Ponca

History

The Ponca tribe, by some, is considered to be an offshoot from the larger Omaha Tribe. They are located as coming down the Red River but then were forced to move because of the violent Sioux. However, by the time that Lewis and Clark came in 1804 they were already living separately by the Ponca Creek. The Ponca is one of only a few tribes that originate in Nebraska, but is at the same time a very small tribe of about 800 people. They are known as being peacekeepers and have never on record killed any settlers. As a result of this the Ponca entered into a series of peace treaties that the government kept taking back and signing new ones. The end result was that the Ponca ended up homeless after being kicked off of their land, and without an way to provide for themselves in the middle of no where. Meanwhile the Ponca were not allowed to leave the land they were stuck in by the government and the tribe was facing their tribal status being terminated. After the death of the Chiefs son, some of the people left the reservation for the burial and the army followed and arrested them. Soon a newspaper picked up the sad story of the Ponca’s and they were able to get some of their lands back, and then fought to be reinstated as a tribe.

Famous Leaders and Events

Standing Bear was an enormously famous Chief of the ever suffering Ponca. He led his people through one of the hardest times in their history and in the end came out with a victory. When the story about his son came out for the public to hear he used his opportunity for the better of his people. This is exactly the reason he will go down in history as the best leader of the Ponca Tribe to date. He was the first Indian to argue against the Supreme Court about the injustice being done to his people, and he actually won! He regained part of his land back and was a trail blazer for other Native Americans after him.

Religious Customs

The Ponca, like the Omaha were not the most religious tribe. They did however believe in one mysterious god that created us all, and many other gods that controlled all the small things. They worshiped a great spirit and had many rich folk tales and stories they would tell their children about how the world began. As one folktale quotes,

"No. I speak your language as a gift from a Ponca spirit. One day I lay on a Ponca grave after a battle. Then a man rose from the grave and spoke to me. So I know your language."

they believed in a great Ponca spirit that was watching over them.

Fun Fact of the Day

The Ponca's dressed a little differently from the people of their time. They wore long war bonnets and porcupine roaches, they also had many tribal tattoos.