Standing Bear, born 1829 in present-day Nebraska, was a member of the Ponca tribe. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 encouraged European-American settlers to swarm to that area. The US Government forced the Ponca tribes as well other Nebraska tribes to sell their land. They were were made to relocate to Indian Territory in present day Oklahoma. During the trip south, Chief Standing Bear's tribe lost a third of their members including Standing Bear's son Bear Shield. To honor his son's dying wish to be buried in their home in the Niobrara River, Standing Bear returned to Nebraska.
After his arrival, he was arrested for having left Indian Territory, but Brigadier General George Crook had grown sympathetic to the plight of the Poncas and allowed them to remain until they could regain their health and seek legal redress.
At this time, the US Government did not recognize Native Americans as human beings and therefore, had no rights. In April 1879, Standing Bear sued for a writ of habeas corpus in the US District Court in Omaha, Nebraska. The judge Elmer Dundy allowed Standing Bear to make a speech. Standing Bear delivered an impassioned speech and during it, he raised his hand and said "That hand is not the color of yours, but if I prick it, the blood will flow, and I shall feel pain." He told the listeners that if they prick their hands, they will also feel pain. "The blood is of the same color as yours. God made me, and I am a Man."
In May 1879, the judge ruled that "an Indian is a person" within the meaning of habeas corpus. It was the first time a Native American was granted civil rights.
Standing Bear died in 1908 in Niobrara Valley.
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