Lincoln Public Schools dedicates building to Chief Standing Bear

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Lincoln Public Schools is honoring tradition and history Sunday at Standing Bear High School.

They held a dedication ceremony to remember the legacy of Chief Standing Bear.

The celebration showcased the Ponca Tribe and their culture. Performances from the Ponca Drum Group and speakers from the Ponca Tribe filled the auditorium.

Drummers from the student band also performed.

Standing Bear was the chief of the Ponca Tribe when the tribe was forcibly removed from their homeland in Nebraska.

At the ceremony today, Ponca officials voiced their gratitude for how far we’ve come.

“It’s not just a Ponca story or a native story,” said tribe chairwoman Candace Schmidt. “It’s an American history story. It really should be taught in schools, and so seeing that it never used to be and now that we’re present day we have a school named after Chief Standing Bear and his legacy, it’s a tremendous progression.”

This is only the school’s second year of having students in the halls, but there are more than 150 years of history with the Chief it’s named after.