Latest news with #StandingBear
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
LEST WE FORGET: Luther Standing Bear
Raymond WilsonSpecial to ICT There exists confusion regarding the year and reservation where Luther Standing Bear was born (either in 1863 or 1868) on the Rosebud Reservation or the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, and whether he was a Lakota Brule or Oglala. He identified himself as an Oglala, born at Pine Ridge. Originally named Plenty Kill, Standing Bear became a well-known author, activist and movie actor. Like other Native males, he was trained in traditional ways to be a hunter and warrior. In 1879, his father, Standing Bear, sent him to Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania as a member of the first class of Native students. At Carlisle, he and other Native students were forbidden to speak their languages, had their hair cut, had to wear uncomfortable non-Native attire, and were given a new name. He chose Luther and became Luther Standing Bear was a model student at Carlisle and returned to the Rosebud Reservation after spending five years at the school, where he learned to become a tinsmith, a not particularly useful occupation on the reservation. Fortunately, Carlisle Superintendent Richard Henry Pratt secured him a government position as a teacher's assistant on the reservation, with a salary of $300 a year, and Standing Bear received high praise from other Bureau of Indian Affairs employees. In 1891, Standing Bear became superintendent of a day school on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Other jobs he held included an agency clerk, operator of a small store, an assistant minister, and ranch 1902, he became a member of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and travelled to England with the troupe. Standing Bear was among the Sioux performers who were seriously injured in a terrible train accident near Melrose Park, Illinois, on April 7,1904. He sustained two broken and three bruised ribs, a broken left arm, left leg, collar bone, and nose, cuts above both eyes, a severe gash on the back of his head, and dislocation of both the accident, Standing Bear sold his land allotment on Pine Ridge, moved to Sioux City, Iowa, and later to Walthill, Nebraska, working at a variety of jobs such as a store clerk and rodeo performer. Ultimately in 1912, he moved to California, where he delivered lectures and became a Hollywood movie actor. Standing Bear appeared in dozens of films and worked with such famous actors as Douglas Fairbanks, Tom Mix, and William S. Hart. Along with other Native actors, Standing Bear worked to ensure Natives were portrayed more accurately in Bear wrote four books: My People the Sioux (1928), My Indian Boyhood (1931), Land of the Spotted Eagle (1933), and Stories of the Sioux (1934). In his books, he wrote of his upbringing, traditional customs and beliefs, and inclusion into the dominant society. He also offered criticism of federal Indian policies that he blamed for deplorable reservation Standing Bear deserves more recognition as an activist who fought to ensure Native people were allowed to embrace their traditional identities and be treated as equal members of the dominant society. He believed Native and non-Native teachers in Indian schools should be bilingual, Native American history should be part of the curriculum in all schools, and Natives should have more leadership roles on reservations and hold more BIA Standing Bear died on Feb. 20, 1939, after contracting the flu during the production of the film Union Pacific, starring Joel McCrea and Barbara Stanwyck. Native actors in the film spoke Lakota and were not as stereotyped as in previous Carlisle Indian School Digital Research Center; My People the Sioux (1928); My Indian Boyhood (1931); Land of the Spotted Eagle (1933); Stories of the Sioux (1934); and Luther Standing Bear Films. Our stories are worth telling. Our stories are worth sharing. Our stories are worth your support. Contribute today to help ICT carry out its critical mission. Sign up for ICT's free newsletter.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Nebraska lawmakers asked to restore funding for Chief Standing Bear museum, lake projects
A portrait of Chief Standing Bear was displayed on the first floor of the Nebraska Capitol on Monday. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN – State lawmakers were told Monday that restoring funding for a Standing Bear museum and improvements at two large lakes would enhance tourism and economic development and honor 'an extraordinary Nebraskan.' 'Who walks 500 miles in the dead of winter to honor a pledge of a dying son?' author Joe Starita asked members of the Legislature's Appropriations Committee. 'Our finest fiction writers could not make up this story.' Starita, whose book about Chief Standing Bear, 'I Am a Man,' led to the filming of a Hollywood movie and issuance of a U.S. Postal Service stamp, was among several people urging legislators to restore $14 million in state funding for a museum and cultural center honoring Standing Bear. The funding was cut as part of an effort to close the state's multi-million dollar budget deficit. Others testified to restore funds to build an expanded marina on Lewis & Clark Lake in northeast Nebraska and to reverse a cut in funds to improve roads and infrastructure on western Nebraska's popular Lake McConaughy. The Appropriations Committee was told Monday that there were 'technical and mechanical' problems with a proposed $7.5 million-a-year transfer from the Nebraska Environmental Trust to state funds that finance water sustainability and conservation projects. Karl Elmshaeuser, the Trust's executive