Ponca Indians Summary

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The perils of the Ponca Indians and the trials they experienced during the governments removal program of the 1800s gives a bleak and painful look America’s past. It is through the gripping tale of Chief Standing Bear that we learn about the displacement of an indigenous tribe who was forcibly displaced from their land, family and livelihood. Through his lens we feel the pains of a leader who is unable to protect his people and his stripped of his rights to lay them to rest. Perhaps, what we learn is not only about the past; it is a study that foreshadows our present. The broken trust of the American people has not fully resolved the shameful atrocities that were hurled upon our brethren only a century ago. The Alford family which I am …show more content…

As Pulitzer prize nominated author, his historical biopic gives a detailed chronicling of the plight of the small tribe. The research and depth that Starita goes through to shed light on the political climate during that period. As a Professor of Journalism at the University of Nebraska, he paints a perfect and intricate picture of a simple people who merely wanted to live out their lives in their own homeland. As a child growing up in the Nebraska region, which served as the home of Ponca tribe, Starita became interested in the indigenous people of that territory. He has lived his life enamored by the stories of Indians. Dedicated to telling their stories, his research endeared him to the tribe and thus began his obsession with the story of Standing Bear. The story kept his up at night and for more than four years he spent penning his story. The Ponca tribe were residents of the region near the Niobrara River in the land Nebraska and South Dakota. They were known as a peaceful people who got along well with both their white and Indian neighbors. They traded seed and helped the early settlers grow crops. The tribal Chiefs saw the benefit of educating themselves and thus learned the English language. They had even begun to adopt some of the customs of their European neighbors. Many had converted to Christianity and attended the Episcopal Church in the …show more content…

The weather, mosquitoes and flies were so extreme that more members of the tribe, as well as their livestock died. Moreover, the Ponca people were given no money to acquire lumber to build homes, supplies or food. Several families escaped and returned back to their homeland in the Niobrara River. If they were caught they were forced to return to the Indian Territory.
The Indian Chief Standing Bear lost several family members during the trip to the new territory. However, when his only child became sick he was greatly grieved. At his final moments, his son asked his father to take his bones back to the homelands of the Niobrara valley to be laid to rest in their burial lands. The Chief agreed and upon his passing he set out to return to the valley with 29 others. After walking over 500 miles and just two days from nearing home, Chief Standing Bear was arrested and put in jail in Fort

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