Macunajin was born to the Ponca tribe which had villages along the Niobrara river in Nebreska. The Ponca traditionally grew maize, vegetables, and fruit trees in the summer along the river. They moved westward in the winter to hunt bison.
As American settlers moved west into Nebreska the Ponca tribe was moved out of the area and resettled to reservations in Oklahoma, while there Chief Macunajin's son fell ill. Traditional Ponca's believed that a person should be buried near the bones of their ancesters or they would spend their afterlife wandering alone. Macunajin promised his dying son that he would be buried among his ancestors in his native land along the Nibrara river.
After the death of his son, Macunajin left the reservation with a small band of tribal people, being subject for arrest for leaving the reservation without a pass, They headed back to ancestrial tribal lands avoiding towns subsisting on the charity of others. They were later arrested and escorted to Fort Omaha.
While in custody Macunajin's lawyer filed a writ of habea corpus, which requires the prisoner to be brought to trial on charges or to be released. It was argued at trial that Macunajin had severed tribal ties and was a self sufficient citizen. At the closing of the trial Macunajin spoke in his own defence... “I am brought here, but what have I done? I don’t know. It seems to me as if I have no place on earth. I want a place where I can work and support my family, and when done with life, die peaceably. I am no longer cheif but as poor as all." Waving his hand Macunajin again spoke. “That hand is not the color of yours. But if I pierce it, I shall feel pain. If you pierce your hand you also feel pain. The blood that will flow from mine will be the same color as yours. I am a man. The same God made us both.”
Judge Dundy handed down his lengthy decision that ended with the main ruling:
"That an Indian is a PERSON."
My brief, abridged history of Macunajin's life, does not do justice to the landmark legal case decision, that released Macunajin to bury his son. It is next to impossible in America to escape the influence of the Indian languages that name our mountains, lakes, rivers, streams, streets and cities. In order to locate this letterbox you will need to translate from ponca to english. Please do not remove the stamp and pad that bears Macunajin's name from the cache.
PLEASE NO NIGHT CACHING. Cache placed with the permission of the local business which also partly bears Macunajin's name, please be respectful. You may if desired post a picture of yourself with Macunajin.
HAPPY CACHING!