1879 writ that initiated the famous court case.
Background
By 1789, when Juan Baptiste Munier acquired trading rights with the PoncaPonca
The Ponca are a Native American people of the Dhegihan branch of the Siouan-language group. There are two federally recognized Ponca tribes: the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and the Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma...
, they had villages along the Niobrara River
Niobrara River
The Niobrara River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long, running through the U.S. states of Wyoming and Nebraska. The river drains one of the most arid sections of the Great Plains, and has a low flow for a river of its length...
near its mouth, and ranged as far east as present-day Ponca, Nebraska
Ponca, Nebraska
Ponca is a city in Dixon County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Sioux City, IA–NE–SD Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 961 at the 2010 census...
, at the mouth of Aowa Creek. A smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
epidemic
Epidemic
In epidemiology, an epidemic , occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience...
had reduced their numbers from around 800 to 200 at the time of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, or ″Corps of Discovery Expedition" was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William...
in 1804.
When Standing Bear was born about 1834, the Ponca traditionally raised maize, vegetables and fruit trees in these sites during the summer. They ranged westward for the winter bison
Bison
Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...
hunt. The hunts brought them in frequent contact with their traditional enemies, the Brulé
Brulé
The Brulé are one of the seven branches or bands of the Teton Lakota Sioux American Indian nation. They are known as Sičháŋǧu Oyáte , or "Burnt Thighs Nation," and so, were called Brulé by the French...
and Oglala Lakhota. Sometimes the Ponca allied with their enemies to raid Pawnee and Omaha
Omaha
Omaha may refer to:*Omaha , a Native American tribe that currently resides in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Nebraska-Places:United States* Omaha, Nebraska* Omaha, Arkansas* Omaha, Georgia* Omaha, Illinois* Omaha, Texas...
villages, but they also suffered raids by them.
In Standing Bear's childhood, Brulé raids forced the Ponca to rely more on agriculture and less on the winter bison hunt. In his adolescence, the tribe split into two villages: Húbthaⁿ (Fish Smell, pronounced huːꜜblᶞã), near the mouth of Ponca Creek; and Wáiⁿ-Xúde (Grey Blanket, pronounced waꜜĩ xuꜜde), on the northwest bank of the Niobrara. Standing Bear learned the ways of the men, how to hunt and fish, and prepared to take his place in the tribe.
In 1854, when Standing Bear was a young man, the Kansas-Nebraska Act
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, opening new lands for settlement, and had the effect of repealing the Missouri Compromise of 1820 by allowing settlers in those territories to determine through Popular Sovereignty if they would allow slavery within...
encouraged a flood of European-American settlers, and the US government pressured the Nebraska tribes to sell their land. At the same time, they were suffering raids from the North by the Brulé and Oglala. Because tribal land claims overlapped, the Omaha treaty of 1854 included a cession of a 70-mile-wide strip of land between Aowa Creek and the Niobrara, which was also claimed by the Ponca.
By 1857, white settlers were quickly moving in and building the town of Niobrara
Niobrara, Nebraska
Niobrara is a village in Knox County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 370 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Niobrara is located at ....
where the Ponca summer corn fields had been. The Brulé raids from the north cut off the winter hunting grounds and forced the Ponca to abandon Húbthaⁿ. In 1858, under this pressure, the Ponca ceded much of their lands to the United States. They reserved the land between Ponca Creek and the Niobrara, approximately between present-day Butte
Butte, Nebraska
Butte is a village in Boyd County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 366 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Boyd County.- Geography :Butte is located at ....
and Lynch, Nebraska
Lynch, Nebraska
Lynch is a village in Boyd County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 269 at the 2000 census. Lynch is located in northern Nebraska, between the Missouri and Niobrara Rivers.-Geography:Lynch is located at ....
.
The land to which the Ponca moved proved unsuitable; poor farming conditions led to persistent famine
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...
. They were still subject to raids by hostile tribes. The Ponca spent years attempting to hunt and raise crops and horses near their old village of Húbthaⁿ and the town of Niobrara. The government failed to provide the mills, personnel, schools and protection which it had promised by the 1858 treaty. It did not keep up with the increasing Ponca tribal enrollment in distribution of annuities and goods. Relatives sought annuity payments, people lost resources to sickness, and starvation and raids from hostile tribes were frequent.
