The Midwest lost one of its most avid students of Indian lore when BEN E. BIERER, 76, of 621 Bluff Street died Tuesday at a local hospital. Mr. Bierer was born at Hiawatha, Kansas, near the Haskell Institute for Indians at Lawrence. At an early age he followed his grandfather in a hobby of collecting Indian artifacts. He numbered among his personal friends the chiefs of several Indian tribes.

In 1886 Mr. Bierer's family moved to Nebraska near the South Dakota border. There he recalled the last great Indian uprising at the Battle of Wounded Knee in 1891. He raised and fed cattle near Oakdale, Nebraska before coming to Council Bluffs in 1909 to open a garage.

Mr. Bierer was an adopted member of the Winnebago Indian tribe under the name "We-hu-koni-gar" or "teacher" among his brothers. The ceremony took place at Bayliss Park in 1936 when the tribe camped here for a centennial celebration.

In recent years Mr. Bierer managed farm properties and traveled extensively among the Indians, taking pictures used in lectures to youth groups. For 35 years he coupled this interest in lore with Boy Scout activities.