410:, concluding that American Indians did indeed have the rights of citizenship. He declared that Indians do have the right to sue the government, that the U.S. Army had no right to take them from their land, and he ordered the immediate release of the 30 incarcerated Ponca being held at Fort Omaha. Most importantly, it was decided that "...An Indian is a PERSON within the meaning of the laws of the United States..." and that they "Have the inalienable right to ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’ so long as they obeyed the law." Indian rights activism would become Tibbles' legacy as he continued his activism for the rest of his life.
330:
of the Ponca tribe, his people were taken to the Indian
Territory where they struggled to survive. Although the Omaha tribe, who were closely related to the Ponca and spoke the same language, had given gave them 30 acres of good land, the government would not allow them to take it. Due to malaria, extreme weather, and insufficient government assistance, approximately one-third of the tribe had not survived the conditions of the reservation during the approximate 2 years that they spent there. Chief Standing Bear lamented, "We had nothing to do but sit still, be sick, starve, and die."
300:
455:, this time under his own name. They would initially settle in Omaha in a sod house with a farm. Both Tibbles and his new wife would continue lecturing throughout 1882-83, and they successfully lobbied for Congress to grant the Omaha tribe permanent individual allotments, though some of them would be dissatisfied about the way the land was divided. From 1883 to 1885, they moved to Washington D.C. where they continued to lecture on Indian subjects. They would also go on a speaking tour in England and Scotland in 1886.
256:, building a church and gathering a congregation in Omaha. In 1874, Tibbles discovered that many Nebraskans were on the brink of starvation due a draught and subsequent crop failure. Through fundraising and a public speaking tour alongside Rev. G.W. Frost, Tibbles succeeded in raising over $ 80,000 in relief for those affected. He continued working for various newspapers throughout Omaha, Nebraska while preaching. Tibbles would retire from the ministry in 1877 to pursue social justice through journalism full-time.
292:
227:
assigned to break up gangs of horse thieves. One such gang, led by
Charles Quantrell, captured and tortured him, though he was rescued again by his comrades. By the end of the war, Tibbles would rise to the rank of Major. For parts of the war, he worked as a wartime correspondent for national newspapers. Other than the brief time he spent as a circuit preacher (1871–1874), this would be the beginning of Tibbles’s long career in the newspaper industry.
424:
329:
in 1879. In a "flagrant violation" of a preexisting treaty, the government had mistakenly turned over the Ponca’s ancestral lands in
Nebraska to the Sioux tribe, forcing the tribe to walk some 500 miles southward to the Oklahoma Indian territory. According to the account given by Standing Bear, Chief
393:
The case for the government was that Native
Americans did not qualify as "persons" under U.S. law and as such, did not have the basic rights of citizenship, such as the right to sue the federal government. Additionally, they argued that the Ponca’s way of life was not truly being obstructed by the
431:
Once the trial of Chief
Standing Bear was over, Thomas Tibbles would continue to campaign for equal treatment for Native Americans. During the summer of 1879 until early September of the same year, he went on a speaking tour to Chicago and Boston raising awareness of the plight of the Poncas, in
226:
is 1861. On 1 October this same year, Tibbles married his first wife, Amelia Owen, Freedom, Pennsylvania, with whom he had his first two children, Eda
Tibbles in 1868 and May Tibbles in 1870. During this time, he joined the Union forces as a scout in the states of Kansas and Missouri, and was
207:" conflict, a slavery-related border conflict on the side of the abolitionists. Taken prisoner by pro-slavery forces, he was sentenced to be hanged but escaped, though he lost part of his ear to a musket ball. After the end of the Kansas hostilities, he spent some time with the
186:, a legal battle which led to the liberation of the Ponca tribe from the Indian territory in Oklahoma in the year 1879. This landmark case led to important improvements in the civil rights of Native Americans throughout the country and opened the door to further advancement.
