STANDING BEAR WAS ARRESTED FOR TRYING TO GO HOME – THEN HIS CASE FORCED A U.S. COURT TO DECIDE IF A NATIVE MAN WAS A “PERSON”

A large bronze statue now depicts Standing Bear extending his hand, echoing the famous courtroom account.

The symbolism is almost too neat.

In 1879, federal officials held Standing Bear as a prisoner and disputed his access to legal protection.

More than a century later, his image stands inside the building where Congress makes federal law.

In 2023, the U.S.

Postal Service also issued a stamp honoring Chief Standing Bear, using a nineteenth-century portrait as its visual basis.