Existing comment:
Susette LaFleshe Tibbles
by Jose Maria Mora, c 1879
In 1877, Susette La Flesche Tibbles witnessed the forced removal of the Ponca from Nebraska and the imprisonment of Ponca Chief Standing Bear, and others, who attempted to return to their homeland. Bilingual and bicultural, Tibbles served as an expert witness in the ensuing trial and also worked as an interpreter in other court cases that Native peoples brought against the federal government. Like other people of color, Native women did not have the privilege of a single issue focus. As activists, they lobbied strenuously to improve conditions on reservations and for U.S. citizenship. |