NORFOLK, Neb. (AP) – The Ponca Tribe of Nebraska will celebrate the 25th anniversary of a law that restored its federal recognition.

The Norfolk Daily News reports the Ponca Tribe has been rebuilding in northeast Nebraska since the Ponca Restoration Act was signed into law on Oct. 31, 1990, by President George H.W. Bush. The U.S. government had dissolved its recognition of the tribe and its remaining land in the 1960s.

“The termination of the tribe did great harm to the members and to the tribe’s culture,” Nebraska Ponca Tribe culture director Randy Teboe said. “(It was a) loss of identity for tribal members, a loss of cultural traditions and (the loss of) the ability to help tribal members when they needed help. The termination caused our culture to go to sleep – (but) we didn’t lose it.”

After recognition was restored, Ponca members were able to receive health care, housing and education assistance. Teboe said it also has allowed the tribe to expand its economic developments efforts, and provide members with additional services, such as social services and tribal court needs.

The Ponca Restoration Act also revitalized the tribe’s traditional culture, which Teboe said wasn’t dead, but dormant in the years after the tribe had lost recognition.

“We found our tribal identity – we are bringing our language and traditional ways back to the tribe,” Teboe said. “Even though it might seem like a slow process, we have made big steps and have continued to move forward.”

Teboe is looking forward to the future, and predicts that the next 25 years will see more fluent Ponca speakers and a further expansion in economic development.

Saturday’s powwow will feature a fry bread and chili cookoff as well as the Ponca Heduska Society Princess Contest.

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Information from: Norfolk Daily News, http://www.norfolkdailynews.com