182:(May 22, 1840 – May 14, 1928) was an American abolitionist, writer, journalist, Native American rights activist, and politician who was born in Ohio and lived in various other places in the United States, especially Nebraska. Tibbles played an important role in the trial of
230:
Of himself, Tibbles wrote that he was "Raised on the frontier and preferred not to be educated," and, "He carried perhaps the marks of more gunshot and other wounds… than any other one man in a thousand miles... He was one of the best shots with a revolver in the west."
394:
government’s regulations. The attorneys who represented Chief
Standing Bear argued that the Ponca were trying to " the ways of the whites" through agriculture and obedience to U.S. law and they insisted that the Ponca qualified as citizens under the newly ratified
440:. This tour also went through Chicago and Boston, and this time included New York City. While traveling, Tibbles would get word that his wife had suddenly died from peritonitis. In 1880, Tibbles published his first book under the pseudonym "Zylyff,"
364:
Making a decision to take up the cause of the Ponca people, Tibbles began to raise awareness of the dire situation of the Ponca tribe by publishing their story in the major surrounding newspapers. Through these efforts and the efforts of
359:"General, if I once went into such a fight as that, I should never give up till I won or died. It would require at least five years and cost thousands of dollars... you're asking a great deal of me." -Thomas Tibbles
194:
Tibbles was born on May 22, 1840, near Athens, Ohio to
William and Martha (Cooley) Tibbles. After moving to Winterset, Iowa, in 1854 to study law, Tibbles joined a guerilla abolitionist militia group led by
432:
addition to the other tribes in the
Nebraska territory, as well as lobbying for Native American citizenship. He would set off on another tour with Chief Standing Bear, his son, Woodworker, and his daughter
252:
preacher. As a gun-toting circuit preacher, he rode around
Missouri and Nebraska on horseback, preaching as he went. Eventually, he "grew disenchanted with Methodist restrictions," and became
350:, who objected to his orders to arrest the group, met secretly with Tibbles in his office and implored him to take up their case, insisting that he was the only one who could save them.
468:, where he reported the tragedy to the world. His work as a journalist would continue for many different newspapers, including working as a Washington correspondent from 1893-1895.
303:
The scant reservation that was given to the Ponca people is seen here towards the northernmost limit of modern-day Oklahoma. They would find this land to be largely uninhabitable.
369:, a well-educated Omaha interpreter who raised awareness of the Ponca plight by speaking publicly to local church congregations, they obtained pro-bono legal representation for
31:
654:
385:
on behalf of Chief Standing Bear, and their case was heard during a two-day session commencing on the 28th of April 1879 in the United States District Court at Fort Omaha.
354:, whose people faced starvation, wanted his land back, as well as "plows and axes and wagons" and a legal contract that their land would never again be taken from them.
887:
488:, he was nominated to be the Vice-President on the Populist ticket, though his ticket did not win. This was just a year after his wife's death on May 26, 1903.
395:
342:
on March 30, 1879, after the Chief and some 30 Ponca Indians were placed under arrest and were being held by order of the U.S. Secretary of the Interior,
514:
until his retirement in 1928. He died on May 14, 1928, and was buried in Bellevue Cemetery, Bellevue, Nebraska, and Ida was later buried alongside him.
505:
477:
882:
655:
https://edan.si.edu/slideshow/viewer/?damspath=/Public_Sets/NMAI/NMAI-AO-Assets-and-Operations/NMAI-AO-Archives/NMAI_AC066/Box_004/Folder_03
857:
274:, where he would become the assistant editor. This was where he was working when, at one A.M. on March 30, 1879, he was approached by
862:
427:
Susette "Bright Eyes" La Flesche, married to Thomas Tibbles on June 29, 1881. Remembered as an influential speaker on Native rights.
485:
872:
897:
867:
508:
movement, including editing other newspapers for the party, from 1905 to 1910; after which he returned once again to the
464:, where, on a visit to Pine Ridge Agency in 1890, he would be an eye witness to and at the forefront of the massacre at
382:
500:, which was his autobiography. He also married his third and final wife, Ida Belle Riddle, in 1907 after the death of
83:
739:
Ketchum, Liza. “I Am a Human Being and Have a Right to Be Heard; Bright Eyes: Susette Laflesche Tibbles.” Essay. In
322:
547:
877:
476:
After his work in Washington was finished, Tibbles returned to Nebraska and became very involved in the
892:
196:
484:, a weekly populist newspaper. He would become increasingly active in the populist movement until, in
501:
437:
433:
245:
219:
200:
800:
18, 1:1–2. Sun Tracks: An American Indian Literary Series. Tucson, AZ: Univ. of Arizona Press, 1993.
