Standing Bear Lake - History

History

Standing Bear Lake park opened in 1977, and includes fishing and boating, trails, and picnic areas.

Also known as Dam Site 16, the lake was originally built as a dam for flood control on Papillion Creek in the Lower Papio Valley. Recently the Nebraska State Game and Parks Commission added trout fishing to the lake.

The park is named after Chief Standing Bear, who with his people, was told to leave his homeland along the Niobrara River in northeast Nebraska for Indian Territory in Oklahoma. After finding no supplies in Oklahoma and many of his people dying, including his own son, Standing Bear led 30 members of the Ponca Tribe back to Nebraska. He had to fight for the right to be recognized as a human being and his basic humanity, saying, "I am a man. The same God made us both."

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