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”

In many retellings, Standing Bear’s son functions only as a hook.

The son dies.

The father starts north.

Then the story becomes a courtroom drama and the son disappears.

But remembering him changes the meaning of the legal victory.

Standing Bear did not set out because he wanted to establish a precedent.