Lincoln Public Schools broke ground on Standing Bear Thursday afternoon. The school is named in honor of former Ponca Tribe Chief Standing Bear and will open in 2023 at 70th and Saltillo Road.
“We gather today to celebrate, to reflect, and to remember that we are on land which for centuries has been and still today is, and into the future will be the homeland to indigenous peoples,” said LPS Superintendent Dr. Steve Joel.
School officials were joined at the ceremony by members of the Ponca Tribe and descendants of Chief Standing Bear. Larry Wright Jr. is the Tribal Chairman of the Ponca Tribe and thanked everyone who was part of the naming process.
“It’s a source of pride amongst our Ponca people and an honor to have something like this to stand the test of time that recognizes one of our own,” Wright says.
Standing Bear is scheduled to open in the fall of 2023 and will join Lincoln High as the only two public high schools in Lincoln with a non-directional name.