Telling the Story of Chief Standing Bear

 One of America’s greatest civil rights heroes is from Nebraska.  Yet nationally, almost nobody knows about him.  As Nebraskans, we’re changing that by telling Chief Standing Bear’s story.

In the 1800s, Chief Standing Bear’s tribe — the Ponca — peacefully hunted and farmed on land in northeast Nebraska along the Niobrara River.  In 1868, the federal government signed a treaty with the Sioux tribe, mistakenly granting them much of the Ponca’s territory.  This led to conflict between the two tribes over the land.   

In 1876, the federal government tried to convince Ponca...