2010 Chief Standing Bear Commemoration Events in Lincoln, NE

After the Ponca’s were forced to move from their home by the Niobrara to Indian Territory in Oklahoma, Chief Standing Bear went on a mission to keep the promise to his fallen son, Bear Shield. Bear Shield’s dying wish was for his father to bury his body in their old buying ground by the Swift Running Water, the Niobrara, 500 miles away. Standing Bear’s journey to keep his promise to Bear Shield brought him to places he could have never imagined.

In 1879, Standing Bear fought for his right to be recognized as a person to the US Government not by bows and arrows but with his words, in a court room.
“This hand is not the color of yours. But if I pierce it, I’ll feel pain and the blood that flows from it will be the same color as yours because I am a man.
-Standing Bear, 1879”

As each year goes by, the legend of Chief Standing Bear grows. His odyssey has inspired an opera (Wakonda’s Dream); a trilogy of plays by New York writer Christopher Cartmill; a park and a museum in Ponca City, Oklahoma; and the critically acclaimed I Am a Man by Joe Starita.

The spirit of Standing Bear lives on today. Be apart of the 2010 Chief Standing Bear Commemoration Events in Lincoln, NE.

1. 2010 Chief Standing Bear Performance at the Lied Center for Performing Arts' Johnny Carson Theater
When: Thursday, May 13, 2010
Where: Johnny Carson Theater
Time: 7:30 p.m.

2. 2010 Sixth Annual Chief Standing Bear Noon Commemoration
When: Friday, May 14, 2010
Where: The Rotunda at the Nebraska State Capitol
Time: 12:00 p.m.

3. 2010 Fifth Annual Chief Standing Bear Breakfast
When: Friday, May 21, 2010
Where: Cornhusker Hotel in downtown Lincoln, NE
Time: 7:30 a.m.

Activist, environmentalist, economist and author Winona LaDuke will be the Keynote Speaker for the Commemoration Breakfast. An enrolled member of the Mississippi Band of Anishinaabeg, LaDuke founded "Honor the Earth" in 1993 with the Indigo Girls. The organization aims to create awareness and support for Native environmental issues. The organization also aids in the development of financial and political resources to support sustainable Native communities.

LaDuke was named one of Time Magazine's fifty most promising leaders under 40 in 1994. She went on to win "Woman of the Year" in 1998 from Ms. Magazine, and in 2007 she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.


For more information regarding the Chief Standing Bear events and to register to attend, please visit: www.indianaffairs.state.ne.us

For more information about Chief Standing Bear please visit: www.nebraskastudies.org/0600/frameset.html