2023 Chief Standing Bear Stamps

In 1879, Chief Standing Bear (ca 1829-1908) won a landmark court ruling that determined a Native American was a person undelthe law with an inherent right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

The stamp features a portrait of Chief Standing Bear by Thomas Blackshear ll based on a black-and-white photograph taken ofStanding Bear in 1877 while he was in Washington, D.C., as part of a delegation of Ponca chiefs. For the color of his atire,Blackshear drew upon contemporary descriptions.

In 1877, the U.S. Army had relocated some 700 Ponca to lndian Territory (0kahoma) after the federal govemnment had mistakenlgiven away the tribe's homeland in the Niobrara River Valley in what is now northeastern Nebraska.