In 2019, the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

donated a

bronze sculpture Bronze is the most popular metal for Casting (metalworking), cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply "a bronze". It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs, and small statuettes and figurines, as w ...

Standing Bear Standing Bear (c. 1829–1908) (Ponca official orthography: Maⁿchú-Naⁿzhíⁿ/Macunajin;U.S. Indian Census Rolls, 1885 Ponca Indians of Dakota other spellings: Ma-chú-nu-zhe, Ma-chú-na-zhe or Mantcunanjin pronounced ) was a Ponca chief a ...

by Benjamin Victor to the

National Statuary Hall Collection The National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol is composed of statues donated by individual states to honor persons notable in their history. Limited to two statues per state, the collection was originally set up in the old ...

. The statue is installed in the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill ...

National Statuary Hall The National Statuary Hall is a chamber in the United States Capitol devoted to sculptures of prominent Americans. The hall, also known as the Old Hall of the House, is a large, two-story, semicircular room with a second story gallery along th ...

, in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

The statue of Standing Bear replaced a

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running ...

Rudulph Evans Rudulph Evans (February 1, 1878 – January 16, 1960) was a sculptor. Early life Rudolph Evans was born February 1, 1878 in Washington, D.C. to Frank L. Evans, the descendant of a Quaker family, and Elizabeth J. Grimes, the daughter of Gassa ...

, which was similarly donated to the National Statuary Hall Collection in 1937, but relocated in 2019 to the Nebraska National Guard Museum in

Seward, Nebraska Seward is a city and county seat of Seward County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 6,964 at the 2010 census. Seward is part of the Lincoln, Nebraska Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is known for its large Fourth of July (Independ ...

Background

Standing Bear (

Ponca The Ponca ( Páⁿka iyé: Páⁿka or Ppáⁿkka pronounced ) are a Midwestern Native American tribe of the Dhegihan branch of the Siouan language group. There are two federally recognized Ponca tribes: the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and the Ponca ...

official orthography: Maⁿchú-Naⁿzhíⁿ/Macunajin) was forcibly relocated with the

tribe from their lands in Nebraska to the

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...

(now

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

) in 1878. His first son Bear Shield died at the reservation, so Standing Bear set out with several others to bury his son's remains at his birthplace in Nebraska. The group was arrested and detained by Brigadier General

George Crook George R. Crook (September 8, 1828 – March 21, 1890) was a career United States Army officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. During the 1880s, the Apache nicknamed Crook ''Nantan ...

Fort Omaha Fort Omaha, originally known as Sherman Barracks and then Omaha Barracks, is an Indian War-era United States Army supply installation. Located at 5730 North 30th Street, with the entrance at North 30th and Fort Streets in modern-day North Omaha, ...

for having left the reservation without permission from the U.S. government. Standing Bear brought a legal case in the

U.S. District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

in Omaha, but the U.S. government argued that arguing that as a Native American "Indian", he was not a "person" under the meaning of the law. In '' United States ex rel. Standing Bear v. Crook'', Judge Elmer Dundy ruled on 12 May 1879 that "an Indian is a PERSON", and ordered the group to be released.

Description

The bronze statue stands over high, on a low black granite pedestal. The subject is portrayed in traditional Native American clothing, with an eagle feather in his hair, a necklace of bear claws and two large Indian Peace Medals, and a

pipe tomahawk A tomahawk is a type of single-handed axe used by the many Indigenous peoples and nations of North America. It traditionally resembles a hatchet with a straight shaft. In pre-colonial times the head was made of stone, bone, or antler, and Europ ...

in his left hand. The right hand is outstretched, to emphasise words spoken at the trial in May 1897 through his interpreter Susette La Flesche: "My hand is not the color of yours, but if I pierce it, I shall feel pain. If you pierce your hand, you also feel pain. The blood that will flow from mine will be the same color as yours. The same god made us both. I am a man." The front of the pedestal bears the inscription: "/ / Manchú-Nanzhín/ c. 1829–1908", with quotations from Standing Bear's statement to the court inscribed on the sides. There are two other bronze statues by Benjamin Victor in the National Statuary Hall Collection: a statue of Sarah Winnemucca donated by Nevada in 2005, and a statue of Norman Borlaug donated by Iowa in 2014.

References

{{National Statuary Hall Collection 2019 sculptures Bronze sculptures in Washington, D.C. National Statuary Hall Collection Sculptures of men in Washington, D.C. Sculptures of Native Americans in Washington, D.C.