Standing Bear! Who?

On February 29, 1980, a Native American was enshrined in the Nebraska Hall of Fame—the first of his race to be thus honored. Although he joined a very select group, Standing Bear, a Ponca Chief known to his tribesmen as Ma-chu-nah-zha, is not well known to Nebraskans. Indeed most non-Indians and probably more than a few Native Americans know nothing about Chief Standing Bear and the chain of events responsible for placing him in the Hall of Fame. Because it was a courtroom scene involving the law, a thoughtful judge, and the oratorical skills of lawyers and of Standing Bear himself that gave the Ponca Chief a place in history and gave the Native American recognition under the law, it is appropriate to recount that event in a periodical serving the legal profession.