Editor’s note: This has been updated to include the vote to advance the mainline budget bill.
LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) — On a recent trip to Fort Robinson State Park, State Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha said the only thing he could find about the famous Buffalo Soldiers who served there was a plaque.
There needs to be more, Wayne argued Wednesday, to honor the significant history of the all-Black regiments that served for 18 years at the northwest Nebraska military fort.
His state legislative colleagues agreed, adopting an amendment that would earmark up to $2 million of a $20 million allocation from excess state funds for the state park to honor the history of the Buffalo Soldiers.
“This is a significant history that we should preserve,” Wayne said.
State senators engaged in second-round debate Wednesday on the mainline budget bill, which includes how the state will spend funds from the federal American Rescue Plan Act.
Earlier this year, Wayne had introduced a proposal to provide $35 million to enhance Fort Robinson, to purchase and restore the long-closed Mayhew Cabin in Nebraska City, and to help finance a museum honoring Chief Standing Bear.
That bill wasn’t advanced by the Legislature’s Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, but the north Omaha senator was able to get $20 million included in the state budget, over two years, for improvements at Fort Robinson, a popular state park with a rich history.
On Wednesday, lawmakers amended that slightly to earmark up to $2 million to efforts to honor the Buffalo Soldiers, who were once headquartered at Fort Robinson.
Another state senator from north Omaha, Terrell McKinney, said Wednesday that many people don’t realize there are Black people in Nebraska, much less aware of the role that Buffalo Soldiers played in establishing Fort Robinson.
“This is rich history that will lift up our state,” said McKinney, who was among a group of state lawmakers, including Wayne, who recently toured Fort Robinson.
The Black Soldiers of the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry regiments were given the name “buffalo soldiers” by Plains Indian tribes because their black curly hair reminded the Native Americans of the coats of buffalos.
The Ninth Cavalry first arrived at Fort Robinson in 1885 and helped expand the new fort. The soldiers served during the turbulent “ghost dance” period. They were transferred out later and relocated to the Philippines, according to History Nebraska.
The mainline budget was ultimately advanced on a 40-2 vote.
Before that happened, senators:
- Adopted a requirement, introduced by McKinney, that the Nebraska Department of Corrections finally complete an inmate classification study that legislators had ordered earlier.
- Rejected a proposal by Blair Sen. Ben Hansen to allocate $9 million towards a $71 million water expansion project in his community that would enable expansion of the Cargill ethanol campus there. Blair officials have said they could lose out on $300 million expansion. Some critics called it “special legislation” and “corporate welfare,” while Hansen said it would serve to keep water rates down for Blair residents.
- Adopted an amendment offered by Wayne to allocate $10 million toward a pilot program in North Omaha related to gun violence. Wayne and others argued that children who hear gunshots in the night and suffer from PTSD leads to problems in school and acts of violence.
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