Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: Chapter 15 Summary & Analysis

In 1804, Lewis and Clark met a small, friendly native tribe called the Poncas. In 1858, the Poncas surrendered their lands in exchange for a guarantee of U.S. government protection and a permanent home near the Niobrara River. But in 1868, the government forced the Poncas off their lands and moved them to Sioux territory. Then, after Custer’s defeat, the government mandated that Poncas—who had no connection to Custer’s defeat—be relocated again.

In January 1877, the Poncas, led by chief White Eagle, learned that they were to be removed from their lands. White Eagle visited his people’s future reservation, in Kansas. He was horrified—the land in Kansas was barren and dry, meaning that his people would surely want for food and other resources. The Ponca leaders were furious that the government was moving their people once again. But by June 1877, soldiers had moved most of the Poncas out to Kansas, their new home. In Kansas, many Poncas died of disease or starvation.

General Crook learned of the Poncas’ relocation. Even though he’d participated in the relocation or murder of many Native Americans, he was moved by the Poncas’ suffering, and attempted to halt the transfer order by notifying the press. In 1879, the Poncas went to a U.S. court, arguing that they were Americans, and therefore entitled to live wherever they wanted However, the state argued that the Poncas were “not persons within the meaning of the law,” and therefore had to relocate according to government decree. In the end, the judge ruled that the Poncas had the inalienable right to choose a place to live. The Poncas had worked within the U.S. court system to win their freedom to live by the Niobrara River in Nebraska.

Although the Poncas had won the freedom to live in Nebraska, many of the Poncas already living in Kansas were forbidden to leave their reservation. General Sherman was sent in to arrest any Poncas who tried to escape from Kansas; publicly, he claimed that the Poncas’ legal victory only applied to Poncas not already living in Kansas.

In October, General Sherman arrested Big Snake, the brother of a Ponca chief. According to eyewitnesses, Big Snake refused to allow soldiers to handcuff him. He struggled with the soldiers, and one of them shot him in the head, killing him instantly. The message to the Poncas was clear enough: “the white man’s law was an illusion.” From then on, the Poncas were split into two halves, one half in Nebraska, one in Kansas.