In 1865 a new treaty allowed the Ponca to return to their traditional farming and burial grounds, in the much more fertile and secure area between the Niobrara and Ponca Creek east of the 1858 lands and up to the Missouri River. With the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868)
Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868)
The Treaty of Fort Laramie was an agreement between the United States and the Oglala, Miniconjou, and Brulé bands of Lakota people, Yanktonai Dakota, and Arapaho Nation signed in 1868 at Fort Laramie in the Wyoming Territory, guaranteeing to the Lakota ownership of the Black Hills, and further...
, however, the government illegally gave the new Ponca reservation to the Santee Dakota as part of its negotiation to end Red Cloud's War
Red Cloud's War
Red Cloud's War was an armed conflict between the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho and the United States in the Wyoming Territory and the Montana Territory from 1866 to 1868. The war was fought over control of the Powder River Country in north central present day Wyoming...
. The government soon began to seek to remove the Ponca to Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
.
Marriage and family
By this time Standing Bear had married Zazette (Susette) Primeau (Primoux) and become a leader in the tribe. He and his wife had several children.Standing Bear v. Crook
In 1875, the Ponca paramount chiefParamount chief
A paramount chief is the highest-level traditional chief or political leader in a regional or local polity or country typically administered politically with a chief-based system. This definition is used occasionally in anthropological and archaeological theory to refer to the rulers of multiple...
White Eagle, Standing Bear, and other Ponca leaders met with US Indian Agent
Indian agent
In United States history, an Indian agent was an individual authorized to interact with Native American tribes on behalf of the U.S. government.-Indian agents:*Leander Clark was agent for the Sac and Fox in Iowa beginning in 1866....
A. J. Carrier and signed a document allowing removal to Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
(present-day Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
). White Eagle and other Ponca leaders later claimed that because of a mistranslation, he had understood that they were to move to the Omaha Reservation
Omaha Reservation
The Omaha Reservation of the Omaha tribe is located mostly in Thurston County, Nebraska, with sections in neighboring Cuming County and Burt County, in addition to Monona County in Iowa. The tribal seat of government is in Macy, with the towns of Rosalie, Thurston, Pender and Walthill located in...
, not to the Indian Territory.
In February 1877, eight Ponca chiefs, including Standing Bear, accompanied Inspector Edward C. Kemble to the Osage Reservation
Osage Nation
The Osage Nation is a Native American Siouan-language tribe in the United States that originated in the Ohio River valley in present-day Kentucky. After years of war with invading Iroquois, the Osage migrated west of the Mississippi River to their historic lands in present-day Arkansas, Missouri,...
to select a site. Due to lack of preparation by the agent, they did not identify a site. Angry about what he called the Ponca chiefs' "insubordination", Kemble left them to walk back north. He proceeded to prepare to remove the tribe. In April, Kemble headed south to the Quapaw
Quapaw
The Quapaw people are a tribe of Native Americans who historically resided on the west side of the Mississippi River in what is now the state of Arkansas.They are federally recognized as the Quapaw Tribe of Indians.-Government:...
Reservation near present-day Peoria, Oklahoma
Peoria, Oklahoma
Peoria is a town in Ottawa County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 141 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Peoria is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land....
, with those Ponca willing to leave. In May the US Army forced the removal of the rest of the tribe, including Standing Bear and his family.
The Ponca arrived in Oklahoma too late to plant crops that year, and the government failed to provide them with the farming equipment it had promised as part of the deal. In 1878 they moved 150 miles west to the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River, south of present-day Ponca City, Oklahoma
Ponca City, Oklahoma
Ponca City is a small city in Kay and Osage counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, which was named after the Ponca Tribe. Located in north central Oklahoma, it lies approximately south of the Kansas border, and approximately east of Interstate 35. 25,919 people called Ponca City home at the...
. By spring, nearly a third of the tribe had died due to starvation
Starvation
Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy, nutrient and vitamin intake. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, death...
, malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
and related causes. Standing Bear's eldest son, Bear Shield, was among the dead. Standing Bear had promised to bury him in the Niobrara River valley homeland, so he left to travel north, with 65 followers.
When they reached at the Omaha Reservation
Omaha Reservation
The Omaha Reservation of the Omaha tribe is located mostly in Thurston County, Nebraska, with sections in neighboring Cuming County and Burt County, in addition to Monona County in Iowa. The tribal seat of government is in Macy, with the towns of Rosalie, Thurston, Pender and Walthill located in...
in Nebraska, they were welcomed as relatives. Word of their arrival in Nebraska soon reached the government. Under orders from the Secretary of the Interior, Carl Schurz
Carl Schurz
Carl Christian Schurz was a German revolutionary, American statesman and reformer, and Union Army General in the American Civil War. He was also an accomplished journalist, newspaper editor and orator, who in 1869 became the first German-born American elected to the United States Senate.His wife,...
, who also directed the Bureau of Indian Affairs
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...
, Brigadier General George Crook
George Crook
George R. Crook was a career United States Army officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.-Early life:...
had the Ponca arrested for having left the reservation in Indian Territory. The Army took Standing Bear and the others to Fort Omaha
Fort Omaha
Fort Omaha, originally known as Sherman Barracks and then Omaha Barracks, is an Indian War-era United States Army supply installation. Located at 5730 North 30th Street, with the entrance at North 30th and Fort Streets in modern-day North Omaha, Nebraska, the facility is primarily occupied by ...
, where they were detained. Although the official orders were to return them immediately to Indian Territory, Crook was sympathetic to the Ponca and appalled to learn of the conditions they had left. He delayed their return so the Ponca could rest, regain their health, and seek legal redress.
Crook told the Ponca story to Thomas Tibbles
Thomas Tibbles
Thomas Henry Tibbles was a journalist and author from Omaha, Nebraska who became an activist for Native American rights in the United States during the late nineteenth century.- Life :Born in Ohio, he moved to Illinois with his parents...
, an editor of the Omaha Daily Herald
Omaha World-Herald
The Omaha World-Herald, based in Omaha, Nebraska, is the primary daily newspaper of Nebraska, as well as portions of southwest Iowa. For decades it circulated daily throughout Nebraska, and in parts of Kansas, South Dakota, Missouri, Colorado and Wyoming. In 2008, distribution was reduced to the...
, who publicized it widely. The attorney John L. Webster offered his services pro bono
Pro bono
Pro bono publico is a Latin phrase generally used to describe professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment or at a reduced fee as a public service. It is common in the legal profession and is increasingly seen in marketing, technology, and strategy consulting firms...
and was joined by Andrew J. Poppleton, chief attorney of the Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
.
They aided Standing Bear, who in April 1879 sued for a writ of habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
in U.S. District Court in Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
. Acting as interpreter for Standing Bear was Susette LaFlesche, an accomplished and educated, bilingual Omaha of mixed-race background. The case is called United States ex rel. Standing Bear v. Crook. General Crook was named as the formal defendant because he was holding the Ponca under color of law.
As the trial drew to a close, Judge Dundy announced that Chief Standing Bear would be allowed to make a speech in his own behalf. Raising his right hand, Standing Bear proceeded to speak. Among his words were, "That hand is not the color of yours, but if I prick it, the blood will flow, and I shall feel pain," said Standing Bear. "The blood is of the same color as yours. God made me, and I am a man."
On May 12, 1879, Judge Elmer S. Dundy
Elmer Scipio Dundy
Elmer Scipio Dundy was a Nebraskan judge best known as the namesake of Dundy County, Nebraska. He was born in Trumbull County, Ohio on March 5, 1830. He passed the bar and set up practice in both Clearfield, Pennsylvania and Falls City, Nebraska from 1853 to 1858, and from 1862 to 1863...
ruled that "an Indian is a person" within the meaning of habeas corpus. He stated that the federal government had failed to show a basis under law for the Poncas' arrest and captivity. Standing Bear and his followers were immediately freed. The case gained the attention of the Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
administration, which provided authority for Standing Bear and some of the tribe to return to the Niobrara
Niobrara River
The Niobrara River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long, running through the U.S. states of Wyoming and Nebraska. The river drains one of the most arid sections of the Great Plains, and has a low flow for a river of its length...
valley in Nebraska.
