Standing Bear's Footsteps

Christine Lesiak's documentary offers an overview of a tragic chapter in U.S. history that culminated in a landmark civil rights court case involving Standing Bear, a chief of the Ponca Indian tribe in Nebraska. In 1877, the federal government violated a treaty with the Ponca, forcibly relocating the tribe to Oklahoma, then known as “Indian Territory.” Many, including Standing Bear's son, died either en route or in their inhospitable new surroundings. When the chief and a small number of tribal members tried to return to Nebraska to bury the young man, they were arrested by the military, after which Standing Bear sued an Army general in a bid for freedom. Another high-ranking figure, Gen. George Crook, sympathetic to the Poncas' plight, tipped off an Omaha newspaper to their story, and also helped bring Standing Bear's case before a U.S. District Court—an unprecedented move that provided the first significant affirmation of native people's rights under U.S. law. In addition to dramatic re-creations and present-day footage, the handsomely produced Standing Bear's Footsteps incorporates a wealth of rare photographs and oral histories detailing Standing Bear's extraordinary odyssey and his impact on Indian civil rights. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)