829:
374:
55:
199:, the Free-State Militia in 1856 at the age of 16. Later, he became a member of the company of
465:
852:
847:
8:
525:
299:
16:
American abolitionist, writer, journalist, Native American rights activist and politician
536:
510:
460:
448:
366:
309:
270:
223:
123:
598:, 5–6. Suitland, Maryland: Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, 1960.
451:
would be married on June 29, 1881, the same year Tibbles published his second book,
436:, who had served as Standing Bear's interpreter at the trial and was also known as
699:
Standing Bear Is a Person: the True Story of a Native American's Quest for Justice
253:
204:
72:
594:
Menyuk, Rachel, and Thomas Henry Tibbles. “Biographical Note.” Introduction. In
841:
407:
378:
370:
351:
339:
314:
183:
765:
Soodalter, Ron. “Bright Eyes: The Interpreter Who Won a People's Freedom.”
347:
275:
599:
343:
208:
373:
in court and raised national awareness of the case. John L. Webster and
346:, for fleeing the Indian territory in Oklahoma to their original lands.
798:
The Singing Spirit: Early Short Stories by North American Indians, vol.
326:
291:
423:
249:
743:, 75–82. New York, NY: Little, Brown, and Company Publishers, 2001.
640:. Edited by Kay Graber. Lincoln, NE: Univ. of Nebraska Press, 1972.
295:
Ponca Trail of Tears map from "The Ponca Tribe" by James H. Howard
830:
https://history.nebraska.gov/collections/tibbles-family-rg2737am
471:
649:
Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Native Americans In
244:
After his military service, he used the religion classes from
549:
Buckskin and Blanket Days: Memoirs of a Friend of the Indians
318:
212:
30:
697:
Dando-Collins, Stephen. “The Newspaper Editor.” Essay. In
638:
The Ponca Chiefs: an Account of the Trial of Standing Bear
442:
The Ponca Chiefs: An Account of the Trial of Standing Bear
203:
and was in all the prominent battles during the two-year "
812:
The Standing Bear Controversy: Prelude to Indian Reform
716:
The Standing Bear Controversy: Prelude to Indian Reform
612:
The Standing Bear Controversy: Prelude to Indian Reform
496:
In 1905, Tibbles would write his third and final book,
222:
in Alliance, Ohio from 1858 until the beginning of the
741:
Into a New Country: Eight Remarkable Women of the West
814:. Chicago: University of Illinois Press. p. 187.
781:
I am a Man: Chief Standing Bear's Journey for Justice
671:
I Am a Man: Chief Standing Bear's Journey for Justice
278:
about the dire legal situation of the Ponca Indians.
718:. Chicago: University of Illinois Press. p. 51.
545:
534:
523:
413:
313:, Tibbles was instrumental in bringing the case of
504:. He would continue his active involvement in the
783:. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 168–195.
839:
810:Mathes, Valerie Sherer; Lowitt, Richard (2003).
714:Mathes, Valerie Sherer; Lowitt, Richard (2003).
610:Mathes, Valerie Sherer; Lowitt, Richard (2003).
211:, even accompanying them in a conflict with the
888:1904 United States vice-presidential candidates
796:Peyer, Bernd C. “Susette LaFlesche.” Essay. In
614:. Chicago: University of Illinois Press. p. 52.
458:In 1888, Tibbles returned as a reporter to the
472:Populism and the Vice-Presidential Nomination
809:
713:
218:After his time as a soldier, he studied at
480:movement, becoming the editor-in-chief of
264:Initially working as a journalist for the
29:
281:
554:(Tibbles' autobiography written in 1905)
422:
298:
290:
778:
673:. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 114.