Lecture tour
Between October 1879 and 1883, Standing Bear traveled in the eastern United States and Europe, speaking about Indian rights in forums sponsored by Indian advocate and former abolitionist Wendell PhillipsWendell Phillips
Wendell Phillips was an American abolitionist, advocate for Native Americans, and orator. He was an exceptional orator and agitator, advocate and lawyer, writer and debater.-Education:...
. Susette (Bright Eyes) LaFlesche
Susette LaFlesche Tibbles
Susette LaFlesche Tibbles, also called Insta Theamba , was a well-known Native American writer, lecturer, interpreter and artist of the Omaha tribe in Nebraska. Susette LaFlesche was a progressive who was a spokesperson for Native American rights. She was of Ponca, Iowa, French and Anglo-American...
(by then married to Thomas Tibbles) and her brother Francis, who later became an ethnologist with the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
, accompanied Standing Bear on the speaking tour. The LaFlesche siblings took turns acting as his translator. Tibbles also was part of the party. During his lecture tour, Standing Bear won the support of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline...
and other prominent Americans.
Later years
After returning from the East, Standing Bear resided at his old home on the Niobrara. He farmed near 170 other Ponca who had been allowed to resettle there. He died in 1908 and was buried on a hill overlooking the site of his birth. Today the federal government recognizes two tribes of the people: the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and the Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma.Legacy and honors
- Standing Bear was elected to the Nebraska Hall of FameNebraska Hall of FameNebraska Hall of Fame is an official list of prominent Nebraskans compiled in accordance to state law. Members include:*Grace Abbott -- social reformer and social worker....
. - Ponca State ParkPonca State ParkPonca State Park is a state park of Nebraska, USA, situated among the high bluffs and forested steep hills along the banks of the Missouri River. It is located north of Ponca in northeastern Nebraska. The park is adjacent to the Missouri National Recreational River...
in northeastern Nebraska is named in honor of his tribe. - 1998, the Chief Standing Bear Memorial BridgeChief Standing Bear Memorial BridgeThe Chief Standing Bear Memorial Bridge is a bridge across the Missouri River at the Nebraska–South Dakota border. Located near Niobrara, Nebraska, not far downstream from the confluence of the Niobrara River with the Missouri, it joins Nebraska Highway 14 to South Dakota Highway 37.The...
, which crosses the Missouri RiverMissouri RiverThe Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
at the Nebraska-South Dakota border, was named in his honor. - 2005, a new elementary school in Omaha was named in his honor.
- 1994, six north-central tribes in Oklahoma formed the Standing Bear Foundation; they began holding an annual Pow-wow to bring the tribes and non-Native residents together in Ponca City, where the park dedicated to Standing Bear is located
- The 63-acre Standing Bear Park in Ponca City, OklahomaPonca City, OklahomaPonca City is a small city in Kay and Osage counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, which was named after the Ponca Tribe. Located in north central Oklahoma, it lies approximately south of the Kansas border, and approximately east of Interstate 35. 25,919 people called Ponca City home at the...
was named in his honor. In addition to the annual pow-wow, it is the site of the Standing Bear Museum and Education Center, as well as a 22-foot-high bronzeBronzeBronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
statue of the chief.
External links
- "Trial of Standing Bear", Nebraska Studies
- "An Indian is a person": U.S. District Court Case of Standing Bear vs. George Crook, 1879, Yale University Law School
- "Standing Bear Collection", Nebraska State Historical SocietyNebraska State Historical SocietyThe Nebraska State Historical Society is a Nebraska state agency, founded in 1878 to "encourage historical research and inquiry, spread historical information .....
- "Standing Bear Museum and Statue in Ponca City, Oklahoma"
- "Photo of Standing Bear", Douglas County, Nebraska Historical Society
- "Standing Bear", One of four finalists, Nebraska State Quarter Design, Secretary of State Nebraska government, 2005
- "Standing Bear Coloring Page", Nebraska State Historical Society
