One of the most important ways to understand the Ponca removal is to resist the temptation to jump directly to Standing Bear’s famous courtroom moment.

The cost came first.

During the 1877 journey south, illness and exhaustion struck the traveling community.

Standing Bear’s own family was hit repeatedly.

History Nebraska records the death of Standing Bear’s daughter Prairie Flower during the removal.

She died on June 5, 1877, while the Ponca were still moving through Nebraska.