The Ponca Tribe
About the Ponca
The above image is of the Ponca tribe's logo.
The Ponca is a Native American tribe that originated in northern Nebraska. The Ponca is a branch of the Omaha tribe, splitting-off sometime between 1390 and 1750. There is also another division of the Ponca in Oklahoma. This break in the tribe was a result of the trial of Standing Bear in 1879. The tribe has always been fairly small considering that in 1874, the tribe consisted of a mere 733 people. Their total population today is just under 3000. The Sioux tribe is traditionally known to be an enemy of the Ponca. Disputes between the two warring tribes commonly occurred. In the early years of the Ponca, they reached out to the United States government to try to make peace with them. Throughout their prominent years of existence, the Ponca endured many problems with the treaties made with the U.S., which was the cause of the trial of Standing Bear. In the end, the trial of Standing Bear helped the Ponca by allowing them access to their land in Nebraska once again which you will read about later on on the website.