PONCA CITY - Standing Bear's struggle was not in vain.
What the Ponca Indian tribal leader fought for more than 100 years ago was on display Saturday.
Leaders from the Ponca and other tribes gathered Saturday along with about 250 Ponca City area residents on a tract of land at the intersection of U.S. 60 and U.S. 177 to signal the start of a massive project to include a museum, an Indian village and trading post, all explaining Indian culture.
Kicking off the project - and its most striking feature - is a planned 20-foot-tall statue of Standing Bear. The Ponca tribal chief, in the 1870s, sued the federal government to have Indians recognized as individuals and human beings.
Parrish Williams, a member of the Ponca Tribe, presided over a ceremony to bless the ground where the statue is to be built and to bless members of a committee working on the project.
Genevieve Pollak, chairman of the Ponca Tribe's business committee, and Carl Renfro, chairman of the committee each smoked sacred tobacco. Williams said a prayer, and then poured dried cedar on a fire and, using an eagle feather, fanned the smoke on each of the committee members as well as Gov. David Walters and other dignitaries taking part in the ceremony.
Ashes from the fire and the tobacco will be put away and used again in about two years for the ceremony to dedicate the Standing Bear statue.
So far, about $225,000 has been raised for the statue, he said. The committee spent $108,000 on a 63-acre tract of land that overlooks the Arkansas River Valley. A nationwide search will get under way shortly for an artist to design and sculpt the statue, Renfro said. Estimated cost of the statue is $500,000.
"We are pledging today to work as equals to build a memorial to honor Chief Standing Bear, a great civil rights leader," Renfro said. "The plight of Chief Standing Bear and the Ponca Tribe was not unlike most of the Native American tribes in all of America.
Two direct descendants of Standing Bear said they approved of the project.
"It's very emotional," said Al Picotte of Niobrara, Neb., a great-grandson of Standing Bear. "It's a great step for establishing a friendship between the white community and ourselves. " Picotte and his brother, Ron, of Green Bay, Wis., said they felt Standing Bear's presence during the ceremony.
Long-range plans call for building a cultural center and museum that will include a hall of fame and a learning center featuring an Indian trading post. Other plans call for a memorial sculpture garden. Goals also include a scholarship for Indian students and the flying of the 39 tribal flags.
What the Ponca Indian tribal leader fought for more than 100 years ago was on display Saturday.
Leaders from the Ponca and other tribes gathered Saturday along with about 250 Ponca City area residents on a tract of land at the intersection of U.S. 60 and U.S. 177 to signal the start of a massive project to include a museum, an Indian village and trading post, all explaining Indian culture.
Kicking off the project - and its most striking feature - is a planned 20-foot-tall statue of Standing Bear. The Ponca tribal chief, in the 1870s, sued the federal government to have Indians recognized as individuals and human beings.
Parrish Williams, a member of the Ponca Tribe, presided over a ceremony to bless the ground where the statue is to be built and to bless members of a committee working on the project.
Genevieve Pollak, chairman of the Ponca Tribe's business committee, and Carl Renfro, chairman of the committee each smoked sacred tobacco. Williams said a prayer, and then poured dried cedar on a fire and, using an eagle feather, fanned the smoke on each of the committee members as well as Gov. David Walters and other dignitaries taking part in the ceremony.
Ashes from the fire and the tobacco will be put away and used again in about two years for the ceremony to dedicate the Standing Bear statue.
So far, about $225,000 has been raised for the statue, he said. The committee spent $108,000 on a 63-acre tract of land that overlooks the Arkansas River Valley. A nationwide search will get under way shortly for an artist to design and sculpt the statue, Renfro said. Estimated cost of the statue is $500,000.
"We are pledging today to work as equals to build a memorial to honor Chief Standing Bear, a great civil rights leader," Renfro said. "The plight of Chief Standing Bear and the Ponca Tribe was not unlike most of the Native American tribes in all of America.
Two direct descendants of Standing Bear said they approved of the project.
"It's very emotional," said Al Picotte of Niobrara, Neb., a great-grandson of Standing Bear. "It's a great step for establishing a friendship between the white community and ourselves. " Picotte and his brother, Ron, of Green Bay, Wis., said they felt Standing Bear's presence during the ceremony.
Long-range plans call for building a cultural center and museum that will include a hall of fame and a learning center featuring an Indian trading post. Other plans call for a memorial sculpture garden. Goals also include a scholarship for Indian students and the flying of the 39 tribal flags.
