Andrew Poppleton

Lawrence A.  Dwyer holds a B.A. Degree in American and British History from the University of Nebraska Omaha (1971), and a Law Degree from the Creighton University School of Law (1974). He is a member of the Omaha Bar Association and the Nebraska Bar Association, and has been a practicing attorney in Omaha for 51 years.

He has presented over 200 seminars on estate planning, probate, trusts, and elder law for professional, civic and charitable organizations; written seven legal manuals; and has received numerous awards for service to the community including the 2013 Nebraska Philanthropy Society’s Sower Award for 35 years of pro-bono legal work for charitable organizations.

Larry served on the Board of Directors of the Douglas County Historical Society (2006-2011), and was the Founder and First President of its Foundation. He was the keynote speaker at the Historical Society’s 130^th and 140^th Anniversary celebrations of the Trial of Chief Standing Bear.

Larry is a co-founder and Director of The Chief Standing Bear Project, Inc. a national non-profit corporation promoting the life and legacy of Standing Bear. In May 2025, Larry and his wife Karen donated to the Douglas County Historical Society for permanent display in the Crook House, a three-foot replica of the statue of Chief Standing Bear created by Benjamin Victor located in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol.

Since 2009, he has given over 100 presentations on Standing Bear and was the featured speaker for the Midwest Law Librarians Convention (2024); the Nebraska/Iowa Office of the FBI (2023); Coastal Carolina University’s Lifelong Learning Institute (2023 & 2024); the Omaha Bar Association’s 150^th Anniversary (2025 & 2026); the Eighth Circuit Federal Judiciary Conference (2026); and various regional historical societies and civic groups.

Larry is the author of Standing Bear’s Quest for Freedom: The First Civil Rights Victory for Native Americans (2022), which was awarded the Nebraska Best History Book for 2023.

He is here with us today to speak about his recently published book - Andrew J. Poppleton: Fighter for Omaha City, the Union Pacific Railroad and Chief Standing Bear.