A Nebraska congressman says he'll seek federal recognition and a special designation for the trail the Ponca tribe took during a forced march more than 135 years ago.
The Lincoln Journal Star says Republican Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska's 1st District plans to introduce a resolution that would create federal recognition for the Chief Standing Bear Trail.
The Nebraska Legislature has passed a resolution supporting the trail.
The route taken in 1877 runs from the Niobrara River in Nebraska to near what now is Ponca City, Oklahoma, and back to the Omaha site of the 1879 trial of Chief Standing Bear. The chief and his tribe became the first Native Americans to be recognized as people under the law in the federal court decision.
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