PONCA  , a tribe of

North-American Indians of Siouan stock . They were originally part of the Omaha tribe, with whom they lived near the Red River of the North . They were driven westward by the Dakotas, and halted on the Ponca river, Dakota . After a succession of treaties and removals they were placed on a reservation at the mouth of the Niobrara, where they were prospering, when their lands were forcibly taken from them, and they were removed to Indian Territory (Oklahoma) . During the march thither and in their new quarters, the tribe's health suffered, so that in 1878 they revolted and made their way back to the Omahas . They were recaptured, but public attention having been drawn to their hard case they were liberated in 188o, after a long trial, which resulted in their being declared United States citizens . They number some 700, mostly in Oklahoma .