Chief Standing Bear

[Coyote]

Nebraska government building to be renamed for Chief Standing Bear
Mural will help tell the Ponca chief’s legacy

A tired, 1960s-era government office building is about to be revamped and renamed in recognition of a Nebraska icon whose place in history also has seen a revival of sorts. Come July, the Executive Building just west of the State Capitol will be officially dedicated as the Chief Standing Bear Justice Administration Building.

New flooring, modern lighting and other updates will be part of the $215,000 interior rehab of the five-story structure at 521 S. 14th St. But upon entering the building, workers and visitors will see the more artistic and dramatic reminders of the tragedy-to-triumph story behind the building’s namesake.

[Coyote]

Actor Wes Studi to receive first Chief Standing Bear award for courage

LINCOLN — An actor known for bringing “fully developed” Native American characters to the big screen, in movies ranging from “Dances with Wolves” to “Avatar,” is the inaugural recipient of the Chief Standing Bear Prize for Courage. Wes Studi will receive the award Monday night at a sold-out banquet at Lincoln’s Lied Center to celebrate the award and Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The Standing Bear Prize for Courage was created to honor those Native Americans who exemplify courage in the spirit of Standing Bear, according to Katie Brossy, board president of the Chief Standing Bear Project. That, Brossy said, means doing what is right, rather than what is expedient. “During his lifetime, not only through his acting roles, but in his dedication and passionate activism in the promotion and preservation of indigenous languages, Mr. Studi has shown great courage in the spirit of Chief Standing Bear,” Brossy said in a press release.


A bust of Chief Standing Bear was unveiled earlier this year in front of a state office building, across the street from the State Capitol, that was renamed for the famed Ponca chief. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)

One of Studi’s first role, she noted, was in the 1988 PBS production of “The Trial of Standing Bear.” Early in his life, Studi was an activist, joining in protests organized by the American Indian Movement.

Speaks Cherokee

An Oklahoma native who still speaks his native Cherokee language, Studi began his acting career in 1984 with a role in “Black Elk Speaks,” which is based on interviews the Lakota medicine man gave to author/poet John Neihardt. He has appeared in several movies since, including “The Last of the Mohicans,” “Geronimo: An American Legend,” “Being Flynn” and Scott Cooper’s “Hostiles.” In 2020, the Nebraska Legislature voted to designate the second Monday in October as both Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The bill was introduced by State Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln. The Chief Standing Bear Project Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, was founded in 2022 to promote the life and civil rights legacy of Ponca Chief Standing Bear.

‘I am a Man’

Standing Bear won the landmark federal court decision in 1879 that recognized Native Americans as “persons” within the meaning of the law. He famously told the judge that if he cut his hand, he would feel pain and his blood would be the same color as the judge’s. “I am a man,” Standing Bear told him.

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Nebraska icon, Chief Standing Bear, to be on 18 million postage stamps

The story of Chief Standing Bear, which has reached new levels of prominence in Nebraska of late, now will be spread further through the U.S. mail. A “Forever” commemorative stamp bearing the likeness of the Ponca leader is to be issued and become available for use nationwide May 12. The U.S. Postal Service says it is printing 18 million of the postage stamps.

[Coyote]

Nebraska’s Chief Standing Bear honored with nationwide USPS stamp

LINCOLN — The story of Chief Standing Bear will spread across the nation with a U.S. Postal Service stamp issued Friday portraying the Ponca leader. Nebraskans gathered outside Chief Standing Bear’s statue on Centennial Mall in downtown Lincoln, including USPS officials, Ponca Tribe leaders and descendants of the chief, to observe the nationwide honor. Judi gaiashkibos, executive director of the Nebraska Commission of Indian Affairs, said it is amazing to see Chief Standing Bear’s story progress from when he was considered a non-person in 1879 to now being honored with the stamp. “This story of an Indigenous rights hero is truly and deservedly an American story,” gaiashkibos said. “With this stamp, his legacy is further etched into our nation’s consciousness.”