Niobrara Reservation
The Niobrara Reservation is a former Indian Reservation in northeast Nebraska. It originally comprised lands for both the Santee Sioux and the Ponca, both Siouan-speaking tribes, near the mouth of the Niobrara River at its confluence with the Missouri River. In the late nineteenth century the United States government built a boarding school at the reservation for the Native American children in the region. By 1908 after allotment of plots to individual households of the tribes under the Dawes Act, 1,130.7 acres (4.576 km2) were reserved for an agency, school and mission for a distinct Santee Sioux Reservation; the neighboring Ponca Reservation had only 160 acres (0.65 km2) reserved for agency and school buildings.
In 1884, John Lenger organized an all-Indian brass band on the Niobrara Reservation, the Santee Sioux Band. The group
demonstrated the musical ability of the Santee and presented them in a favorable light to their white neighbors. The band, led by Lenger, appeared at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 and at the Trans-Mississippi Exposition in Omaha in 1898 .. [and]... a special command performance for President Benjamin Harrison.
In 1890, Special Agent Reuben Sears described the land as unsuitable for farming without irrigation. "Perhaps half of the lands on this reservation would produce half a crop usually, while the other half is absolutely worthless, except for grazing, and 10 acres of this would be requisite to sustain 1 steer ... Timber is not abundant on this reservation. A sufficient quantity is found for fuel and posts, and for present use only." The Indian population at the Santee and Flandreau Agency at that time was 869. The Santee were described as a community that raised ponies and horses and lived in log or frame houses with barns, but did not like to keep milk cows or hogs. The Santee displayed aptitude for music and carpentry, and continued their customs of moving between summer and winter homes and "congregating together." Sears concluded that "The Santees are practically self-sustaining, although occupying an almost barren reservation."
...
Wikipedia