Statue of Chief Standing Bear donated by State of Nebraska to National Statuary Hall Collection in Washington, D.C.
Chief Standing Bear of the Ponca people played the key role in United States ex rel. Standing Bear v. Crook, the 1879 legal case that established that Native Americans were “persons” under the law. In his Ponca language, he was known as Maⁿchú-Naⁿzhíⁿ or Macunajin.