600:https://sova.si.edu//record/NMAI.AC.066
333:
165: 1907; died 1958)
113: 1861; died 1879)
840:
701:, 51–60. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo, 2004.
792:
790:
590:
588:
139:
883:Activists for Native American rights
761:
759:
757:
755:
753:
751:
749:
735:
733:
731:
729:
727:
725:
709:
707:
693:
691:
689:
687:
685:
683:
681:
679:
665:
663:
632:
630:
628:
626:
624:
622:
620:
586:
584:
582:
580:
578:
576:
574:
572:
570:
568:
406:Judge Elmer Dundy ruled in favor of
858:People from Washington County, Ohio
13:
787:
643:
418:
268:Tibbles eventually settled at the
14:
909:
746:
722:
704:
676:
660:
617:
565:
502:Susette ("Bright Eyes") LaFlesche
414:Political Involvement & Death
863:Politicians from Omaha, Nebraska
491:
377:, the attorneys who represented
338:Tibbles met the acquaintance of
818:
803:
772:
286:
162:
135:
110:
873:Editors of Nebraska newspapers
604:
401:
1:
558:
546:Thomas Henry Tibbles (1957).
535:Thomas Henry Tibbles (1879).
524:Thomas Henry Tibbles (1881).
189:
142:; died 1903)
898:Writers from Omaha, Nebraska
868:People from Kansas Territory
541:. Lockwood, Brooks & Co.
388:
323:United States District Court
7:
651:Thomas Henry Tibbles Papers
596:Thomas Henry Tibbles Papers
307:As assistant editor of the
259:
239:
10:
914:
530:. G. W. Carleton & Co.
498:Buckskin and Blanket Days
321:Indian people before the
234:
173:
89:
79:
62:
42:
37:
28:
21:
769:, 2014, vol. 18, edn. 6.
517:
828:. Retrieved 11/6/2020.
56:Washington County, Ohio
428:
361:
304:
296:
282:Trial of Standing Bear
779:Starita, Joe (2008).
669:Starita, Joe (2008).
426:
357:
302:
294:
348:General George Crook
334:Tibbles' Involvement
276:General George Crook
180:Thomas Henry Tibbles
636:Tibbles, Thomas H.
447:Thomas Tibbles and
408:Chief Standing Bear
379:Chief Standing Bear
371:Chief Standing Bear
340:Chief Standing Bear
246:Mount Union College
878:Nebraska Populists
824:"Tibbles Family".
511:Omaha World Herald
461:Omaha World Herald
449:Susette La Flesche
429:
381:, filed a writ of
310:Omaha Daily Herald
305:
297:
271:Omaha Daily Herald
124:Susette La Flesche
893:Writers from Ohio
438:Susette LaFlesche
367:Susette Laflesche
220:Mt. Union College
177:
176:
905:
832:
826:History Nebraska
822:
816:
815:
807:
801:
794:
785:
784:
776:
770:
763:
744:
737:
720:
719:
711:
702:
695:
674:
667:
658:
647:
641:
634:
615:
608:
602:
592:
553:
542:
538:The Ponca Chiefs
531:
266:Omaha Daily Bee,
166:
164:
152:Ida Belle Riddle
143:
141:
137:
114:
112:
69:
52:
50:
38:Personal details
33:
19:
18:
913:
912:
908:
907:
906:
904:
903:
902:
838:
837:
836:
835:
823:
819:
808:
804:
795:
788:
777:
773:
764:
747:
738:
723:
712:
705:
696:
677:
668:
661:
648:
644:
635:
618:
609:
605:
593:
566:
561:
520:
494:
482:The Independent
474:
421:
419:After the Trial
416:
404:
391:
362:
336:
289:
284:
262:
242:
237:
205:Bleeding Kansas
192:
169:
168:
160:
156:
153:
145:
133:
129:
126:
116:
