The Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs has partnered with the Center for Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska to create an event for 2015 that will mark the return of the Chief Standing Bear Breakfast Commemoration after a break in 2014. Th­is will be the start of a new biennial format for the event that will allow more time and energy to be focused on bringing bigger and better events to program attendees. The 2015 event will still feature the Breakfast Commemoration, but will also bring speakers, performances and discussion to Lincoln for two days on the topic of “Standing Bear and the Trail Ahead.”

Despite enduring problems, First Peoples in Nebraska, the Great Plains and this country today face dramatically improving prospects for their futures. Th­is symposium will examine the status, challenges, and especially the opportunities and prospects that Native Americans face

going forward. It will bring together leading Native thinkers, entrepreneurs, writers, tribal elders, performers, and others with scholars, academics, and public officials.

Hattie Kauff­man, Former CBS and ABC correspondent and author of the memoir “Falling into Place,” will be the keynote breakfast speaker.