Standing Bear vs. Crook
#WakeUp
😈💩👎
Posted on October 16, 2019 by Dr. Joan R Cartwright
CHIEF STANDING BEAR, Ponca Tribe, Nebraska
In the 1878 lawsuit, Standing Bear v. Crook, the U.S. attorney argued that Standing Bear was neither a citizen nor a person, and as such did not have the standing to sue the government.
Chief Standing Bear was called to testify, becoming the first Native American to do so. He raised his right hand and, through an interpreter, said: “My hand is not the color of yours, but if I pierce it, I shall feel pain. If you pierce your hand, you also feel pain. The blood that will flow from mine will be the same color as yours. The same god made us both. I am a man.”
On April 30, 1879, Judge Dundy agreed, ruling for the first time in U.S. history that “the Indian is a ‘person’ ” and has all the rights and freedoms promised in the Constitution. The judge also ordered Crook to free Standing Bear and his people immediately. [https://history.nebraska.gov/collections/standing-bear-ca-1834-1908-rg1429am]
When did white people get the notion that other people were not persons because of the color of their skin? This idea enabled white people to take everything away from black and brown people.
It’s time for reparations on the behalf of all black and brown people robbed by these white crooks.
