Chief Standing Bear

Chief Standing Bear, leader of the Ponca tribe, was recently memorialized on a forever stamp.  He was a Native American civil rights hero.  In 1879 Standing Bear was arrested in an effort to bury his son in his Chief's homeland.  While in jail he petitioned a federal court because he was being unlawfully detained.  The United States government argued that he was not entitled to the same constitutional rights as every other citizen.  Standing Bear's lawyers argued the Ponca people were entitled to the same rights as every other citizen citing the fourteenth Amendment.  In a speech before the court, Chief Standing Bear said through an interpreter, "That 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. I am a man. The same God made us both."  The federal judge agreed with Standing Bear ordering the release of Standing Bear and his people.  This stamp is a great tribute to a very brave leader.