Environment | National | Politics

Ponca Tribe reclaims small part of ancestral territory in Nebraska

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Larry Wright Jr., the chairman of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska, speaks at a press conference on July 26, 2015, to announce the land transfer. Photo from Facebook

The Ponca Tribe of Nebraska reclaimed a portion of its ancestral territory on Sunday.

The tribe lost all of its land when it was forced to leave Nebraska for Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. Chief Standing Bear eventually led his people back home, a struggle that led to a historic court decision in 1879 that declared him to a "person" under federal law.

The tribe is still largely landless but that's changing with a gift of approximately 230 acres from the Nebraska Trails Foundation. The property, in the southeastern part of the state, will be used as part of the proposed Chief Standing Bear National Historic Trail.

"The trail itself is a reminder of a tragic time in our tribe's past, a past that still resonates with us today," Chairman Larry Wright Jr. said in a statement, The Lincoln Journal Star reported. "However, in spite of that past, our tribe is thriving today and looks toward a future that honors our ancestors and provides hope for our youth.

Ponca Chief Standing Bear. Image from Wikimedia Commons

As part of an agreement, the Homestead Conservation and Trail Association will maintain the land on behalf of the tribe. It runs approximately 20 miles along an old railroad.

The House passed H.R.984, a bill to authorize a study for the 550-mile Chief Standing Bear National Historic Trail, on April 28. The Senate version is S.479.

Get the Story:
Ponca Tribe steps in to help complete missing trail link (The Lincoln Journal Star 7/27)
Ponca Tribe will soon own piece of land that's part of 'Trail of Tears,' name it after Chief Standing Bear (The Omaha World-Herald 7/27)
Ponca Tribe Accepts Ownership of Homestead Trail Extension (WOWT 7/27)
Trail south of Beatrice finds owner (The Beatrice Daily Sun 7/27)