The Resume

(1834-1908)
Born near Niobrara, Nebraska on what was Ponca tribal land
Ponca Tribe Chief/Constitutional Rights Defendant
Ponca name--'Mah-chu-nah-zah'

Why he might be annoying:

He refused to have his tribe relocated to Oklahoma, defying a Federal order (1876).
He led a trek across the Midwest to bury his son on Ponca land. Several members of his tribe died along the way.
He did this in defiance of the Federal order, and was arrested.
The government tried to claim that Native Americans were not human, and therefore should have no rights or claims to property.

Why he might not be annoying:

He became chief at a young age, and was a wise leader.
He and the Ponca tribe were forced to relocate to Oklahoma and learn farming (the Ponca were a hunting tribe).
He barely survived the hideous conditions of the Indian Territory, but his son did not; he promised his son that he would be buried on Ponca ground.
It is believed that General George Crook, the officer who arrested Standing Bear, helped him prepare his case for trial.
He claimed in court that his tribe lost its land unfairly, and that under the US Constitution the Ponca tribe were American citizens.
He was the first to have a Federal court rule that Native Americans were human beings and not savages. The Court further ruled that as American citizens they had been horribly treated without due cause.
A commission established by President Rutherford Hayes agreed, and a portion of their tribal land was returned and their tribe was freed.
He became a popular speaker in the East, and won the support of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and other writers.
He returned to his tribal land, where he hunted and farmed until his death.
Because of him, Native Americans began to establish their rights in American society.

Credit: Art Gremashlo

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• Animal Names
• I am a Nebraskan
• I Died in 1908 (Ranked: 74)
• I Outlived My Child
• In Town for The World's Fair at the Columbian Exposition [1893-Chicago]
• Look at Me, I'm Armed
• Look at Me, I'm Wearing an Indian Headdress
• National Statuary Hall Collection at the US Capitol (Ranked: 27)
• Profiles 15001-15250 (Ranked: 15117)
• Stand Up Men

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 160 Votes: 65.00% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 24 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 18 Votes: 22.22% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 264 Votes: 42.05% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 204 Votes: 47.06% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 12 Votes: 8.33% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 8 Votes: 62.50% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 15 Votes: 26.67% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 13 Votes: 38.46% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 11 Votes: 27.27% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 15 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 15 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 26 Votes: 23.08% Annoying
In 2009, Out of 32 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
In 2008, Out of 61 Votes: 36.07% Annoying
In 2007, Out of 182 Votes: 43.96% Annoying
In 2006, Out of 238 Votes: 40.76% Annoying
In 2005, Out of 703 Votes: 43.53% Annoying