STANDING
In the landmark case of Chief Standing Bear vs. General Crook, the Ponca chief sued the government and became the first Native American judicially granted civil rights under American law. Prior to this 1879 case, Native Americans were not considered “persons.” Only whites were human beings.
Ma-chu-nah-zha (Standing Bear) testifies:
“This hand is not the color of yours, but if I pierce it, I shall feel pain. If you pierce your hand, you also feel pain. The blood that will flow from mine will be of the same color as yours. I am a man. The same God made us both.”