108:
104:
101:
80:Political party
73:Omaha, Nebraska
71:
67:
54:
48:
46:
24:
17:
12:
11:
5:
911:
901:
900:
895:
890:
885:
880:
875:
870:
865:
860:
855:
850:
834:
833:
817:
802:
786:
771:
745:
721:
703:
675:
659:
642:
616:
603:
563:
562:
560:
557:
556:
555:
543:
532:
519:
516:
493:
490:
473:
470:
420:
417:
415:
412:
403:
400:
396:14th Amendment
390:
387:
375:A.J. Poppleton
356:
335:
332:
288:
285:
283:
280:
261:
258:
241:
238:
236:
233:
224:U.S. Civil War
191:
188:
175:
174:
171:
170:
158:
154:
151:
150:
149:
148:
131:
127:
122:
121:
120:
119:
106:
102:
99:
98:
97:
96:
93:
91:
87:
86:
81:
77:
76:
70:(aged 87)
64:
60:
59:
44:
40:
39:
35:
34:
26:
25:
23:Thomas Tibbles
22:
15:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
910:
899:
896:
894:
891:
889:
886:
884:
881:
879:
876:
874:
871:
869:
866:
864:
861:
859:
856:
854:
851:
849:
846:
845:
843:
831:
827:
821:
813:
806:
799:
793:
791:
782:
775:
768:
767:Nebraska Life
762:
760:
758:
756:
754:
752:
750:
742:
736:
734:
732:
730:
728:
726:
717:
710:
708:
700:
694:
692:
690:
688:
686:
684:
682:
680:
672:
666:
664:
656:
652:
646:
639:
633:
631:
629:
627:
625:
623:
621:
613:
607:
601:
597:
591:
589:
587:
585:
583:
581:
579:
577:
575:
573:
571:
569:
564:
551:
550:
544:
540:
539:
533:
529:
528:
522:
521:
515:
513:
512:
507:
503:
499:
492:Post-Election
489:
487:
483:
479:
469:
467:
463:
462:
456:
454:
450:
445:
443:
439:
435:
425:
411:
409:
399:
397:
386:
384:
383:habeas corpus
380:
376:
372:
368:
360:
355:
353:
352:Standing Bear
349:
345:
341:
331:
328:
324:
320:
316:
315:Standing Bear
312:
311:
301:
293:
279:
277:
273:
272:
267:
257:
255:
251:
248:and became a
247:
232:
228:
225:
221:
216:
214:
210:
206:
202:
198:
197:James H. Lane
187:
185:
184:Standing Bear
181:
172:
147:
146:
125:
118:
117:
95:
94:
92:
88:
85:
82:
78:
74:
65:
61:
57:
45:
41:
36:
32:
27:
20:
825:
820:
811:
805:
797:
780:
774:
766:
740:
715:
698:
670:
650:
645:
637:
611:
606:
595:
552:. Doubleday.
548:
537:
527:Hidden Power
526:
509:
497:
495:
481:
475:
466:Wounded Knee
459:
457:
453:Hidden Power
452:
446:
441:
430:
405:
392:
363:
358:
337:
308:
306:
287:Ponca Plight
269:
265:
263:
254:Presbyterian
243:
229:
217:
193:
179:
178:
68:(1928-05-14)
66:May 14, 1928
53:May 22, 1840
853:1928 deaths
848:1840 births
434:Bright Eyes
402:The Verdict
344:Carl Schurz
100:Amelia Owen
842:Categories
559:References
327:Fort Omaha
201:John Brown
190:Early life
49:1840-05-22
657:Letter #5
389:The Trial
250:Methodist
506:Populist
478:Populist
317:and the
260:Reporter
240:Preacher
84:Populist
167:
159:
155:
144:
132:
128:
115:
107:
103:
90:Spouses
235:Career
138:
75:, U.S.
58:, U.S.
518:Works
319:Ponca
213:Sioux
209:Omaha
161:(
157:
134:(
130:
109:(
105:
486:1904
140:1881
63:Died
43:Born
325:at
844::
789:^
748:^
724:^
706:^
678:^
662:^
653:,
619:^
567:^
444:.
398:.
215:.
163:m.
136:m.
111:m.
51:)
47:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