director, said the transfers are not accompanied by amendments to the state statutes that govern financial transfers from the Trust, as required. Omaha State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh, a member of the Appropriations Committee, said the transfers likely also violate the Nebraska Constitution, which set up the Trust. The purpose of the Trust, representatives of conservation groups testified, is to finance local and regional environmental, wildlife habitat and recycling projects that weren't getting funds in the past. It isn't intended, they said, to replace state funds for state programs. The $7.5 million in transfers would earmark about a third of the $20 million-a-year the Trust gets from the Nebraska Lottery to award in competitive grants. Advocates for adding 350 new slips and a visitors center at the Wiegand Marina on Lewis & Clark Lake said the $40 million project has already sparked construction of new private campgrounds and is key to attracting visitors and new residents. Testifiers said South Dakota — on the north side of the lake — is getting the bulk of tourism dollars spent by the 2 million visitors each year to the reservoir on the Missouri River. 'The marina project is key to keeping those dollars in our state,' said Stacy Miller, the Knox County Economic Development director. Similar statements were offered about restoring $34 million that had been earmarked for a new marina at Lake McConaughy, though testifiers argued the money should now be used to improve roads to the popular lake since the ever-varying water levels of the lake make it difficult to build a huge marina. 'This money will be wisely spent and will have a great return on investment,' said Corey Crandall, chairman of the Keith County Commission, noting the huge influx of tourists from Colorado's Front Range to the white sand beaches of the massive lake. Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, in his proposed budget, and the Appropriations Committee, in its preliminary budget proposal, both eliminated funding for the improvements at the two lakes to close the state's budget gap. Both projects had been part of the Legislature's recent Statewide Tourism and Recreational Water Access and Resource Sustainability group's targeted investments. Following Monday's hearing, State Sen. Rob Clements of Elmwood, who chairs the budget-writing Appropriations Committee, said the $165 million in additional tax revenue forecasted for the state last week still leaves the budget with a hole to fill of about $98 million. That, he said, makes it unlikely that proposed budget cuts will be restored. 'We still need to find more revenue or fewer expenses,' Clements said. About $15 million was cut as part of the budget trimming from a planned cultural center and museum dedicated to Standing Bear, the Ponca chief who famously won a court ruling in 1879 that established Native Americans as 'persons' under U.S. law. In his testimony, Standing Bear said that if his hand was cut, he would bleed the same as the judge. 'The blood is of the same color as yours. God made me, and I am a Man,' Standing Bear said. Under Legislative Bill 491, a bill proposed by State Sen. Barry DeKay of Niobrara, $7 million a year, over two years, would be restored to build a 22,000 square-foot facility on Ponca land south of Niobrara. The facility would include a museum, event space, conference rooms, a theater and a recording studio to capture Ponca drumming songs. Members of the Ponca Tribe, along with Judi gaiashkibos, executive director of the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs, said planning work had already begun in conjunction with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission on the facility, with an expected completion date of 2027. gaiashkibos, also a member of the Ponca Tribe, said more tourists would be expected to come to Nebraska to seek more information on Standing Bear once the movie comes out. The Appropriations Committee also heard conflicting opinions on its recommendation to give $52,000 toward operation of the Niobrara Scenic River Council. That 16-member board created 28 years ago and based in Valentine acts as a liaison between Nebraska landowners, organizations and the National Park Service. The Park Service manages the 76-mile-long stretch of the Niobrara River that was designated as a national scenic river, which has been a huge draw for float and canoe trips. Kalli Kieborz, executive director of the Niobrara Council, told senators that the Council would be forced to close its doors because funding from the Park Service, which once totaled about $100,000-a-year, ended in October. She asked that the state help keep the Council and its projects going, which include maintaining toilets along the river, funding weed control efforts and providing educational programs for local students. But Kimberly Stuhr opposed state funding for the Council, citing a recent audit alleging that that Kieborz was seen ice fishing and at school functions rather than at work and that bonuses were improperly awarded to Council staff. 'The reality is (the Council) isn't working, and hasn't worked for several years,' Stuhr said, adding that the Council has failed to take corrective actions from the state audit. Others testified Monday in support of allowing the Nebraska Game and Parks Committee to use $100,000 of its cash funds for needed maintenance on the Cowboy Trail, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. The Appropriations Committee is taking testimony on its preliminary budget. The committee, after its public hearing, took no action on the matters heard Monday. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
