Niobrara Reservation
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The Niobrara Reservation is a former Indian Reservation in northeast
Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...
. It originally comprised lands for both the
Santee Sioux The Dakota (pronounced , Dakota language: ''Dakȟóta/Dakhóta'') are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government in North America. They compose two of the three main subcultures of the Sioux people, and are typically divided into ...
and the
Ponca The Ponca ( Páⁿka iyé: Páⁿka or Ppáⁿkka pronounced ) are a Midwestern Native American tribe of the Dhegihan branch of the Siouan language group. There are two federally recognized Ponca tribes: the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and the Ponca ...
, both
Siouan Siouan or Siouan–Catawban is a language family of North America that is located primarily in the Great Plains, Ohio and Mississippi valleys and southeastern North America with a few other languages in the east. Name Authors who call the enti ...
-speaking tribes, near the mouth of the
Niobrara River The Niobrara River (; oma, Ní Ubthátha khe, , literally "water spread-out horizontal-the" or "The Wide-Spreading Water") is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. Many early settlers, such as Mari Sando ...
at its confluence with the Missouri River. In the late nineteenth century the United States government built a boarding school at the reservation for the Native American children in the region. By 1908 after allotment of plots to individual households of the tribes under the
Dawes Act The Dawes Act of 1887 (also known as the General Allotment Act or the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887) regulated land rights on tribal territories within the United States. Named after Senator Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts, it authorized the Pres ...
, were reserved for an agency, school and mission for a distinct
Santee Sioux Reservation The Santee Sioux Reservation ( dak, Isáŋyathi) of the Santee Sioux (also known as the Eastern Dakota) was established in 1863 in present-day Nebraska. The tribal seat of government is located in Niobrara, Nebraska, with reservation lands in K ...
; the neighboring
Ponca Reservation The Ponca Reservation of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska is located in northeast Nebraska, with the seat of tribal government located in Niobrara, Knox County. The Indian reservation is also the location of the historic Ponca Fort called ''Nanza''. T ...
had only reserved for agency and school buildings.


Santee Sioux

In 1884, John Lenger organized an all-Indian brass band on the Niobrara Reservation, the Santee Sioux Band. The group
demonstrated the musical ability of the Santee and presented them in a favorable light to their white neighbors. The band, led by Lenger, appeared at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 and at the
Trans-Mississippi Exposition The Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition was a world's fair held in Omaha, Nebraska from June 1 to November 1 of 1898. Its goal was to showcase the development of the entire West, stretching from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Co ...
in Omaha in 1898 .. nd... a special command performance for President
Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...
.
In 1890, Special Agent Reuben Sears described the land as unsuitable for farming without irrigation. "Perhaps half of the lands on this reservation would produce half a crop usually, while the other half is absolutely worthless, except for grazing, and 10 acres of this would be requisite to sustain 1 steer ... Timber is not abundant on this reservation. A sufficient quantity is found for fuel and posts, and for present use only." The Indian population at the Santee and Flandreau Agency at that time was 869. The Santee were described as a community that raised ponies and horses and lived in log or frame houses with barns, but did not like to keep milk cows or hogs. The Santee displayed aptitude for music and carpentry, and continued their customs of moving between summer and winter homes and "congregating together." Sears concluded that "The Santees are practically self-sustaining, although occupying an almost barren reservation." Sears noted that the Santee simply stopped talking altogether if asked about their tribal history or religious beliefs. Their unwillingness to discuss their history is understandable, given that memories of the
Dakota War of 1862 The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, the Dakota Uprising, the Sioux Outbreak of 1862, the Dakota Conflict, the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several ban ...
were still relatively fresh. After the war, thirty-nine Sioux were killed in a mass execution in
Mankato, Minnesota Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the state of Minnesota. The population was 44,488 according to the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Minnesota, and the 5th-largest outside of the Minnea ...
, and a third of the Indians imprisoned at Camp McClellan died of disease; some of these survivors were sent to Nebraska. Three hundred of the women, children, and old men at the post-war internment camp on
Pike Island Pike Island (Dakota: ''Wita Tanka'') is an island at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers in the southwestern-most part of Saint Paul in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The island is managed as part of Fort Snelling State Park an ...
, near
Fort Snelling, Minnesota Fort Snelling is a former military fortification and National Historic Landmark in the U.S. state of Minnesota on the bluffs overlooking the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. The military site was initially named Fort Saint Ant ...
, died due to poor conditions; in May 1863 Dakota survivors were forced aboard steamboats and relocated to the drought-stricken
Crow Creek Reservation The Crow Creek Indian Reservation ( dak, Khąǧí wakpá okášpe, '' lkt, Kȟaŋğí Wakpá Oyáŋke''), home to Crow Creek Sioux Tribe ( dak, Khąǧí wakpá oyáte) is located in parts of Buffalo, Hughes, and Hyde counties on the east bank ...
. Many of the survivors of Crow Creek moved three years later to the Niobrara Reservation.


Ponca

By contrast, the Ponca on the reservation numbered about 217 people, raised cattle and hogs, and were willing to discuss their history and religion. They lived in small frame houses, and had adequate rainfall and well water to maintain well-kept farms.


1930s archaeological survey

In the 1930s, an archeological survey was begun on the Ponca/Niobrara Reservation south of the Niobrara River and
Lynch, Nebraska Lynch is a village in Boyd County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 194 at the 2020 census, down from 245 in 2010. Lynch is located in northern Nebraska, between the Missouri and Niobrara rivers. History Lynch was incorporated as a v ...
. In an effort to identify and save prehistoric artifacts before they were destroyed during agricultural development, the
University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...
and the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
undertook a joint project. The team excavated a prehistoric Ponca village; the ten laborers on the project were paid by the
Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...
of the
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
administration during the Great Depression. The project was to survey, identify and protect ancient resources. The Ponca village included large circular homes up to sixty feet in diameter; their residences were located for almost two miles (3 km) along the south bank of the Niobrara River. Dr. Lance Martin, "Rabbit Hunt"
1997, ABCD unlimited. Retrieved 12/5/08.

1997, ABCD unlimited. Retrieved 06/19/17.
Niobrara Island was included in the original reservation.


See also

*
Native American tribes in Nebraska Native American tribes in the U.S. state of Nebraska have been Plains Indians, descendants of succeeding cultures of indigenous peoples who have occupied the area for thousands of years. More than 15 historic tribes have been identified as having ...
* List of Indian agencies in Nebraska * Sioux


Notes

{{Native Americans in Nebraska Former American Indian reservations in Nebraska Geography of Knox County, Nebraska Ponca Santee Dakota