Otoe-Missouria News Archive

A ceremony next month at the former Chilocco Indian School will commemorate the listing of the school’s campus on the National Register of Historic Places, an official of the Chilocco National Alumni Association announced today. The brief ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. March 4 on the Chilocco campus. It is open to the public.

“Hopefully, a lot of former students, employees and friends of Chilocco will attend,” said Jim Baker, of Stillwater, the president of the Chilocco National Alumni Association. Event coordinators are trying to get the Oklahoma governor to attend, Baker said.

A certificate issued by the Department of Interior designating the campus as on the national register will be issued to the Council of Confederated Chilocco Tribes. The five tribal chairmen or presidents will receive the certificate. The confederated tribes are the Kaw, Ponca, Tonkawa, Otoe Missouria and Pawnee. The Chilocco Alumni Association was an integral component of group efforts to have the campus listed on the National Register, and is invited to participate, Baker said. Chilocco received the official listing on Sept. 9.

The former Indian school is located a few miles across the Oklahoma border south of Arkansas City. It was founded in 1884 and had a long history of educating thousands of Native Americans of various tribes from throughout the country. The school grounds included 10,000 acres. It closed in 1980.

» Originally published in the Arkansas City Traveler.

Jesse Littlecrow of Enid recently enrolled in the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine, taking place in Atlanta July 3-12. Littlecrow will join 350 other high school students from around the country who demonstrate academic excellence, leadership potential and an interest in a career in medicine.

She is the daughter of Cecil and Charmaine Brown and the granddaughter of Florene Deroin Washabaugh and the late Norman Washabaugh and the late Amos and Francis Littlecrow. She is a member of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe. She attends Enid High School and is listed on the honor roll. She has served on the yearbook staff and enjoys reading, art projects and softball. She is also a member of the Enid Intertribal Club.

Throughout the 10-day forum, NYLF/MED will introduce Littlecrow to a variety of concepts in public health, medical ethics, research and general practice, and will include site visits to medical facilities and clinics. Students will engage in a simulation using problem-based learning, an educational method in which students will be presented a fictional patient’s case history and must diagnose and develop a treatment plan for the patient. In addition to visits to cutting-edge medical schools and clinical facilities.

Littlecrow will have the opportunity to hear from and interact with leaders within the medical field. Students have up-close and personal contact with physicians, surgeons, researchers, scientists and medical educators as they go behind the scenes to view these professionals at work.

» Originally published in the Ponca City News.

A Benefit Gourd Dance for Jesse Marie Littlecrow will be held this coming Sunday at the Otoe Missouria Cultural Building in Red Rock, Okla. Dinner will be at noon, and the dance starts at 1 p.m.

Jesse Marie Littlecrow, daughter of Charmaine Norman and Cecil “Jr” Brown and Charles Littlecrow, attends Enid High School in Enid and was nominated by her teacher to attend the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine in the summer of 2004. She carries a 3.85 average and has been on the principal’s honor roll for five consecutive semesters.

The decision to nominate Jesse was based on a scholastic recommendation awarded by Ms. De Ann Sackett of Enid High School, who certified Jesse as a student of high academic standing, with leadership potential and intent on pursuing a career in medicine.

Head Staff have been designated as follows: Jim Grant (head singer), Hank Childs (head Gourd Dance); Lauren “Jeannie” Brown (head lady dancer), Tony Arkeketa (master of ceremonies), and John Norman (arena director). The event is co-hosted by the Ponca Gourd Dance Society and Northern Plains Indian Club of Red Rock Creek. The public is asked to come help support Jesse to reach her goal in life.

» Originally published in the Ponca City News.

Henry and Jovonne Lieb of Ponca City recently received certificates of completion from the Native American Studies program for linguistics and language teaching from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah. Graduation exercises were held on February 1.

The Native American Studies program consists of development of language curriculum in areas including language skills, vocabulary, grammar, metalanguage (for adults) and culture. The language teacher of tribal language classes not only teaches, but also organizes the lessons to make it easier for the students to understand, speak, read and write their tribal language.

Henry has been teaching the Ponca language at Frontier High School, Red, Rock, for the past four years. Jovonne is the Otoe-Missouria Youth Coordinator and has been teaching the youth the Otoe-Missouria language and cultural enrichment at the Otoe-Missouria Housing Authority in Red Rock.

» Originally published in the Ponca City News.