A section of biking and hiking trail from Beatrice to Barneston is now owned by the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska. A deed ceremony last week capped a Remembrance Walk tribal members took across the state. Tribal chairman Larry Wright Junior says it was inspiring to be with fellow members every day on the walk that stretched from Niobrara to Barneston.
The 20-mile trail will be known as the Chief Standing Bear Trail in honor of the Ponca chief whose people were banished from their homeland.
Judi Gaiashkibos, director of the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs, says the history of the Ponca and other tribes is very important to tell in this 150th year of Nebraska Statehood.
Gaiashkibos credits Congressman Jeff Fortenberry for promoting the idea of a Chief Standing Bear Trail. Tribe members hope to one day obtain a National Historic designation for the trail.
