Focus on Statue of Standing Bear and explain the Background.
Standing Bear (Ponca official orthography: Maⁿchú-Naⁿzhíⁿ/Macunajin) was forcibly relocated with the Ponca tribe from their lands in Nebraska to the Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) in 1878.  His first son Bear Shield died at the reservation, so Standing Bear set out with several others to bury his son's remains at his birthplace in Nebraska.  The group was arrested and detained by Brigadier General George Crook at Fort Omaha for having left the reservation without permission from the U.S. government.  Standing Bear brought a legal case in the U.S. District Court in Omaha, but the U.S. government argued that as a Native American "Indian", he was not a "person" under the meaning of the law.  In United States ex rel. Standing Bear v. Crook, Judge Elmer Dundy ruled on 12 May 1879 that "an Indian is a PERSON", and ordered the group to be released.
Standing Bear v. Crook Nebraska U.S. District Court Indian Territory Oklahoma Elmer Dundy Fort Omaha Standing Bear United States ex rel. Standing Bear v. Crook Ponca George Crook