 The bridge is named for Standing Bear, a Ponca chief born and buried nearby, who was the plaintiff in "Standing Bear v. Crook", a landmark 1879 U.S. District Court case that established the legal rights of Native Americans to move about freely.Before the bridge was constructed, Highway 14 ended at the Missouri.Travellers who needed to cross the river had to detour downstream to the Meridian Bridge at Yankton, South Dakota, or upstream to Fort Randall Dam near Pickstown, South Dakota.