long maintained that humanity now lives in the “Fourth World,” its last chance to get things right and save the planet. These efforts and the work of other Indigenous peoples around the world culminated in the United Nations Dec- laration on the Rights of Indigenous People adopted by the General Assembly in 2007.
FIGHTING THROUGH LAW
Standing Bear, a Ponca chief also known as Ma-chú-nu-zhe, chose another path to de- fend his people—U.S. law. In the Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1868, the U.S. government illegally gave Ponca lands in Nebraska to the Santee Dakota as part of its negotiations to end Red Cloud’s War. The Ponca were removed to Indian Territory in what is now Oklahoma. Many lost their lives to starvation, malaria and overall governmental mismanagement. One of these victims was Bear Shield, Standing Bear’s eldest son. Standing Bear had promised his son to bury him in the Ponca homeland along the Niobrara River valley. In January 1879, Stand- ing Bear left Indian Territory for Nebraska with his son’s remains. Under orders from the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Brigadier Gen- eral George Crook arrested the chief for having left the reservation without permission. At the trial of United States ex rel. Stand-
ing Bear v. Crook in Federal District Court in Omaha, Standing Bear spoke on his own behalf. Raising his right hand, he said, “That hand is not the color of yours, but if I prick it, the blood will flow, and I shall feel pain. The blood is of the same color as yours. God made me, and I am a Man.” On May 12, Federal Judge Elmer Dundy ruled that “an Indian is a person” within the meaning of “habeas corpus,” a writ that brings a person before a court. The decision was a landmark, recognizing that an American Indian is a “person” under the law and entitled to its rights and protection. Standing Bear returned to the land by the
Niobrara River and buried his son alongside his ancestors. When the chief died there in 1908, he was buried alongside him. In 2019, in a formal ceremony in the U.S. Congress, a statue of this remarkable Ponca replaced one of William Jennings Bryan in Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol, in accordance with a resolu- tion passed by the Nebraska State Legislature.
DEFENDING FISHING RIGHTS
During the social protests of the 1960s, Billy Frank Jr., a Nisqually, led Northwest Indians in the fight for the recognition of their fish- ing rights. Hydroelectric power development and increasing commercial fishing had taken
Nisqually activist Billy Frank Jr. led Northwest Indians in the fight to defend their fishing rights and the environment.
its toll on Northwest salmon populations. In 1965, as the region’s salmon continued to decline, the tension between Native and non- Native sportsmen and commercial fishermen turned violent. Frank, who had been arrested in protests more than 50 times since 1945, maintained that the Nisqually and other Na- tive Nations in the state of Washington had been guaranteed their rights to fish by treaty. His actions attracted national attention and support from noted Hollywood actors. Ultimately, like Standing Bear, Frank chose
a legal path to achieve his objective. In 1974, Federal Judge George Boldt made a historic decision in U.S. v. Washington that held that the 20 tribes of western Washington had rights to half of the harvestable salmon and were co-managers of the salmon resources in the state. This decision transformed Frank into a leading advocate of regional cooperation and a highly respected mediator. He became chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission in 1981. By the time of his death in 2014, his career
as an activist culminated in a major movement mobilizing both Natives and non-Natives in the Northwest to preserve and protect the environment. His long-time friend Hank Adams (Sioux-Assiniboine), a noted behind- the-scenes peacemaker in his own right, says, “Billy readily gained everyone’s trust,
relying on a mutuality of respect.” Adams places Frank’s legacy in the long tradition of Native diplomacy. “Indian treaty-makers of nearly 200 years ago gave voice to the voice of Billy Frank Jr. and he to theirs for a lifetime.” In 2015, President Barack Obama
awarded Frank the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously. Soon after,
THEY ALSO SERVED
American Indian service to the United States and Canada went well beyond serving as war- riors on far-off battlefields. Some Native lead- ers chose a different path, to fight for their own people’s rights. White Eyes served as a go-between to promote peace and the dream of an Indian state. Iroquois diplomats such as Little Abraham, Johannes Crine, Scanando and Good Peter hoped to end the violence of the Revolution. Deskaheh tried to get in- ternational recognition for Haudenosaunee in their grievances against Canada. Stand- ing Bear and Billy Frank Jr. both changed American law on behalf of Native people. All exemplify the other great Native traditions of diplomacy and peacemaking. X
Laurence M. Hauptman, a SUNY distinguished professor emeritus of history, is a frequent contributor to American Indian magazine.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 13 the
Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge was named in Frank’s honor.
PHOTO COURTESY OF NORTHWEST INDIAN FISHERIES COMMISSION
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