Standing Bear, pop icon

Standing Bear continues to inspire othersLately, it seems everyone has Standing Bear on the brain:

* In March 2007, “Wakonda’s Dream”—an opera about a modern Ponca family and its relationship to Standing Bear—debuted at the Orpheum in Omaha.

* That night, New York City playwright Chris Cartmill will perform his monologue about Standing Bear, “The Nebraska Dispatches,” at the Johnny Carson Theater. The University of Nebraska Press plans to publish a book based on Cartmill’s monologue.

* The University of Nebraska Press plans to publish a children’s book about Standing Bear.

* And Tribeca Films plans to produce a film about Standing Bear’s life.Comment:  Standing Bear isn't a real pop icon, since roughly 99.9% of Americans have never heard of him. He's just getting his 15 minutes of fame this year.

In fact, as I noted a few years ago, there are no Indians among America's top pop icons. They make up 1% of the population but 0% of the icons.