2015 Great Plains symposium partners with Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs
The Center for Great Plains Studies is announcing a partnership with the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs for a spring 2015 event centered on Native Americans in the Great Plains.
The Center's 41st Annual Great Plains Symposium will be held in the spring of 2015 with the theme of Chief Standing Bear, the Standing Bear Trail and continuing issues for Native Americans in the Great Plains today. The symposium is a two-day, interdisciplinary event that will attract scholars, public officials, tribal members and other interested members of the public from across the Great Plains.
The NCIA is in the process of planning, researching and gathering resources necessary to apply for the establishment and designation of a Chief Standing Bear Trail running from Nebraska to Oklahoma. The establishment of this trail will increase the general public's knowledge and awareness of the story of Ponca Chief Standing Bear.
The history of Chief Standing Bear brings up issues people still identify with today and will engage the public in examining a variety of historical and legal lessons including the displacement of the Ponca tribe to Oklahoma, tribal sovereignty and legal and ethical issues of equality.
In conjunction with the symposium, the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs (NCIA) will hold its 2015 Chief Standing Bear Breakfast in Lincoln where it will be part of the symposium’s events.
The NCIA is the state liaison between the four headquarter tribes of the Omaha, Ponca, Santee Sioux and Winnebago Tribes of Nebraska. It helps ensure the sovereignty of both tribal and state governments is recognized and acted upon in a true government-to-government relationship. The commission also serves all off-reservation Indian constituencies in the State of Nebraska. All goals of the commission are accomplished through advocacy, education and promotion of legislation.
More information about the symposium will be available on this page later this year. If you have immediate questions email the Center. More information on the Chief Standing Bear Breakfast can be found at the Commission's website.
The Center for Great Plains Studies is a four-campus interdisciplinary, research and teaching program. Its mission is to promote a greater understanding of the people, culture, history and environment of the Great Plains through a variety of research, teaching, and outreach programs.
Download the 2015 symposium flyer
