Today begins a two-day festival, “We Are a People: The Ponca Journey,” presented by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.. The event features music, dance, play readings, a film screening and panel discussions with the Ponca Nation of Nebraska.

Tonight at 7:30 p.m., Metropolitan Community College and the Great Plains Theatre Conference will present a staged reading of Mary Kathryn Nagle’s play, "Waaxe’s Law" —a dramatic re-enactment of the trial of Chief Standing Bear and Judge Dundy’s seminal ruling. Ms. Nagle is an actress, playwright and lawyer who is a descendant of John Ridge of the Cherokee Nation. In addition to writing the play, she has written an article, "Standing Bear v. Cook: The Case for Equality Under Waaxe’s Law", which will be published in the November edition of the Creighton Law Review.

The play was previously performed at the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska this spring, in celebration of the 130th anniversary of the trial of Chief Standing Bear. Actors performing the work in Washington include Louis Headman, an honored elder of the Southern Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma, as well as several members of Nebraska’s artistic community. Mike Markey, who is the Nebraska Arts Council (NAC) Arts Industry Manager, and Michael Murphy, a musician and roster artist for NAC's touring program, are among the participants:

Cast
Chief Standing Bear. . . . . . . . . . . . Louis Headman (Southern Ponca elder)
White Eagle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael Nephew (D.C. actor)
White Swan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Caleb Strickland (D.C. actor)
Bright Eyes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jennifer Bear Shield (Omaha Attorney)
Bear Shield. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Harley Upton (Omaha artist)
Henry Tibbles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bill Hoover (Omaha artist)
President Lincoln/Judge ElmerDundy. . . . . . . ..Douglas L. Paterson (UNO Theatre Prof.)
Attorney Andrew J. Poppleton. . . . . . . . . . . . . Thomas Bertino (Omaha actor)
Attorney John Webster. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Michael Markey (NAC)
Attorney Genio Lambertson . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..Ben Beck (Omaha actor)
General Crook. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jonathan Wilhoft (Omaha actor)
Secretary Schurz/General Sherman. . . . . . . . .Eric Griffith (Omaha actor)
Chorus I: (Officer, Soldier #1, Courtroom Deputy). . . . . ..Sean Carlson (Omaha actor)

Stage Directions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Katie Cameron (MCC)
Native American Flute and other Instruments. .Michael Murphy (NTP artist)
Director. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .D. Scott Glasser (UNO Theatre Prof.)

A talk-back panel will follow the reading, including Headman, White, playwright/attorney Nagle (Cherokee) and Judge Laurie Smith Camp, U.S. District Court, District of Nebraska.

On Saturday, there will be a reading and discussion with Joe Starita, a journalism professor at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and author of “I Am a Man”: Chief Standing Bear’s Journey for Justice, a work of non-fiction that provides historical background of the famous Ponca chief. The festival closes with a panel discussion Saturday in the museum’s Rasmuson Theater featuring tribal elders who will discuss the Ponca Nation’s stories and culture.

Sponsors of the festival include the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs, Native American Public Telecommunications, Creighton Law School, Metropolitan Community College and the Great Plains Theatre Conference. For more information, click here.